PALERMO, Italy (Reuters) -A diver died on Friday during preliminary operations to recover British tech tycoon Mike Lynch's superyacht from the waters off the coast of northern Sicily, local police said.
The 56-metre-long (184-foot) Bayesian was moored off the small port of Porticello, near Palermo, in August last year when it was likely hit by a downburst, a very strong downward wind, killing seven people, including Lynch and his daughter Hannah.
The accident happened on Friday while the diver was underwater in Porticello, police said, adding that the precise cause of death was still unknown.
The attempt to lift the yacht off the seabed is expected later this month and should help shed light on how a supposedly unsinkable vessel disappeared into the sea.
Italian news agencies reported that the diver was a 39-year-old Dutch national who worked for the Dutch specialist salvage company Hebo Maritiemservice.
The AGI news agency said the man was hit by a piece of metal as divers were cutting the boom - the horizontal pole attached to the vertical mast of the ship - from the wreck of the Bayesian.
Hebo was not immediately available for comment.
A spokesperson for TMC Marine, the UK-based marine consultancy leading the salvage effort, confirmed the death in a statement.
"The circumstances of the accident are currently being investigated by the authorities and all parties are offering their full cooperation. We are giving every support to the salvage team on site at this heartbreaking time and our thoughts are with the family of the deceased," the spokesperson said.
(Reporting by Wladimir Pantaleone. Additional reporting by Alvise Armellini. Writing by Claudia Cristoferi. Editing by Keith Weir and Mark Potter)
