Superyacht sinks latest: Fifth body found in search today - six people now confirmed dead (2024)

Karsten Borner, the captain of a boat that came to the Bayesian's aide, has described the moment he came across the life raft containing survivors.

The 69-year-old told Sky News he had been busy trying to secure his own vessel when the violent storm hit when he noticed the Bayesian had disappeared behind him.

"We saw a flickering light and it turned out to be the life raft," he said.

"There were 15 people inside, with some injured and one baby."

The people "stepped on" to his vessel where he "took care of them".

He added: "We gave them dry clothes, blankets, tea and coffee.

"I was busy talking to the coastguard to get them an ambulance and to send a message to search and rescue."

Those involved in the search and rescue operation looking for bodies should receive mental health support, an expert has told Sky News.

Divers have been working tirelessly since Monday morning to find the passengers unaccounted for following the sinking of the Bayesian.

Since then, six bodies have been found, with one person still missing.

"There's been a lot of focus on the physical risks involved with diving for the vessel," says Matthew Schanck, chair of the Maritime Search and Rescue Council.

"We've talked about debris and we've talked about the complex layout, but the lasting impacts on everybody involved is going to be on the mental health and we hope that the support is going to be there.

"And I'm sure it will be for the emergency responders and also for the people who have survived and what is obviously been a very, very traumatic experience."

Searches have finished for the day and will resume tomorrow, the head of Sicily's civil protection agency has told the PA news agency.

Salvatore Cocina confirmed earlier that five bodies have been found today, but only four recovered.

One person remains missing.

A shipbuilding expert has said the Bayesian superyacht which sunk on Monday is among the "safest" available.

Giovanni Costantino is the chief executive of The Italian Sea Group, which now owns the firm that previously built the yacht.

He told Sky News this week's disaster off the coast of Sicily has put him "in a state of sadness on the one hand and of disbelief on the other".

He said: "Being the manufacturer of Perini [boats] I know very well how the boats have always been designed and built."

"The sailing ships, it is well known, are the safest in the most absolute sense," Mr Constantino added.

"First of all, because they have very little surface compared to a yacht facing the wind. Second, with the structure, the drift keel... they become unsinkable bodies."

The Bayesian sunk in the early hours of Monday morning off Palermo following a violent storm.

Investigators looking into the sinking of the Bayesian must work through evidence "methodically and meticulously", says the managing director of a maritime consulting group.

The UK's Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) has already confirmed it is investigating the incident.

James Wilkes, a maritime investigator, told Sky News the investigation into the deaths of passengers will take time.

"The key thing for the investigators is to work methodically and meticulously through the evidence that they are able to get and make sure they're not missing something or not over interpreting something," he said.

Five bodies have been found today, bringing the number of confirmed deaths to six.

"They'll want to expedite it because if bodies are being recovered of British nationals, then it is very likely that an inquest will be opened into their deaths in the UK," added Mr Wilkes.

"There is no benefit to anybody rushing it. We need to arrive at the right conclusions with as little supposition and ambiguity as possible so that we actually make yachts safer in the future and actually understand what happened in detail."

Search and rescue teams have been working hard since Monday morning to find those unaccounted after the sinking of the Bayesian.

Specialists divers and experts have been called in, with coastguard helicopters and underwater remotely operated vehicles deployed to help.

Sky News correspondent Laura Bundock has been taking a closer look at the how the recovery operation unfolded...

A fifth body has been found today in the search for survivors of the sunken superyacht

The head of Sicily's civil protection agency Salvatore Cocinasaid four bodies have been recovered and that efforts to bring a fifth to shore are "ongoing".

It brings the number of confirmed deaths to six, after the body of the yacht's on-board chef was recovered shortly after the incident on Monday.

One person remains missing.

ByAshna Hurynag, news correspondent

The crowd on the harbourside has been growing since lunchtime.

News that cave divers from Naples and Rome had joined the search came with more attention and interest.

The search had entered its third day, and conservations were turning to fear about a lack of oxygen for those on board the sunken yacht.

Radios were heard crackling across the water where a makeshift temporary search and rescue "centre" has been constructed.

The white coastguard vessel and the search and rescue cream and red boat were coming in from the search site.

As they docked, two divers dressed in orange wetsuits on the back of the boat lifted the first body bag.

The sight causing the crowd opposite to fall silent. The poignancy of the sombre moment bringing some watching on to tears.

Some looked away, whilst others filmed on their phones.

The moment many had feared was unfolding before their eyes as the rescue mission only minutes ago quickly turned to recovery.

The crowd watched on as another body was brought ashore too.

A spontaneous guard of honour seemed to form as each body was brought to the harbourside - police officers, firefighters and search and rescue officials side by side, some with bowed heads - a moment of silence and respect.

After hours of searching, this operation is coming to a close.

The former commander of the UK's amphibious taskforce has disagreed with the view of some experts that the superyacht was the victim of a "black swan event".

The term is used to refer to a high-impact, rare incident that is difficult to predict, but is often seen in retrospect as having been inevitable.

It's thought the Bayesian sunk after it was struck by a tornado over the water - known as a waterspout - which caused it to capsize.

"I think it's quite interesting that a lot of people are saying this is a black swan event," Rear Admiral Chris Parry told Sky News.

"It isn't really. You get about 500 of these sorts of events in the Mediterranean every year," he added, referring to the waterspouts.

"I've been studying the Mediterranean for the best part of 50 years, and they're quite commonplace, and they're associated with certain, atmospheric, conditions."

Rear Adm Parry added: "They normally happen in around September and October in increasing in numbers, but because of warming sea levels, they're happening more and more in August now.

"Although this is a very unlucky event, in fact, they are predictable at certain times of the year."

Emergency service staff and others involved in search and rescue operations have formed a "guard of honour" as bodies are brought ashore, says our correspondent Ashna Hurynag.

Four bodies, which have not yet been identified, were found in the wreck of the Bayesian this afternoon.

It's unclear how many have been recovered, but those that have been brought to shore have been loaded onto an ambulance and driven away from the port.

"As each body has been brought ashore - two that we have seen so far with our own eyes - we are seeing almost a guard of honour forming," says Hurynag.

"Those emergency services and personnel are lining the port where they have been conducting their thorough work and bringing the body that's being recovered, loading that body onto a local ambulance, and we're seeing the ambulances being taken in convoy away from the scene."