Operation to recover Mike Lynch’s superyacht suspended after diver dies

Work to raise the Bayesian is put on hold as investigators seek to establish the cause of the 39-year-old Dutchman's death

Recovery operations to raise the late tech tycoon Mike Lynch's superyacht Bayesian from the seabed off Sicily have been suspended after a diver died during underwater work.

Rob Cornelis Maria Huijben, a 39-year-old Dutch diver, died on Friday while doing preparation work to cut the ship's mainmast. He was employed by the maritime company Hebo, whose barge arrived last week in Porticello, a fishing port near Palermo. The luxury vessel was anchored just off Porticello when it was struck shortly before dawn by a violent storm on 19 August 2024. It sank within seconds, killing seven people, including Lynch and his daughter Hannah.