Fourth corpse retrieved from submerged luxury yacht as authorities scrutinize wreckage's origins
A team from CNN witnessed Italian authorities transferring a deceased individual from a rescue boat to ambulances at the Sicilian port of Porticello early on a Thursday morning.
The director of Sicily's civil protection agency, Salvatore Cocina, informed CNN on the previous day that the fifth body had been discovered on the yacht, although it had not been retrieved or identified yet.
Following the discovery of four bodies by divers on Wednesday, the identities of those individuals remain unknown.
The British-registered ship, housing 22 passengers on board, sank prematurely on Monday after its towering mast split in half during an intense storm. Fifteen people were successfully rescued, with six initially presumed missing, and one body found on Monday – believed to be that of the ship's chef, Ricardo Thomas.
The six individuals who went missing include British business magnate Mike Lynch and his 18-year-old daughter, Hannah Lynch; Morgan Stanley International executive Jonathan Bloomer and his wife, Judy Bloomer; and prominent American lawyer Chris Morvillo and his wife, Neda Morvillo.
Since the boat went down, rescue teams have been grappling with challenging conditions to access the wreck, which lies approximately 50 meters (150 feet) beneath the water's surface. Divers have managed to spend only around 12 minutes at the site before having to resurface due to the conditions.
Preliminary reports suggest that a small water vortex, which developed over the area the boat was in Sicily on Monday morning, might have contributed to the yacht's sinking.
After four days, Italian authorities are still attempting to comprehend why the 56-meter (184-foot) luxury yacht sank so swiftly. Separately, the United Kingdom's Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) also initiated an investigation, with four inspectors scheduled to visit Palermo to conduct a preliminary examination of the site on Wednesday.
Water vortexes, which constitute spinning columns of air that emerge over water or progress from land towards water, often accompany extreme winds, rough seas, hail, and perilous lightning. While they are typically found in tropical oceans, they can manifest almost anywhere. Vortexes in Sicily, however, are relatively infrequent events.
Questionable security camera footage disseminated on Wednesday appears to depict the moments leading up to the vortex sinking the yacht. As heavy rain fell on the port, a blurry video displays the boat being subjected to the tempest, rocking fiercely from side to side before ultimately capsizing.
This is an evolving situation and will be updated accordingly.
Europe expressed its concern over the incident, with several international organizations offering assistance to the Italian authorities in their search and rescue efforts. The world is watching as the investigation into the cause of the yacht's sinking continues.
