The recovery of superyacht off Sicily is suspended after a diver dies

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ROME (AP) — The recovery of a superyacht that sank last year off the Sicilian coast was temporarily halted Saturday following the death of a specialist diver while working underwater, 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. The luxury vessel has since been 49 meters (160 feet) underwater.

British-based TMC Marine said in an emailed statement that the suspension of work “is necessary for the investigations to be completed and to allow all salvage and associated teams to mourn the tragic loss of a highly respected salvage diver” on Friday.

The Palermo Port Authority, which is overseeing the investigation, declined to comment on the cause of death when contacted by The Associated Press.

Marcus Cave, head of naval architecture and a TMC Marine director, said the salvage team was providing “full cooperation to the authorities in their investigations.”

The local prosecutor's office has 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 off the Sicilian port of Porticello, bringing in one of the most powerful maritime cranes in Europe.

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 salvage operation would take 20 to 25 days.

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.

Investigators are focusing on how a sailing vessel deemed “unsinkable” by its manufacturer, Italian shipyard Perini Navi, sank while a nearby sailboat remained largely unscathed.