Italian divers recover video equipment from Mike Lynch’s sunken yacht
13/09/2024 10:23
By Wladimir Pantaleone
PALERMO, Sept 13 (Reuters) - Italian Navy divers have
recovered video surveillance equipment from the superyacht that
sank off Sicily last month, killing British tech tycoon Mike
Lynch and six other people, a source close to the matter said on
Friday.
The recovery of the equipment could help explain why the
British-flagged Bayesian went down during a severe and sudden
storm off the port of Porticello, near Palermo, on Aug. 19 - an
event that has puzzled naval experts.
Lynch's 18-year-old daughter, four guests and the cook died
when the 56-metre-long (184-foot) yacht capsized and sank within
minutes. Fifteen people, including Lynch's wife, survived and
were rescued by a nearby vessel that was unscathed.
The highly specialised divers are combing the wreck on
behalf of prosecutors investigating the sinking.
Late on Thursday, they recovered parts of the deck, computer
material, video surveillance systems, hard drives and various
other equipment, the source said. The electronic devices will be
sent to specialised labs outside of Sicily to check their
condition and possibly recover data, the source added.
Daniele Governale, a coast guard official in Palermo, said
the divers were using a hyperbaric chamber that allowed them to
make repeated dives of up to 40 minutes.
The coast guard took underwater images with a remotely
operated vehicle that will help draw up a plan to salvage the
yacht.
Three crew members, including New Zealand captain James
Cutfield, are under investigation for manslaughter and
shipwreck. Being investigated does not imply guilt and does not
mean formal charges will follow.
Prosecutors have said their investigation will take time,
and will require the wreck to be pulled up from the sea bed. The
Bayesian is lying on its right side, at a depth of around 50
metres.
(Reporting by Wladimir Pantaleone, writing by Giselda Vagnoni,
editing by Alvise Armellini and Timothy Heritage)
((giselda.vagnoni@thomsonreuters.com; +39 06 85224210;))