Divers found 4 bodies in Mike Lynch's sunken superyacht
ALBERTO PIZZOLI via Getty Images
- Four bodies were found in the shipwreck of a luxury superyacht off Sicily's coast.
- Six people, including British tech tycoon Mike Lynch, are missing.
- Two bodies were discovered in the hull behind two mattresses, and two others inside the yacht.
Divers searching the shipwreck of tech tycoon Mike Lynch's superyacht have found the bodies of four missing passengers.
The 183-foot Bayesian superyacht was carrying 22 people when it sank during stormy weather near Porticello, Palermo, on Monday.
Fifteen people were rescued, including Lynch's wife, Angela Bacares. The body of Recaldo Thomas, the vessel's chef, was found shortly after the yacht sank.
Lynch, his 18-year-old daughter Hannah, Clifford Chance lawyer Chris Morvillo, his wife Neda, Morgan Stanley's International chair Jonathan Bloomer, and his wife Judy remain missing.
Two bodies, one of which is that of a "very powerful man," were found in the hull of the boat behind two mattresses, La Repubblica said.
Another two were found inside the wreck of the Bayesian yacht, Sicily's civil protection agency told the BBC.
They have not yet been named.
Italian authorities are investigating the exact cause of the sinking while search crews continue to look for the missing passengers.
Italy's Coast Guard said it deployed a remotely operated robot to scan the seabed and take underwater pictures and videos to reconstruct the events for the Prosecutor's Office.
Reuters has published images showing rescue personnel carrying what appears to be a green body bag off the port of Porticello, near the Sicilian city of Palermo:
REUTERS/Louiza Vradi
The search and rescue operation for the six people missing has been ongoing for three days since the 183-foot superyacht capsized.
A spokesperson for the local fire department told The Independent that the search is "complex," adding that divers operate in 12-minute underwater shifts.
Italian news agency Ansa reported that the vessel capsized when a sea tornado, or water spout, hit the area during sudden storms.
It cited witnesses saying that the boat's mast broke while it was anchored in the storm, causing it to lose balance and capsize.
Lynch is one of the UK's leading tech entrepreneurs, having founded the software company Autonomy, which was sold to Hewlett-Packard for $11 billion.
The sale resulted in a legal battle, with Lynch acquitted on fraud charges in the US in June.
According to reports, Lynch was celebrating the acquittal on the yacht trip before it capsized.
Parlemo's municipal authorities and Italy's Coast Guard didn't immediately respond to Business Insider's request for comments.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.