Italian coastguard give grim verdict on finding Mike Lynch and other yacht passengers alive after four more bodies found in sunken wreckage

Earlier this afternoon, a source close to the matter said divers had found the bodies of two of the six passengers who were missing. These bodies have since been brought to shore.

Since then, an additional two bodies have been recovered from the wreck.

The identities of the four people found this afternoon have not yet been confirmed.

This means two passengers, onboard the luxury yacht owned by Lynch when it sank on Monday, remain missing.

One of the bodies belonged to a "heavily-built" man, the source said, while Italian newspaper La Reppublica reported that the corpses were seen behind two mattresses on board.

Rescue teams did not immediately give the names or the sex of the drowned people - who are the second, third, fourth, and fifth victims of the shipwreck to be found.

The body of the yacht's cook, Recaldo Thomas, was located shortly after the vessel sank.

Giving their verdict on finding the two people still unaccounted for, Italian rescue workers believe the chances of anyone still being alive are “minimal”.

A spokesman for the Italian coastguard, Vincenzo Zagarola, said: “We never say never. But [as] time goes by, the hopes that they might have survived inside the hull, if they were still in there, are minimal.”

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The search for survivors, potentially stuck inside air pockets in the wreck, had entered its third day on Wednesday, but the discovery of the two bodies has dashed hopes on whether specialist divers can find the four remaining passengers.

The six people still unaccounted for on day three had included Mike Lynch, his 18-year-old daughter Hannah, lawyer Chris Morvillo, his jewellery designer wife Neda, Jonathan Bloomer, a non-executive chair of Morgan Stanley International, and his wife Judy.

The wreck had been lying on its side around 50 metres below the water's surface - and the Italian fire department had called the investigation a "long and complex" operation.

The yacht's inside spaces were obstructed by furniture and debris, and scuba divers had fewer 10 minutes beneath the waves before needing to resurface.

Italy's coast guard had deployed a remotely-operated vehicle to scan the seabed and record underwater footage which it said could provide "useful and timely elements" for prosecutors looking into the disaster.

Other boats were still seen circling the area above the wreck on Wednesday afternoon, including one vessel administrated by Italy's financial guard, a militarised wing of its police force which deals with organised financial and drug crime.

Experts have been unable to explain how a large luxury vessel could have sunk within seconds, as recounted by witnesses and seen on CCTV footage - with a nearby yacht unharmed by the storm.

The Bayesian, which was owned by Lynch's wife, was built by Italian shipbuilder Perini in 2008 and last refitted in 2020. It had the world's tallest aluminium mast, measuring 72 metres, according to its makers.

Its captain James Cutfield, a 51-year-old New Zealander who survived the shipwreck, was a "very good sailor" and "very well respected" in the Mediterranean, his brother Mark told The New Zealand Herald.

Cutfield remains in hospital in Termini Imerese - where local prosecutors are administering an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the yacht's sinking.