
Water pumped from Bayesian superyacht as it is seen for first time since sinking
The superyacht Bayesian, owned by Mike Lynch, has been seen upright off the coast of Sicily for the first time since it tragically sank last month, resulting in seven deaths.
The 56-metre vessel was spotted near Porticello, held by a powerful sea crane, as salvage workers continued to pump Water from it in preparation for full recovery.
The sinking on August 19 claimed the lives of Mike Lynch, his daughter Hannah, Jonathan and Judy Bloomer, US lawyer Chris Morvillo and his wife Neda Morvillo, and chef Recaldo Thomas.
Investigators from the UK and Italy are raising the vessel to fully understand the incident, with an interim report indicating it was knocked over by "extreme wind" due to an unknown vulnerability.
The yacht is expected to be brought to Termini Imerese for further investigation, following earlier delays in salvage efforts due to a diver's death in May.

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Times
4 hours ago
- Times
Uffizi museum tears a strip off selfie takers after a painting is damaged
The director of the Uffizi Gallery in Florence has promised a crackdown on selfies after a tourist damaged an 18th-century painting while posing in front of it for a photograph. The visitor tore a hole in the bottom corner of the canvas, a portrait of Ferdinando de' Medici, Grand Prince of Tuscany, painted in 1712, by Anton Domenico Gabbiani. The man was apparently trying to assume the same pose as the subject of the painting but stepped backwards and lost his balance. He leant against the canvas which was left with a tear at the level of the prince's right boot. The visitor was immediately identified by museum staff and reported to police for causing culpable damage. The painting was removed for repair, with experts concluding that the damage was relatively minor. The incident occurred on Saturday in the ground-floor rooms hosting the Florence and Europe: Arts of the 18th Century at the Uffizi exhibition, the first under the gallery's new director, Simone Verde. A trade union representing museum workers said the tourist had tripped on a low platform intended to keep visitors at an appropriate distance from the paintings. It had previously highlighted the risk to the museum authorities after another visitor had tripped but without causing any damage. 'Visitors are looking at the paintings, not at the ground. Those platforms are unsuitable and too dark,' said Silvia Barlacchi, a staff representative. Verde said: 'The problem of visitors coming to museums to make memes or take selfies for social media is rampant: we will set very precise limits, preventing behaviour that is not compatible with the sense of our institutions and respect for cultural heritage. The tourist, who was immediately identified, will be prosecuted.' The incident is the latest in a series of accidents caused by visitors behaving unwisely in Italian museums. In another episode captured on video, a man posed for a photograph pretending to sit on a fragile chair covered in Swarovski crystals in the Palazzo Maffei museum in Verona. The sculpture by the contemporary artist Nicola Bolla reproduces a famous wooden chair from a Vincent van Gogh painting, but is not intended for sitting on. Again the subject of the photo lost his balance and ended up sitting heavily on the chair, causing its partial collapse. The couple fled the museum without informing staff of the damage and as yet have not been identified. Earlier this year a 16th-century painting by the Renaissance artist Moretto was damaged after a museum visitor in Brescia tripped and fell against it, while three years ago an American tourist fell against a painting by the Baroque master Guido Reni at the Galleria Borghese in Rome. Visitors to the home of the Mona Lisa share the experience with hordes of smartphone-wielding peers, who are liable to impair viewing pleasure even when they don't trip and fall. The Louvre has announced plans to remedy the situation by creating a 3,000sq m exhibition space entirely dedicated to Leonardo da Vinci's masterpiece. The extra space will reduce queues, jostling and the thicket of phone cameras obscuring the view when the Louvre renovation is completed in 2031.


