A tragic turn of events occurred during the recovery operation for the sunken luxury yacht Bayesian. Sadly, the historic mission cost a diver his life. As fate would have it, on August 19, the yacht sank. Even then, the salvage crew was hard at work cutting free its extravagant rigging and that astonishing 72-meter mast, one of the tallest in the world. Mike Lynch and his daughter Hannah were two of the seven who tragically lost their lives when the boat sank. This particular tragic incident had a full complement of 22 people on board.
The Bayesian, a well-known yacht on the international sailing circuit, had just left the Sicilian port of Milazzo. Little did they know, just five days later, that vessel would tragically sink. On its way to be salvaged, the vessel experienced a sudden and extreme change in weather. This led to a fateful sinking in the waters just off of Porticello, outside of Palermo.
Fifteen people were able to get out after the collision with the help of one lifeboat. Among them were one yr old infant and Angela Bacares the widow of Mike Lynch. The rest of the crew was in the same horrible position. Search and rescue efforts began immediately, but they were only partially effective.
The recovery operation is still ongoing, involving some 400 specialist personnel flown in from all over Europe. TMC Marine, a British marine consultancy, is managing the operation. Dutch-based companies Hebo and SMIT Salvage are responsible for leading it. There are plans to raise the Bayesian to the surface later this month and set it back on its base.
As salvage workers continue to do everything they can to pull the valuable yacht into safety. They’ve used steel slings to hold it steady while they remove its 27000RNA extensive rigging. A 39-year-old Dutch national diver, who worked for a specialist salvage and recovery company, has sadly died in the incident. This loss adds to the immeasurable grief that makes this tragedy so painful.
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