Italy salvages superyacht that sank off Sicily last year killing seven
Salvage workers raised a superyacht that sank off Italy during a pre-dawn storm last year, killing UK tech mogul Mike Lynch and six others.
The luxury 56-metre (185ft) 'Bayesian' was struck by a storm on 19 August 2024 when it was moored off Porticello, near Palermo in Sicily.
It sank within minutes, killing Mr Lynch, his 18-year-old daughter Hannah and five others.
Mr Lynch was born to a Co Tipperary mother who was a nurse and a Co Cork father who was a firefighter.
The yacht, which was hit by a waterspout, was raised from the seabed - some 50 metres below the surface - today, according to an AFP photographer.
A waterspout, which is akin to a mini-tornado, is a column that descends from a cloud to form a rotating mixture of wind and water over a body of water, often during severe thunderstorms, according to National Geographic.
TMC Marine, the salvage company overseeing the operation, cut off the yacht's mast before lifting the vessel using a crane barge.
The Bayesian had an exceptionally tall mast, measuring 72 metres.
Investigators from the Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) - a UK government agency - said last month its profile "produced a degree of effective lift" that increased the boat's lean in the wind.
When the yacht sank there were 22 people on board, including 12 crew and 10 guests.
Mr Lynch, the 59-year-old founder of software firm Autonomy, had invited friends and family onto the boat to celebrate his recent acquittal in a huge US fraud case.
Italian prosecutors have launched investigations into the captain and two others on suspicion of manslaughter and the crime of negligent shipwreck.
The operation to recover the yacht began in May but was temporarily halted after a diver died.
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The Irish Sun
5 hours ago
- The Irish Sun
Moment tragic Bayesian yacht wreck is raised from depths after billionaire Mike Lynch, daughter & 5 others died on board
THIS is the tragic moment the Bayesian superyacht wreckage is lifted from the depths of the sea - after seven people died when it sank off the coast of Sicily last summer. Tech tycoon Advertisement 10 Floating crane ships Hebo LIFT 10 and Hebo LIFT 2 recover part of the Bayesian yacht, June 20 Credit: Reuters 10 The top of the passenger area of the superyacht Bayesian being lifted Credit: Reuters 10 The salvage operation began in May Credit: Reuters 10 Tech tycoon Mike Lynch and his daughter Hannah died following the horror accident Credit: Darren Fletcher The vessel sunk in just 16 minutes after being hit by a violent downburst. Haunting images showed the A Bystanders watched in awe as the multimillion-pound ship rose to the top of the water as it was dragged up by one of Europe's biggest cranes. 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Captain describes horror moment Bayesian superyacht sank as 'big black triangle' went under & vessel vanished off radar A source with TMC Marine told "She will remain half submerged until Saturday when the final lift will take place and she will then be sailed to a specially built cradle on the dockside." Advertisement Workmen were seen on the vessel's deck fixing guide lines as crews geared up for the next phase of the tricky recovery mission. When the wreck finally resurfaced, the Bayesian was missing its towering 236ft mast, which had been sliced off and left on the seabed to be hauled up later. Salvage teams said the mast had to be cut away so the yacht's hull could be tilted upright and brought to the surface. It comes after a Advertisement 10 Tycoon Mike Lynch's superyacht sank because it was vulnerable to wind, a report claims Credit: EPA 10 Italian coastguards at the Bayesian wreckage Credit: Massimo Sestini/ugpix 10 After examining the Advertisement And they confirmed the vessel's critical weakness was that the ship was vulnerable to wind. An interim report by the Marine Accident Investigation Branch said the yacht had a 'vulnerability' to lighter winds but the owner and crew would not have known. It added it had 'limited verified evidence' as the criminal probe in Italy had restricted its access. The major update comes amid the arduous Advertisement Floating cranes, remote-controlled robots, and specialist divers amongst other marine experts have been brought in to recover the vessel. 10 Lynch, 59, died as the yacht sank Credit: Reuters 10 The Italian Coast Guard's Luigi Dattilo CP940 patrol vessel (left) assists Hebo Lift 2 (right) at the site Credit: AP 10 Advertisement A Hebo Lift 10 crane, thought to be one of the most powerful in Europe, arrived in Sicily on Saturday, May 3, from Rotterdam. The first parts of tycoon Lynch's superyacht were raised from the seabed in late May A pole which holds the bottom of the sail on the 184ft yacht was also recovered. Advertisement Billionaire Dr Lynch was celebrating being cleared of a massive fraud over the sale of Autonomy to computer giant Hewlett-Packard in 2011 when the Bayesian went down. The other victims were banker Jonathan Bloomer, 70, and his wife Judy Bloomer, 71, as well as US lawyer Chris Morvillo and his wife Neda Morvillo, and Canadian-Antiguan chef Recaldo Thomas. A further 15 people were rescued. Inside the Bayesian's final 16 minutes By Ellie Doughty, Foreign News Reporter Data recovered from the Bayesian's Automatic Identification System (AIS) breaks down exactly how it sank in a painful minute-by-minute timeline. At 3.50am on Monday August 19 the Bayesian began to shake "dangerously" during a fierce storm, Italian outlet Just minutes later at 3.59am the boat's anchor gave way, with a source saying the data showed there was "no anchor left to hold". After the ferocious weather ripped away the boat's mooring it was dragged some 358 metres through the water. By 4am it had began to take on water and was plunged into a blackout, indicating that the waves had reached its generator or even engine room. At 4.05am the An emergency GPS signal was finally emitted at 4.06am to the coastguard station in Bari, a city nearby, alerting them that the vessel had sunk. Early reports suggested the disaster struck around 5am local time off the coast of Porticello Harbour in Palermo, Sicily. The new data pulled from the boat's AIS appears to suggest it happened an hour earlier at around 4am. Some 15 of the 22 onboard were rescued, 11 of them scrambling onto an inflatable life raft that sprung up on the deck. A smaller nearby boat - named Sir Robert Baden Powell - then helped take those people to shore.
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RTÉ News
5 hours ago
- RTÉ News
Italy salvages superyacht that sank off Sicily last year killing seven
Salvage workers raised a superyacht that sank off Italy during a pre-dawn storm last year, killing UK tech mogul Mike Lynch and six others. The luxury 56-metre (185ft) 'Bayesian' was struck by a storm on 19 August 2024 when it was moored off Porticello, near Palermo in Sicily. It sank within minutes, killing Mr Lynch, his 18-year-old daughter Hannah and five others. Mr Lynch was born to a Co Tipperary mother who was a nurse and a Co Cork father who was a firefighter. The yacht, which was hit by a waterspout, was raised from the seabed - some 50 metres below the surface - today, according to an AFP photographer. A waterspout, which is akin to a mini-tornado, is a column that descends from a cloud to form a rotating mixture of wind and water over a body of water, often during severe thunderstorms, according to National Geographic. TMC Marine, the salvage company overseeing the operation, cut off the yacht's mast before lifting the vessel using a crane barge. The Bayesian had an exceptionally tall mast, measuring 72 metres. Investigators from the Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) - a UK government agency - said last month its profile "produced a degree of effective lift" that increased the boat's lean in the wind. When the yacht sank there were 22 people on board, including 12 crew and 10 guests. Mr Lynch, the 59-year-old founder of software firm Autonomy, had invited friends and family onto the boat to celebrate his recent acquittal in a huge US fraud case. Italian prosecutors have launched investigations into the captain and two others on suspicion of manslaughter and the crime of negligent shipwreck. The operation to recover the yacht began in May but was temporarily halted after a diver died.
