Haunting photos show the wreckage of the doomed superyacht Bayesian being brought the surface months after it sunk during a freak storm off the coast of Sicily. The vast vessel’s billionaire tech entrepreneur owner Mike Lynch was killed in the tragedy as was his daughter Hannah and five others, including Morgan Stanley International bank chairman Jonathan Bloomer and his wife Judy.
Fifteen of those onboard, including Mr Lynch’s wife Angela Bacares survived. The captain and most the crew also made it to safety, except for the chef who tragically perished. A Dutch diver also lost his life last month during a preliminary operation to recover the the vessel.
A powerful maritime crane pulled up the luxury boat up on Saturday, with the hull seen covered in mud.
The boat emerged without its 72-metre which was removed and left on the seabed.
TMC Maritime, which is carrying out the salvage operation said this was done so the hull could be returned to an almost upright position that would allow it to resurface, Sky News reports. It is set to be collected at a later date.
The vessel’s main boom and anchor were previously retrieved from the ocean floor.
TMC Maritime said the British-flagged boat was slowly lifted from 50 metres down. The effort took place over three days with steel lifting straps, slings and harnesses used to secure it and pull it up, as per the outlet.
Italian authorities are carrying out a full criminal investigation into the sinking, which is thought to have occurred when the boat was pushed onto its side amid strong winds.
An interim report by British investigators put out last month said “extreme wind” knocked over the Bayesian, after which it wasn’t able to recover, as reported by The Independent.
The vessel had moved to the position where it sank as it sought shelter amid forecast storms, but was swiftly knocked over to a 90-degree angle as wind speeds rose above 81 mph.
Inquest proceedings in the UK are taking place investigating the deaths of Mr Lynch, his daughter and Mr and Mrs Bloomer all of whom were British nationals, as per Sky News.