Reuters/Guglielmo MangiapaneBelow cloudy skies and tough waters, emergency operations proceed in Porticello, the place a luxurious yacht vacation turned to horror.
As a Coast Guard helicopter circled overhead, divers have been setting out from the harbor to proceed the seek for the Bayes’ six lacking passengers. at.
Luca Cari of the Italian Hearth and Rescue Service stated that given the depth, divers may solely keep underwater for 10 minutes earlier than surfacing, limiting their work.
Divers educated to work in confined areas have been flown in from Rome and Sardinia. Robust winds made the state of affairs harder.
Vincenzo Pepe/Getty PicturesDivers discovered no physique on the bridge (the room the place the captain controls the vessel) and have entered the lounge, the place they’re working to realize entry to the remainder of the yacht.
The six lacking passengers are anticipated to be trapped within the cabin and have been doubtless sleeping when the boat capsized.
The lacking embody British tech entrepreneur Mike Lynch and his 18-year-old daughter Hannah; his lawyer Mike Corvillo and his spouse Neda; and Morgan Stanley Worldwide President Jonathan Bloomer and his spouse Judy.
The physique of a yacht cook dinner has been discovered. His identification has not been confirmed.
Mr Lynch’s spouse, Angela Bacares, was considered one of 15 folks rescued once they climbed right into a life raft and lit a flare, attracting the eye of one other captain.
The tragedy started on Sunday evening when a violent storm hit the ship right here.
That triggered a waterspout — a tornado-like column of swirling clouds and water — that engulfed Bayes early Monday morning. Witnesses stated it snapped the 76m (249ft) aluminum mast and shortly engulfed it.
Current intense warmth and robust winds reportedly prompted climate warnings earlier than the capsize. Temperatures within the Mediterranean have been 30 levels Celsius – above regular – growing the probability of utmost climate occasions.
Among the many survivors have been a number of British nationals who have been staying at an area lodge, however journalists have been denied entry.
Amongst them was Charlotte Golunski, who clung to her one-year-old daughter for pricey life on the water and instructed how she heard screams throughout her.
Ed Llewellyn, the British ambassador to Italy, instructed me that he visited survivors and heard their ache.
“This highlights what a determined and distressing state of affairs they discover themselves in,” he stated.
“My coronary heart, and I imagine the guts of all the nation, is with them. We’ll do every thing we will to assist on this very troublesome and heartbreaking state of affairs.
He confirmed that marine investigators despatched by the UK have arrived in Sicily and are working with their Italian counterparts to conduct a preliminary evaluation.
Native prosecutors are additionally investigating the circumstances of the tragedy and whether or not any steps may have been taken to mitigate it, together with closing the ship’s cabin doorways in a single day.
Yacht captain James Catfield from New Zealand instructed Italian media {that a} sudden waterspout turned a luxurious superyacht right into a dying entice. “We simply did not see it coming,” he stated.
