Video footage obtained by Giornale Di Sicilia shows a view from Porticello, Sicily facing the sea as the storm unfolds and the moment the Bayesian superyacht went under the waves.
Video captured the power of the ferocious storm off the Sicilian coast responsible for sinking the Bayesian, a U.K.-flagged superyacht on Monday and potentially claiming the lives of multiple people onboard.
The 180-foot yacht owned by Angela Bacares, wife of British tech tycoon Mike Lynch, was anchored off the coast of Porticello, near Palermo, when a severe thunderstorm quickly rolled in. According to the Italian Department of Civil Protection, rain and thunderstorms with strong wind gusts were forecast over parts of Sicily through the weekend.
A new video from CCTV footage in Porticello, facing the sea, shows the storm unfolding and the moment the Bayesian went down.
At the start of the 1-minute, 30-second clip, the bright and tall mast of the Bayesian is seen in the background, with smaller boats in the foreground.
Lights of the Bayesian mast seen in the background as a storm unfolds in Porticello, Sicily on Aug. 19, 2024.
(GIORNALE DI SICILIA)
A few seconds into the video, the rain picks up. After 20 seconds, the wind is so ferocious that it can be heard howling on the video, and a torrential downpour obscures the view in front of the camera. By 1 minute, the lights of the ship’s mast are no longer visible.
Multiple Italian officials and news outlets have reported seeing a waterspout during the storm and when the Bayesian was in distress.
Another video captured on CCTV from a cocktail bar in Porticello shows the violent storm tossing around patio furniture. Within a few minutes, strong gusts of wind and rain blew over plants, pushing tables and chairs from the camera’s view.
CCTV footage from the BAIA bar in Porticello is time-stamped at just after 4 a.m. local time on Monday, around the same time when the Bayesian yacht sank and a strong storm passed through the area.
The video from the Baia cocktail bar was recorded around 4 a.m. when the Bayesian was seen sinking off the coast.
Fifteen people were rescued from the sea and one person was confirmed dead.
On Tuesday, Italian Coast Guard specialized teams were able to access the yacht, now 160 feet beneath the sea. Search crews are looking for the bodies of six people, including Lynch and his 18-year-old daughter Hannah. Two Americans and two Canadians are also among the missing.