Telegraph
8 hours ago
- Telegraph
Uffizi director blasts selfie-taking tourists after 17th-century painting damaged
The director of Italy's Uffizi Galleries has sharply criticised social media-obsessed tourists after a visitor posing for a photograph tripped and gashed a 17th-century oil painting. The young Italian man asked his girlfriend to take a photo of him posing in front of the painting of a prince of the Medici family in the museum in Florence, Tuscany. He reportedly wanted to create an amusing image by mimicking the posture of Grand Prince Ferdinando de' Medici, the aristocrat in the painting. But as he stepped towards the artwork, he tripped over a foot-high barrier, put his hand out to steady himself and tore a gash in the canvas of the portrait. The episode, which happened on Saturday, was caught on a security camera. The man was identified and reported to police. He faces criminal prosecution and may have to pay for the cost of the painting to be repaired. The director of the Uffizi said it was the latest example of tourists using their visits to gather material for their social media feeds. 'A tourist who wanted to create some sort of meme in front of the painting, striking the same pose as the Medici prince, ripped the canvas of the artwork,' said Simone Verde. 'The problem of visitors coming to museums to create memes or take selfies for social media is now rampant. We put in place very precise rules to try to impede behaviour that is not compatible with respect for our cultural heritage.' Tourists are routinely caught damaging Italy's cultural heritage, from scratching their initials into the walls of the Colosseum in Rome to posing beside delicate statues and wading into Baroque fountains during the hot summer months. It is the second time this month that tourists in Italy have damaged a piece of art. A week ago, a middle-aged man was caught on CCTV footage sitting on and inadvertently squashing an ornate chair made out of thousands of Swarovski crystals in a museum in Verona. The footage showed the man joking around with his wife and sitting on the 'Van Gogh' chair, which promptly buckled. The couple made a hurried exit from the gallery. Museum curators appealed to visitors to 'respect art' after the incident. 'Sometimes we lose our brains to take a picture, and we don't think about the consequences,' said Vanessa Carlon, the museum director. 'Of course it was an accident, but these two people left without speaking to us – that isn't an accident. This is a nightmare for any museum. Art must be respected and loved, because it is very fragile.'


The Independent
9 hours ago
- The Independent
Bayesian yacht taken to Sicilian town for full investigation into sinking
Tech tycoon Mike Lynch's superyacht has been taken to the town where British and Italian investigators will carry out a full probe into the sinking. Seven people died when the Bayesian sank off Sicily on August 19 including billionaire Mr Lynch, 59, and his daughter Hannah, 18. The vessel was held above the water by one of Europe's most powerful floating sea cranes, which set off from the fishing village Porticello at around 1.10pm local time. It was held in front of the crane as it moved. The vessel arrived in Termini Imerese, a town around 12 milies away at just after 3pm on Sunday. It will then be moved into a specially manufactured steel cradle, which has a tarpaulin underneath for pollution prevention. Salvage workers on site, not accompanying the vessel to port, are conducting a 'full sweep' of the seabed near Porticello for any potential debris, a project insider said. Italian prosecutors previously said raising and examining the yacht for evidence would provide key information for its investigation into the sinking. It will also aid the Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) report on what happened. Simon Graves, an MAIB investigator, previously told the PA news agency: 'When the wreck is brought ashore, we'll be completing a full examination of the wreck and we'll be finding out all of the elements that might have contributed to the safety of the vessel.' Further details such as 'escape routes' will be included in its final report on the sinking, according to Mr Graves, who added: 'Once we get access to the vessel we'll be able to tell a fuller picture of activities on board and the sequence of events.' The vessel was originally expected to be raised last month but salvage efforts were delayed after a diver died during underwater work on May 9, prompting greater use of remote-controlled equipment. About 70 specialist personnel had been mobilised to Porticello from across Europe to work on the recovery operation. Inquest proceedings in the UK are looking at the deaths of Mr Lynch and his daughter, as well as Morgan Stanley International bank chairman Jonathan Bloomer, 70, and his wife, Judy Bloomer, 71, who were all British nationals. Fifteen people, including Mr Lynch's wife, Angela Bacares, were rescued. Mr Lynch and his daughter were said to have lived in the vicinity of London and the Bloomers lived in Sevenoaks, Kent.