5 bodies recovered from Mike Lynch’s family yacht off Sicily as questions mount over luxury vessel’s sinking

Rome — Divers recovered the body of a fifth victim of the Bayesian superyacht wreck Thursday morning, Sicily Civil Protection Chief Salvo Cocina confirmed to CBS News. One person remained missing inside the 184-foot luxury yacht four days after it sank off the coast of Palermo, Sicily, in a severe thunderstorm. 

On Wednesday, four bodies were retrieved from the Bayesian, which was on a 90 degree angle on the seafloor at a depth of over 160 feet. The vessel’s position and items that moved around inside the ill-fated yacht have made recovery efforts slow and hazardous.

Italian authorities have not officially identified the remains recovered thus far from the Bayesian, which belonged to the wife of British tech magnate Mike Lynch. Lynch’s wife, Angela Bacares, was among the 15 survivors of the sinking on Monday, but he and his 18-year-old daughter Hannah were among the six people left missing.

Questions as to how the state-of-the-art boat could have sunk so quickly have mounted steadily since the accident. 

Italian media were reporting Thursday that, after questioning survivors and witnesses, Italian prosecutors had opened an official investigation into a possible “culpable shipwreck.” No individuals had been named as potential suspects.