British superyacht that sank off Sicily killing 7 is to be raised this weekend

MILAN (AP) – The British superyacht that sank off Sicily last August killing seven is scheduled to be lifted from the seabed this weekend, after the removal of its 72-meter (236-foot) mast, the salvage company heading the operation said Wednesday.

The cutting down of the Bayesian’s mast allowed the hull to be brought to a nearly upright position, accelerating the recovery schedule by about a week.

The British-flagged superyacht sank in August, killing U.K. tech magnate Mike Lynch, his daughter and five others.

The vessel is to be lifted from a depth of 50 meters (164 feet) by a powerful maritime floating crane barge on Saturday, weather permitting, and is expected to be brought to port on Monday, TMC Marine said in a statement. The mast, meanwhile, was left on the seabed for future removal.

Lifting the 56-meter (184-foot) Bayesian requires the installation of eight main steel lifting straps, along with four previously installed, the company said.

During the recent operations, salvage crews removed a life raft and deck furniture, which were brought to the port. TMC has previously recovered suspected debris from the seabed using a remote-controlled submersible.

Marine salvage experts began the operation in early May to recover the superyacht, but the operation was temporarily halted after a diver’s death a few days later. A new recovery plan was approved last week.

British investigators in an interim report issued last month said that the yacht was knocked over by “extreme wind” and couldn’t recover. The report stated that the Bayesian had chosen the site where it sank as shelter from forecast thunderstorms. Wind speeds exceeded 70 knots (81 mph.) at the time of the sinking at 4:06 a.m. on Aug. 19 and “violently” knocked the vessel over to a 90-degree angle in under 15 seconds.

Italian authorities are conducting a full criminal investigation.

Billionaire entrepreneur Lynch, 59, and his daughter Hannah, 18, were among the dead when the Bayesian sank. Fifteen people survived. The boat trip was a celebration of Lynch’s acquittal in a fraud case in the U.S. in June. Fifteen people survived the accident.