- Identities of bodies not confirmed by authorities.
- Three bodies were brought ashore and taken to hospitals for identification.
- 22 people boarded a 56-metre-long boat that was hit by a storm before dawn.
PORTICELLO: Five bodies were found on Wednesday aboard the wreck of the yacht belonging to the wife of British technology magnate Mike Lynch, sources close to the rescue operation said.
Of the five bodies found, four were brought ashore.
Authorities did not immediately release the identities of the victims. Three of the bodies were brought ashore and taken to nearby hospitals for official identification. The fourth body was being brought ashore as evening fell.
Great Britain The Telegraph newspaper Two of the dead were reported to be Lynch and her 18-year-old daughter. Local authorities in Sicily declined to comment on the report.
The Bayesian, a 56-metre-long (184-foot) British-flagged superyacht, was carrying 22 people and was anchored off the harbour at Porticello when it was hit by a fierce storm before dawn on Monday.
Lynch, 59, was one of Britain's best-known technology entrepreneurs and had invited friends to join him on the yacht to celebrate his recent acquittal in a US fraud trial.
In addition to Lynch and her daughter, the other people missing after the disaster were Judy and Jonathan Bloomer, non-executive chairman of Morgan Stanley International; and Clifford Chance's lawyer, Chris Morvillo and his wife Neda Morvillo.
Specialist rescue teams have been searching inside the hull of the sunken yacht for two days. The victims are believed to have been trapped in the cabins, which have been extremely difficult to access, with divers only able to stay on the boat for eight to ten minutes before having to resurface.
Fifteen people managed to escape the yacht before it capsized in the pre-dawn storm, while the body of the chef on board, Canadian citizen-former Recaldo Thomas, was found near the wreck hours after the disaster.
The Bayesian lies on its side at a depth of about 50 m, apparently largely intact.
In addition to the diving equipment, the Coast Guard has deployed a remotely operated vehicle to scan the seafloor and take underwater photos and videos that it said could provide “useful and timely information” for prosecutors investigating the disaster.
