Final moments of the Bayesian yacht as it is battered by a storm before sinking

20 August 2024 , 16:47

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The distant lights of the Bayesian were seen one final time before disappearing (Picture: CCTV)

Newly released CCTV footage has shown the moment the Bayesian superyacht was engulfed by a suspected waterspout.

Six passengers onboard the boat, including tech tycoon Mike Lynch, 59, his daughter Hannah, 18, and chairman of Morgan Stanley international Jonathan Bloomer, remain missing after the yacht sank early Monday morning.

The blurry footage shows the lights of the distant boat seen from a marina as rain batters the vessel.

Suddenly, the lights disappear, and the boat is no longer visible. Local Giornale Di Sicilia said: ‘In just sixty seconds – says the owner of the villa – you can see the ship disappear.

‘Of about twenty cameras installed in the house, only one was not disturbed by the wind and rain. You can clearly see what is happening.

‘There was nothing that could be done for the boat. It disappeared in a very short time.’

A total of 15 other passengers, including Mr Lynch’s wife Angela Bacares, have been rescued so far while one person, the boat’s chef, has been found dead.

Emergency responder Luca Cari told Italian daily Giornale Di Sicilia divers can stay underwater for a maximum of 12 minutes, so the searches are being carried out for 10 minutes per dive.

According to reports, Mr Lynch and the group were on holiday celebrating after Mr Lynch was acquitted of fraud in June following a high-profile court case over the company’s sale.

The Italian Coastguard believes Mike Lynch and five other missing people may still be inside the sunken yacht, a spokesman said.

Vincenzo Zagarola told the PA news agency this was the working theory of officials on Sicily because it is believed the boat sank quickly and search and rescue efforts by sea and air have so far delivered no results.

He said: ‘We think they are still inside the boat, that is our very hard idea.

‘Our search and rescue activity by sea and air has gone on for around 36 hours.

‘Of course, we do not exclude that they are not inside the boat, but we know the boat sank quickly.

‘We suppose that the six people missing may not have had time to get out of the boat.’

Elizabeth Baker