Written by Vladimir Pantaleoni
PALERMO (Reuters) – Italian navy divers have recovered video surveillance equipment from the luxury yacht that sank off Sicily last month, killing British technology mogul Mike Lynch and six others, a source close to the matter said on Friday.
The recovery of the equipment could help explain why the British-flagged submarine Baysian sank during a sudden and severe storm off the port of Porticello, near Palermo, on August 19, an event that has baffled maritime experts.
Four guests and a crew of chefs died when the 56-metre yacht capsized and sank within minutes. Fifteen people, including Lynch’s wife, survived and were rescued by a nearby ship, which was undamaged.
Highly specialised divers are combing the wreckage on behalf of the public prosecutor investigating the shipwreck.
Parts of the ship’s deck, computers, video surveillance systems, hard drives and other equipment were recovered late Thursday, the source said. The electronics will be sent to specialized laboratories outside Sicily to be examined and data may be recovered, the source added.
The divers were using a hyperbaric chamber that allowed them to make repeated dives of up to 40 minutes, said Daniele Governale, a coast guard official in Palermo.
The Coast Guard took underwater photos using a remotely controlled vehicle, which will help in developing a plan to rescue the yacht.
Three crew members, including New Zealand captain James Cutfield, are under investigation for manslaughter and shipwreck. The investigation does not mean they will be convicted or formally charged.
Prosecutors said their investigation would take time and would require recovering the wreckage from the seabed. The Bayezid is on its starboard side, at a depth of about 50 metres.
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