THE recovery of Mike Lynch’s superyacht has been halted after a specialist diver died on the operation.

Brit tech tycoon Lynch died along with his daughter and five others died when the Bayesian sank in a storm off the Sicilian coast last August.

And now the boat has claimed another life – a 39-year-old specialist diver from the Netherlands working to haul the wreckage off the seabed.

David Wilson, a representative from the UK-based TMC Marine, expressed, “We regretfully confirm the unfortunate passing of a professional diver who was engaged in underwater operations earlier today.”

He added that authorities had started an investigation and all parties were fully cooperating.

The local prosecutor’s office has also sealed off the area where the diver died.

Sea salvage experts began work in early May to refloat the ship from the seabed off the Sicilian port of Porticello

The brought in one of the most powerful marine cranes in Europe from Rotterdam.

The objective was to dismantle the £14million superyacht’s 75-meter (246-foot) aluminum mast, known as the world’s second tallest, to facilitate raising the hull to the water’s surface.

It was thought initially the operation would take from 20 to 25 days, but now it is unclear when the Bayesian’s tricky recovery could be resumed.

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