Experts start complex recovery of a superyacht that sank off Sicily, killing 7

ROME (AP) — Marine salvage experts on Sunday began operations to recover from the seabed off Italy's Sicilian coast the British-flagged superyacht “Bayesian,” which sank last summer, killing U.K. tech magnate Mike Lynch, his daughter and five others.

Operations will be conducted by two floating cranes: “Hebo Lift 2,” which has remotely operated underwater equipment and vehicles, and “Hebo Lift 10,” one of the most powerful maritime cranes in Europe, which docked Saturday in the Sicilian port of Termini Imerese after arriving from Rotterdam.

The Italian coast guard is supervising operations and patrolling the security perimeter to ensure the safety of personnel working on the recovery. It said that the overall operation to retrieve the Bayesian could take from 20 to 25 days. After the wreck is brought ashore, judicial authorities investigating the sinking will examine it.

Prosecutors are investigating the captain and two crew members for possible responsibility in connection with the Aug. 19, 2024, sinking. 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.

The yacht’s 75-meter (246-foot) aluminum mast -- the second tallest in the world — will be cut to allow the hull, which lies 49 meters (160 feet) below the surface, to be brought to the surface more easily, said coast guard Capt. Nicola Silvestri.

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

With the help of nearby vessels, 15 of the 22 people were rescued in the initial phase, one body was recovered, and six others reported missing. The bodies of the six missing people were found following long and complex search efforts, which continued until Aug. 23.

The multi-purpose floating work barge Hebo Lift 2 monitors the stretch of sea off Porticello, near Palermo, Sicily, Italy, Sunday, May 4, 2025, where the British superyacht Bayesian sunk on August 19, 2024 as the operations for its recovery start. (AP Photo/Salvatore Cavalli)

The multi-purpose floating work barge Hebo Lift 2 monitors the stretch of sea off Porticello, near Palermo, Sicily, Italy, Sunday, May 4, 2025, where the British superyacht Bayesian sunk on August 19, 2024 as the operations for its recovery start. (AP Photo/Salvatore Cavalli)

Italian Coast Guard's Luigi Dattilo patrol boat, left, assists the multi-purpose floating work barge Hebo Lift 2 monitoring the stretch of sea off Porticello, near Palermo, Sicily, Italy, Sunday, May 4, 2025, where the British superyacht Bayesian sunk on August 19, 2024 as the operations for its recovery start. (AP Photo/Salvatore Cavalli)

The multi-purpose floating work barge Hebo Lift 2 monitors the stretch of sea off Porticello, near Palermo, Sicily, Italy, Sunday, May 4, 2025, where the British superyacht Bayesian sunk on August 19, 2024 as the operations for its recovery start. (AP Photo/Salvatore Cavalli)

Italian Coast Guard's Luigi Dattilo CP940 patrol vessel, right, assists the multi-purpose floating work barge Hebo Lift 2 monitoring the stretch of sea off Porticello, near Palermo, Sicily, Italy, Sunday, May 4, 2025, where the British superyacht Bayesian sunk on August 19, 2024 as the operations for its recovery start. (AP Photo/Salvatore Cavalli)

A Ukrainian drone strike killed one person and wounded three others in the Russian city of Voronezh, local officials said Sunday.

A young woman died overnight in a hospital intensive care unit after debris from a drone fell on a house during the attack on Saturday, regional Gov. Alexander Gusev said on Telegram.

Three other people were wounded and more than 10 apartment buildings, private houses and a high school were damaged, he said, adding that air defenses shot down 17 drones over Voronezh. The city is home to just over 1 million people and lies some 250 kilometers (155 miles) from the Ukrainian border.

The attack came the day after Russia bombarded Ukraine with hundreds of drones and dozens of missiles overnight into Friday, killing at least four people in the capital Kyiv, according to Ukrainian officials.

For only the second time in the nearly four-year war, Russia used a powerful new hypersonic missile that struck western Ukraine in a clear warning to Kyiv and NATO.

The intense barrage and the launch of the nuclear-capable Oreshnik missile followed reports of major progress in talks between Ukraine and its allies on how to defend the country from further aggression by Moscow if a U.S.-led peace deal is struck.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Saturday in his nightly address that Ukrainian negotiators “continue to communicate with the American side.”

Chief negotiator Rustem Umerov was in contact with U.S. partners Saturday, he said.

Separately, Ukraine’s General Staff said Russia targeted Ukraine with 154 drones overnight into Sunday and 125 were shot down.

Follow the AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine

This photo provided by the Ukrainian Security Service on Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, shows a fragment believed to be a part of a Russian Oreshnik intermediate range hypersonic ballistic missile that hit the Lviv region. (Ukrainian Security Service via AP)

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy, second left, listens to British Defense Secretary John Healey during their meeting in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Danylo Antoniuk)