Five bodies have been found by divers searching the wreck of the superyacht that sunk off the coast of Sicily.
Four bodies have been brought ashore and efforts to recover the fifth will continue tomorrow.
The body of the yacht’s chef, Recaldo Thomas, had been recovered already, the Italian coastguard confirmed to Sky News on Tuesday. Today’s discoveries bring the total number of confirmed dead to six.
Authorities are yet to confirm the identity of the bodies found on Wednesday. One person remains missing.
British tech billionaire Mike Lynch and his 18-year-old daughter were among those missing after the Bayesian went down as a result of being hit by a tornado on Monday morning.
Six were missing in total – with Morgan Stanley International chairman Jonathan Bloomer and US lawyer Chris Morvillo also unaccounted for, along with their wives, Judy Bloomer and Neda Morvillo.
Twenty-two people were on board the vessel, 15 of whom were rescued – including Briton Charlotte Golunski and her one-year-old daughter Sofia.
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Search and rescue operations are ongoing to find survivors of the accident.
Giovanni Costantino, the CEO of The Italian Sea Group, which owns the firm which built the yacht, said he had been left in “disbelief” at the news of the Bayesian sinking while anchored off the coast of Sicily.
“Being the manufacturer of Perini and knowing very well how the boats have always been designed and built,” he said, “and as Perini is a sailing ship… sailing ships are renowned to be the safest ever.”
He added their structure and keel made them “unsinkable”.
Image: Divers have been searching for survivors. Pic: AP
Image: Pic: AP
Divers involved in the search and rescue operation for the sunken Costa Concordia in 2013 have been called in to stretch the amount of time underwater to 20 minutes per dive. For the past two days, a major challenge for divers had been their limit of 12 minutes on each dive, including the time to go down and come back up.
But the Costa Concordia divers have cylinders containing particular micelles which allow for a longer dive.
Divers have been looking for survivors in the hope that some might be trapped in air pockets inside the ship, but experts believe the chances any are left alive are slim.
Divers from the local fire service have been entering the water with torches attached to their headgear at the site of the shipwreck on Wednesday afternoon.
A police boat was also at the scene, while a helicopter hovered overhead.
Image: Pic: PA
Dr Jamie Pringle, a reader in forensic geoscience at Keele University, told Sky News there have been cases where people have survived for about 60 hours in similar depths of water.
But he says they are “very rare” and the longer time goes on, the less likely it is they will be found alive.
Simon Boxall, a senior lecturer in oceanography at the University Of Southampton, said it is “fairly certain” they are still on board.
He said it is also possible they were thrown from the boat and into the sea, so a search of the surrounding waters will continue.
Image: Pic: Reuters
Sky News correspondent Ashna Hurynag reported that eight divers from across Italy had been working to find survivors.
In total, there are between 20 and 50 emergency personnel involved in the operation.
The Bayesian, a 56-metre (184ft) British-flagged yacht, went down in a storm early on Monday as it was moored a short distance offshore.
Prince Harry has denied having a fight with Prince Andrew after it was claimed “punches were thrown” between the pair in 2013.
The allegations appeared in excerpts from a new book on the Duke of York being serialised in the Daily Mail.
It claims a row started after Prince Andrew said something behind Harry’s back, with Andrew “left with a bloody nose” and the pair needing to be broken up.
It also claimed the Duke of York once warned his nephew about marrying Meghan and suggested it wouldn’t last long.
However, a spokesperson for the Duke of Sussex strongly denied the claims.
“I can confirm Prince Harryand Prince Andrew have never had a physical fight, nor did Prince Andrew ever make the comments he is alleged to have made about the Duchess of Sussex to Prince Harry,” a statement said.
They said a legal letter had been sent to the Daily Mail due to “gross inaccuracies, damaging and defamatory remarks” in its reporting.
The book – Entitled: The Rise and Fall of the House of York – is billed as the first joint biography of Prince Andrew and ex-wife Sarah Ferguson.
It’s said to be based on interviews with “over a hundred people who have never spoken before”.
He said his brother once knocked him to the floor amid a confrontation over Meghan’s “rude” and “abrasive” behaviour.
“It all happened so fast. So very fast,” Harry wrote in the book.
“He grabbed me by the collar, ripping my necklace, and he knocked me to the floor. I landed on the dog’s bowl, which cracked under my back, the pieces cutting into me.”
“I lay there for a moment, dazed, then got to my feet and told him to get out,” the prince added.
Harry claimed his brother wanted him to hit him back “but I chose not to”, and that William later returned and apologised.
The Duke Of Sussex has described his relationship with his family as extremely strained after he quit as a working royal and took legal action against the media, and over the removal of his UK police protection.
He claimed earlier this year the King wouldn’t speak to him and there had “been so many disagreements between myself and some of my family”.
Martin Lewis says motorists who were mis-sold car finance are likely to receive “hundreds, not thousands of pounds” – with regulators launching a consultation on a new compensation scheme.
The founder of MoneySavingExpert.com believes it is “very likely” that about 40% of Britons who entered personal contact purchase or hire purchase agreements between 2007 and 2021 will be eligible for payouts.
“Discretionary commission arrangements” saw brokers and dealers charge higher levels of interest so they could receive more commission, without telling consumers.
Image: Pics: PA
Speaking to Sky News Radio’s Faye Rowlands, Lewis said: “Very rarely will it be thousands of pounds unless you have more than one car finance deal.
“So up to about a maximum of £950 per car finance deal where you are due compensation.”
Lewis explained that consumers who believe they may have been affected should check whether they had a discretionary commission arrangement by writing to their car finance company.
However, the personal finance guru warned against using a claims firm.
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“They’re hardly going to do anything for you and you might get the money paid to you automatically anyway, in which case you’re giving them 30% for nothing,” he added.
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Who’s eligible for payout after car finance scandal?
Yesterday, the Financial Conduct Authority said its review of the past use of motor finance “has shown that many firms were not complying with the law or our disclosure rules that were in force when they sold loans to consumers”.
The FCA’s statement added that those affected “should be appropriately compensated in an orderly, consistent and efficient way”.
Lewis told Sky News that the consultation will launch in October – and will take six weeks.
“We expect payouts to come in 2026, assuming this will happen and it’s very likely to happen,” he said.
“As for exactly how will work, it hasn’t decided yet. Firms will have to contact people, although there is an issue about them having destroyed some of the data for older claims.”
He believes claims will either be paid automatically – or affected consumers will need to opt in and apply to get compensation back.
The FCA says you may be affected if you bought a car under a finance scheme, including hire purchase agreements, before 28 January 2021.
Anyone who has already complained does not need to do anything.
The authority added: “Consumers concerned that they were not told about commission, and who think they may have paid too much for the finance, should complain now”.
Its website advises drivers to complain to their finance provider first.
If you’re unhappy with the response, you can then contact the Financial Ombudsman.
Any compensation scheme will be easy to participate in, without drivers needing to use a claims management company or law firm.
The FCA has warned motorists that doing so could end up costing you 30% of any compensation in fees.
The FCA estimates the cost of any scheme – including compensation and administrative costs – to be no lower than £9bn.
But in a video on X, Lewis said that millions of people are likely to be due a share of up to £18bn.
The regulator’s announcement comes after the Supreme Court ruled on a separate, but similar, case on Friday.