Company halts the recovery of superyacht the Bayesian off Sicily after a salvage diver’s death

ROME (AP) - The recovery of a superyacht that sank a year ago off the Sicilian coast was temporarily halted Saturday following the death of a specialist diver while working underwater, a spokesman for the company overseeing the operation said.

U.K. tech magnate Mike Lynch, his daughter and five others died in August after a powerful storm slammed the Bayesian and water submerged the luxury vessel that had lain since at 49 meters (160 feet) below the surface.

"We are saddened to confirm the tragic death of a specialist diver while doing underwater work earlier today (Friday)," said David Wilson, spokesman for the British-based TMC Marine, in an emailed statement.

He also said authorities started an investigation and "all parties are offering their full cooperation."

The Palermo Port Authority, in charge of the investigation, declined to comment on the cause of the diver’s death when contacted by The Associated Press.

The local prosecutor’s office has also sealed off the area where the 39-year-old Dutch diver died, local media reported.

Marine salvage experts began work in early May to refloat the ship from the seabed off the Sicilian port of Porticello, importing one of the most powerful maritime cranes in Europe from Rotterdam.

The plan was to cut the yacht's 75-meter (246-foot) aluminum mast - the second tallest in the world - to allow the hull to be brought to the surface more easily. It was thought initially the operation would take from 20 to 25 days to salvage the yacht, but now it is unclear when the Bayesian's complex recovery could be resumed.

Dutch-based companies HEBO, a maritime services company from Rotterdam, and SMIT Salvage lead the salvage operation on site with support from Italian specialists.

The 56-meter (183-foot)-long, 473-ton yacht sank during what appears to have been a sudden downburst, or localized powerful wind from a thunderstorm that spreads rapidly after hitting the surface. Prosecutors are investigating the captain and two crew members for possible responsibility in the sinking.

In addition to Lynch and his 18-year-old daughter Hannah, Morgan Stanley International Chairman Jonathan Bloomer and his wife, Judy, attorney Chris Morvillo and his wife, Neda, and the ship's cook, Recaldo Thomas, died in the shipwreck.