Recovery of Sunken Sicilian Superyacht Suspended After Diver Death

The recovery operation of the superyacht 'Bayesian,' which sank off the coast of Sicily last August killing UK tech magnate Mike Lynch, his daughter, and five others, has been temporarily suspended following the death of a 39-year-old specialist diver involved in the salvage work. The diver, believed to be Dutch and working for SMIT Salvage, died while cutting the yacht's 75-meter mast, a preliminary step to raising the vessel from 49 meters underwater. The British company TMC Marine, overseeing the salvage, stated that work stoppage is necessary to allow investigations by Italian authorities and to mourn the diver's loss. Prosecutors in Italy are investigating the incident and have sealed off the area where the diver died; they are also probing the captain and crew over the yacht's sinking. The salvage operation had mobilized about 70 specialists from across Europe and was expected to take 20 to 25 days. Inquests into the deaths of the British victims continue in the UK, while Italian authorities pursue manslaughter and negligence charges related to the sinking.