Four bodies of the people missing in the sinking of the Bayesian, the 56-meter ship that sank two days ago while at anchor off the coast of Santa Flavia, have been recovered after a long search: the first two, found this morning, are those of Mike Lynch, the magnate who owned the sailing ship, and his daughter Hannah, 18 years old . The other two were found in the afternoon, all inside the vessel. A fifth body was found in the late afternoon.
This morning in Porticello there was a briefing between firefighters, the Port Authority and several technicians and engineers to take stock of the situation and resume dives to search for missing people who may have remained trapped in the cabins of the sailing vessel.
There is now only one missing. Another 15 people, including passengers and crew members, who were on board the yacht, were rescued immediately after the shipwreck and are currently in a hotel in Santa Flavia.
Yesterday the divers entered the hull and inspected the common areas, today they should try to reach the cabins. In the meantime, the search continues in the area of the shipwreck with the help of patrol boats and helicopters.
The investigation
The question now is only one: how is it possible that the Bayesian, a super-technological and luxury sailing ship of 56 meters, sank in one minute. The Termini Imerese prosecutor's office has opened an investigation to determine the dynamics of the shipwreck, while rescue operations continue. At the moment it seems that the mast of the sailing ship has not broken, as initially hypothesized.
Authorities are also questioning survivors of the disaster, but it will take time to clarify the dynamics of the accident. The questioning of James Catfield, 51, the commander of the Bayesien, lasted over two hours . The prosecutors listened to him yesterday until late evening.
The vessel sank during a sudden tornado - or perhaps a "downburst", a violent descending gust - and now lies on the seabed. The search is "long and complex" because the wreck is at a depth of 50 meters and divers can operate for 12-14 minutes at most, but the authorities are also using remote-controlled vehicles.
There were 22 people on board, 10 crew members and 12 guests. Six people were missing: Jonathan Bloomer, chairman of Morgan Stanley International, and his wife Anne Elizabeth; British businessman Mike Lynch and his daughter Hanna; and Lynch's lawyer Chris Morvillo and his wife Nada.
Lynch's presence sparked speculation in the international press : the former CEO of software giant Autonomy had been acquitted of fraud charges by a San Francisco jury after a 12-year legal battle. The case concerned the controversial sale to Hewlett-Packard for $11 billion. Morvillo had been Lynch's defense attorney, while Bloomer had testified on his behalf during the case. Only two days earlier, Lynch's former deputy at the helm of Autonomy, Stephen Chamberlain, had been killed after being hit by a car.
(Unioneonline/D)