Mike Lynch yacht: Two bodies found during search in Sicily

According to reports, specialist divers found two bodies inside the sunken yacht on Wednesday afternoon.

The head of Sicily’s civil protection agency Salvatore Cocina confirmed the two bodies had been found in the yacht which sank.

He said there will be an investigation in due course, but the priority was to find those who are still missing.

A green body bag was taken back to the port of Porticello where dozens of emergency services staff were waiting.

The Italian coastguard has been searching the area (Image: PA)

Suffolk tech tycoon Mike Lynch and his 18-year-old daughter Hannah were among the six missing people after the £14 million luxury boat sunk on Monday morning.

Reuters and local media have not reported the names or the sex of the two bodies that were found. 

Local Italian media has said that the bodies were seen behind two mattresses. 

The wreckage of the Bayesian is resting on the seabed at a depth of 50m. 

The coastguard carrying out searches (Image: Jonathan Brady/PA)

Earlier today Dr Jean-Baptiste Souppez, a senior lecturer in mechanical, biomedical and design engineering at Aston University, had earlier said the next 24 hours are "crucial" to find any survivors trapped inside the wreck.

He said: "The speed at which the vessel sank and the fact that it remains intact and on its side could favour the formation of small air pockets inside. 

"But whether air pockets formed on the Bayesian is simply impossible to predict."

Twenty-two passengers and crew were on board the yacht when it began to sink while 15 people, including Dr Lynch's wife Angela Bacares, were rescued after escaping on a lifeboat.

The boat trip was believed to be in celebration of Dr Lynch's acquittal in a US fraud case relating to the sale of his firm Autonomy to Hewlett-Packard.

More to follow.