Luxury superyacht disaster: What we know

The bodies of five of six people missing after a luxury superyacht sank off the coast of Sicily have been discovered by Italian divers.

Four bodies were brought ashore in Porticello, with authorities reporting they had spotted a fifth inside the vessel which sank after it was caught up in bad weather on Monday.

The identities of those recovered have not been confirmed, but billionaire tech tycoon Mike Lynch and his daughter were among the missing.

A sixth person remains unaccounted for.

The luxury vessel – named the Bayesian – was moored half-a-mile off the coast of Porticello when it sank around 5am local time on Monday.

The cruise was reportedly a celebration of Mr Lynch’s recent acquittal of fraud charges in the United States.

– Who is involved and why were they there?

Authorities have so far discovered five missing bodies, with one person still unaccounted for.

Technology tycoon Mike Lynch and his 18-year-old daughter Hannah – who had recently finished her A-Levels and was bound for Oxford – have been missing since Monday.

Also unaccounted for were Jonathan Bloomer, chairman of Morgan Stanley and insurance company Hiscox, and his wife, Judy , a respected psychotherapist; as well as Chris Morvillo, a lawyer from Clifford Chance and part of the legal team representing Mr Lynch, and his wife, Neda, who reportedly runs a luxury jewellery line.

The body of a man was recovered near the yacht, believed to be that of chef Recaldo Thomas, a Canadian-Antiguan man working onboard.

Fifteen of the 22 people onboard – including Mr Lynch’s wife, Angela Bacares  – were rescued after escaping onto a lifeboat.

The Telegraph reported Mr Lynch had guests from the legal firm that represented him and his own company to join him on the voyage.

Among others rescued were Charlotte Golunkski and her one-year-old daughter Sophie. The brave mother kept her daughter alive by holding her over her head while she was in the water.

– How did the boat sink?

Italian authorities have reported bad stormy conditions that caused the yacht to sink, but investigations into the exact circumstances of the tragedy remain ongoing.

It is believed the luxury vessel may have been hit by a water spout, a rotating column of wind that forms over a body of water and is often likened to a tornado.

According to the US National Ocean Service, tornadic weather spouts have the “same characteristics” as a land tornado and are often accompanied by severe thunderstorms, “high winds and seas, large hail, and frequent dangerous lightning”.

– What search and rescue efforts are underway?

Rescue divers are expected to re-enter the sunken vessel on Thursday in an attempt to bring the fifth person’s body to the surface.

Fire crews from Italy’s fire service Vigili del Fuoco said they had been accessing the vessel through natural entrances, without making openings.

Remote underwater vehicles are being used, with naval units and cave divers also taking part in the search.

Inspections of the yacht’s internal hull took place on Wednesday morning.

“If you manage to get inside, you understand there is a world of objects. So, getting inside and descending into the compartment below from the stairs that are narrow and going into all of the cabins is a really hard and difficult job,” fire department diver Marco Tilotta said per Reuters news agency, according to the BBC.

– What will authorities investigate?

Authorities will now attempt to piece together the circumstances surrounding the ship’s sinking.

According to The Guardian, an investigation will be carried out under the supervision of public prosecutor of Termini Imeresi.

The local port authority has opened a separate investigation to determine whether the crew took safety measures.

A team of four British inspectors from the Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) also arrived in Porticello to look at the site of the sinking.

The MAIB is looking into what happened because the yacht Bayesian was flying a British flag, it is understood.

The ship’s captain, James Cutfield, was reportedly quizzed by authorities for two hours as they began questioning all crew members.

Speaking to New Zealand media, Mr Cutfield’s brother Mark said his sibling was a “very good sailor” with eight years of experience working abroad on luxury yachts.

– Who is Mike Lynch?

Mike Lynch, the British billionaire and tech entrepreneur, owes his fame and fortune to software firm Autonomy , which he sold to Hewlett-Packard for billions in 2011.

Hailing from Suffolk, he graduated with a PhD from the University of Cambridge. Mr Lynch is married to Angela Bacares, with whom he shares two daughters.

The father-of-two has a reported net worth valued at around  £852 million, according to the Independent.

His business ventures led him to once be dubbed “Britain’s Bill Gates” but also landed him in legal trouble.

Autonomy’s sale was wrapped in fraud claims, and he faced civil action in the UK before being extradited to the United States to face criminal charges.

In June, he was cleared of 15 fraud charges after allegations he inflated Autonomy’s worth.

– What do we know about the Bayesian?

The 56-metre sailing boat was launched by Italian shipbuilder Perini Navi in 2008, according to the company website.

It was once called the Salute, but was later renamed after Lynch’s PhD thesis on statistical theory by mathematician Thomas Bayes.

Media reports suggest the yacht’s owner is listed as Revtom Limited, a company owned by Mr Lynch’s wife.

– Who was Stephen Chamberlain and how is he connected to the situation?

Stephen Chamberlain was an associate of Mike Lynch and stood trial for fraud alongside him after Autonomy’s controversial sale.

Days before the yacht disaster, Mr Chamberlain died after being hit by a car while out jogging.

Mr Chamberlain, Autonomy’s former VP of Finance, was cleared of all charges by a San Francisco court in June.

Relatives of Mr Chamberlain said in a tribute released through police that he was a “much-loved husband, father, son, brother and friend”.

“He was an amazing individual whose only goal in life was to help others in any way possible,” his family said.