By Agency Reports
Two bodies recovered from the wreckage of the sunken Bayesian yacht have been confirmed as those of Mike Lynch and his daughter Hannah.
Sicily civil protection chief Salvo Cocina told The Telegraph that two other bodies have been found and are now being recovered by divers.
Mr Cocina added: “On behalf of myself and my colleagues, I would like to express my deepest sympathy to the families of the victims and express our condolences to them at this difficult time”.
Diving teams were seen this afternoon taking a green body bag back to the port of Porticello where dozens of emergency services staff were waiting.
They are the second and third victims of the shipwreck to be found after the remains of the yacht’s cook, Recaldo Thomas, was located shortly after the vessel sank.
The bodies were found inside one of the vessels cabins between two mattresses.
Fire crews from the Vigili del Fuoco said they have been accessing the vessel through natural entrances, without making openings.
Remotely controlled underwater vehicles are being used, with naval units and cave divers also taking part in the search, the Italian Coastguard has said.
The captain of Mike Lynch’s superyacht, which sank off the coast of Sicily in the early hours of Monday morning, is a “very good sailor”, his brother has said.
James Cutfield, 51, was on Bayesian, the British tech tycoon’s yacht, when it went down in a fierce storm off Porticello, near Palermo.
Mr Cutfield, originally from North Shore, Auckland, New Zealand, was described as a “well-respected” lifelong seafarer by his brother Mark.
Rescue crews were seen unloading a body bag from one of the ships searching the remains of the sunken superyacht.
The green body bag was taken back to the port of Porticello where dozens of emergency services staff were waiting.
Divers have entered the sunken superyacht Bayesian after breaking a window as part of the search for survivors.
The coast guard and firefighting service resumed their search for the six missing passengers at 8am local time on Wednesday.
The team broke through a three centimetre pane of glass on the side of the yacht yesterday and entered the hull, using special jacks produced by a locksmith in Porticello.
Firefighter spokesman Luca Cari said divers had reached the lounge area of the yacht.
Divers have been frustrated by the short 12 minute turnaround working at a depth of 48 metres and have spoken about the challenges of dealing with narrow corridors and floating debris obstructing their way. They are also using remotely operated vehicles to help them in the search.
Italian authorities are now investigating whether hatches left open by crew members caused the superyacht to sink.
The captain of the sunken Bayesian was “questioned for more than two hours” by prosecutors, according to reports.
James Catfield, 51, the captain of the yacht was questioned by prosecutors from the Termini Imerese Public Prosecutor’s Office yesterday after the vessel sank on Monday morning, Corriere della Sera reported.
An investigation into the shipwreck is underway and Mr Catfield was interviewed as authorities try to reconstruct events preceding the incident.
Prosecutors are expected to interview other survivors as part of the investigation.
It comes as Italian authorities are investigating whether hatches left open by crew members caused Mike Lynch’s superyacht to sink.