Sicily yacht tragedy leaves Porticello reeling as divers search wreck

Within the cloudy skies and on the uneven waters, the emergency operation is continuous right here in Porticello, the place a luxurious yachting vacation turned to horror.

As a coastguard helicopter whirls overhead, divers are being despatched from the port, persevering with their seek for the six lacking passengers of the Bayesian, which capsized earlier than daybreak on Monday and whose wreckage now lies some 50m (165ft) underwater on the seabed.

Luca Cari from Italy’s fireplace and rescue division mentioned that, given the depth, divers have been solely allowed 10 minutes underwater earlier than resurfacing, limiting their work.

Divers skilled to work in small areas have been flown in from Rome and Sardinia. Sturdy winds are making the situations even tougher.

The divers discovered no our bodies on the bridge – the room wherein the captain managed the vessel – and have made it into the lounge, from the place they’re working to realize entry to the remainder of the yacht.

It’s anticipated that the six lacking passengers will likely be trapped within the cabins, the place they have been probably sleeping when it capsized.

Among the many lacking are the British tech entrepreneur Mike Lynch alongside together with his 18-year-old daughter Hannah; his lawyer, Mike Corvillo and his spouse Neda; and the president of Morgan Stanley worldwide Jonathan Bloomer and his spouse Judy.

The physique of the yacht’s chef has already been discovered. His identification is but to be confirmed.

Mr Lynch’s spouse, Angela Bacares, is among the many 15 individuals rescued, after they scrambled right into a life raft and set off a flare, that drew the eye of one other boat captain.

The tragedy started on Sunday evening with violent storms buffeting the boats right here.

Within the early hours of Monday, that prompted a waterspout – a tornado-like rotating column of cloud and water that engulfed the Bayesian. Witnesses say it snapped the 76m (249ft) tall aluminium mast and rapidly engulfed it.

Latest searing warmth and heavy winds had reportedly prompted a climate warning previous to the capsizing. The temperature of the Mediterranean was 30C – larger than regular – amplifying the chance of an excessive climate occasion.

Among the many survivors are a number of British nationals, who’re staying at a neighborhood lodge, to which journalists have been denied entry.

They embrace Charlotte Golunski, who clutched her one-year-old daughter above the water to maintain her alive, telling how all she may hear have been the screams round her.

The British ambassador to Italy, Ed Llewellyn, instructed me he had visited the survivors and heard their anguish.

“It underlines what a desperately unhappy and distressing scenario they discovered themselves in,” he mentioned.

“My coronary heart, and I’m certain that of the entire nation, goes out to them. We are going to do no matter we will virtually to assist on this very troublesome and heartbreaking scenario.”

He confirmed that marine investigators despatched from the UK had arrived in Sicily and have been working with their Italian counterparts on a preliminary evaluation.

Native prosecutors have additionally opened an investigation into the circumstances of the tragedy – and if something may have been executed to mitigate it, together with closing the ship’s hatches in a single day.

The yacht’s captain, James Catfield, from New Zealand, instructed Italian media of the suddenness of the waterspout that turned a luxurious tremendous yacht right into a dying lure. “We simply didn’t see it coming”, he mentioned.