Eerie Video Shows Divers Searching Inside Sunken Sicily Yacht as Investigation Into What Happened Continues

Mar. 15, 2025

Divers jump into the sea near Sicily to take footage of the wreck of the ‘Bayesian.'.Photo:HANDOUT/Vigili del Fuoco/AFP via Getty

HANDOUT/Vigili del Fuoco/AFP via Getty

As questions remain about what caused aluxury yacht to sink off the coast of Sicilyin August,killing seven, new video shows divers searching the wreckage.

In the eerie clip, divers can be seen exploring what was once the cabin of the yacht, using flashlights to look inside various control panels and open doors. Another moment in the footage showed debris from the sunken ship floating away as the divers attempted to take a look around.

The ‘Bayesian.'.PERINI NAVI PRESS OFFICE/HANDOUT/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock

PERINI NAVI PRESS OFFICE/HANDOUT/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock

A dive crew returned to the wreck of the luxury yacht last month asa part of Italian investigators’ search for more clues to to learn the 183-foot vessel sank so quickly, PEOPLE previously reported.

The divers were looking to retrieve the video surveillance systems that were on the yacht when it went down as well as “any other photographic or video devices present,” a source told PEOPLE at the time.

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Officials have determined that some of the victims drowned, though further examination and testing is ongoing to see if other victimsmay have suffocated inside an air pocket in the sinking yacht.

In addition to Thomas, the victims are Chairman of Morgan Stanley InternationalJonathan Bloomerand his wife,Judy Bloomer; New York City-based lawyerChristopher Morvilloand his wife, jewelry designerNeda Morvillo; British tech businessmanMike Lynchand his daughterHannah.

Angela Bacares, Lynch’s widow and Hannah’s mom, was one of the passengers who survived.

More images of the ‘Bayesian.'.PERINI NAVI PRESS OFFICE/HANDOUT/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock

A source close to the survivors previously told PEOPLE that the passengerswere celebratingafter Lynch was acquitted in June in a financial fraud trial in the U.S. that was related to the 2011 sale of his software company Autonomy to Hewlett Packard. (A separate caseremains ongoing.)

Mike Lynch.Simon Dawson/Bloomberg/Getty

Simon Dawson/Bloomberg/Getty

“The dynamics aren’t clear — lightning, mini tornado, water spout, it’s not clear exactly what happened,” one person close to the search efforts previously told PEOPLE. “The most likely hypothesis is that the cause was indeed a tornado that began at land and then sped out off coast and became a waterspout at sea with a speed of more than [180 miles] per hour, to the point that it managed to practically sink the ship whilst causing minimum damage to both the mast and the hull.”

The captain of the yacht is also under investigation in connection withpotential manslaughter and negligent shipwreck, although no charges have been filed.

source: people.com