RESCUERS searching for the six people thought to be trapped inside the sunken Bayesian yacht are sending in an underwater robot to help scour the wreck.
Today marks the third day of frantic efforts as fears grow for billionaire tycoon Mike Lynch and his teen daughter Hannah, among the four missing Brits.
Divers have been hampered by time crunches, narrow entrances and floating debris on the boat as they battle to get inside the cabins where they believe the six people are.
The 184ft Bayesian sunk was struck by a twister-like waterspout during extreme weather early on Monday morning and sank some 164ft to the bottom of the sea.
Rescuers, struggling to get inside the wreck, cut a hole in the hull of the yacht on Tuesday and were able to reach the living room but not the cabins.
Their desperate efforts are made harder by time limits, with each diver only able to hunt for 10 minutes when they go under.
As the coastguard is deployed off the coast of Porticello Harbour near Palermo in Sicily today, officials are sending in a remote-controlled robot to assist, Giornale Di Sicilia reports.
Several remotely operated devices are being sent down to the seabed because they can last longer than the divers and rescuers, according to the BBC.
Fifteen people were rescued from the doomed boat as it sank, with the yacht chef later found dead and six still missing.
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Design engineering and mechanical lecturer Dr Jean-Baptiste Souppez, from Aston University, told Mail Online that divers “may be looking for a banging noise at regular intervals”.
He even compared the Bayesian wreck to the doomed Titan submarine which imploded last year, saying the same technique was used by divers working to find those who went missing then as well.
But Dr Souppez added: “Whether air pockets formed on the Bayesian is simply impossible to predict.”
Meanwhile specialist cave divers, possibly including those from the UK’s Marine Accident Investigation Branch who were sent to help, are working from the opening they made inside the vessel.
Some had to smash a hole in the 3cm-thick porthole window on Tuesday to get into the boat.
Patrol boats and helicopters are also at the scene assisting with the search.
The Italian coastguard has vowed not to give up until it finds the six people feared dead inside the sunken yacht.
Spokesman Vincenzo Zagarola said of the missing six yesterday: “We think they are still inside the boat, that is our very hard idea.
“Of course, we do not exclude that they are not inside the boat, but we know the boat sank quickly.
“We suppose that the six people missing may not have had time to get out of the boat.”
It comes as officials have launched an investigation into the tragedy to establish whether crew on the boat are criminally liable.
One expert at the scene in Sicily told reporters an early focus would be on whether the access hatches into the vessel were closed before the tornado struck.
Luca Mercalli, president of the Italian Meteorological Society, also said that, in light of the weather warnings, the crew should have woken the guests and given them life jackets.
Prosecutors will also examine whether measures such as the use of yacht’s retractable keel, which adds extra stability and acts as a counterweight to the large mast, were deployed.
Ambrogio Cartosio, the chief prosecutor of Termini Imerese, and his team are expected to begin interviewing the 12 survivors.
They will also gather evidence from emergency workers, divers, fire personnel and Coast Guard.
