Divers searching the wreck of a superyacht that sank off Sicily found the bodies of five passengers Wednesday and searched for one more as questions intensified about why the vessel sank so quickly when a nearby sailboat remained largely unscathed.

Rescue crews unloaded three body bags from rescue vessels that pulled into port at Porticello. Salvatore Cocina, head of the Sicily civil protection agency, said two other bodies had also been found in the wreckage for a total of five.

The discovery made clear the operation to search the hull on the seabed 50 meters (164 feet) underwater had quickly turned into a recovery one, not a rescue, given the amount of time that had passed and that no signs of life had emerged over three days of searching, maritime experts said.

The Bayesian, a 56-meter (184-foot) British-flagged yacht, went down in a storm early Monday as it was moored about a kilometer (a half-mile) offshore. Civil protection officials said they believed the ship was struck by a tornado over the water, known as a waterspout, and sank quickly.

Fifteen people escaped in a lifeboat and were rescued by a nearby sailboat. One body was recovered Monday 91裸聊视频� that of the ship91裸聊视频檚 chef, Recaldo Thomas, of Antigua.

Thomas was born in Canada, according to his cousin David Isaac, but would visit his parents91裸聊视频� homeland of Antigua as a child, moving permanently to the tiny eastern Caribbean island in his early 20s. Italian officials previously listed Antigua as the nationality of someone on board.

The fate of six missing passengers had driven the search effort, including British tech magnate Mike Lynch, his 18-year-old daughter and associates who had successfully defended him in a recent U.S. federal fraud trial.

Lynch91裸聊视频檚 spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment Wednesday.

Meanwhile, investigators from the Termini Imerese Public Prosecutor91裸聊视频檚 Office were acquiring evidence for their criminal investigation, which they opened immediately after the tragedy even though no formal suspects have been publicly identified.

Questions abound about what caused the superyacht, built in 2008 by Italian shipyard Perini Navi, to sink so quickly, when the nearby Sir Robert Baden Powell sailboat was largely spared and managed to rescue the survivors.

Was it merely the case of a freak waterspout that knocked the ship to its side and allowed water to pour in through open hatches? What was the position of the keel, which on a large sailboat such as the Bayesian might have been retractable, to allow it to enter shallower ports?

91裸聊视频淭here91裸聊视频檚 a lot of uncertainty as to whether it had a lifting keel and whether it might have been up,91裸聊视频� said Jean-Baptiste Souppez, a fellow of the Royal Institute of Naval Architects and the editor of the Journal of Sailing Technology. 91裸聊视频淏ut if it had, then that would reduce the amount of stability that the vessel had, and therefore made it easier for it to roll over on its side,91裸聊视频� he said in an interview.

The captain of the Sir Robert Baden Powell sailboat, which came to the Bayesian91裸聊视频檚 rescue, said his craft had sustained minimal damage 91裸聊视频� the frame of a sun awning broke 91裸聊视频� even with winds that he estimated reached 12 on the Beaufort wind scale, which is the highest, hurricane-strength force on the scale.

He said he had remained anchored with his engines running to try to maintain the ship91裸聊视频檚 position as the storm, which was forecast, rolled in.

91裸聊视频淎nother possibility is to heave anchor before the storm and to run downwind at open sea,91裸聊视频� Karsten Bornersaid in a text message. But he said that might not have been a viable option for the Bayesian, given its trademark 75-meter (246-foot) tall mast.

91裸聊视频淚f there was a stability problem, caused by the extremely tall mast, it would not have been better at open sea,91裸聊视频� he said.

Yachts like the Bayesian are required to have watertight, sub-compartments that are specifically designed to prevent a rapid, catastrophic sinking even when some parts fill with water.

91裸聊视频淪o for the vessel to sink, especially this fast, you are really looking at taking water on board very quickly, but also in a number of locations along the length of the vessel, which again indicates that it might have been rolled over on its side,91裸聊视频� Souppez said.

Italian coast guard and fire rescue divers continued the underwater search in dangerous and time-consuming conditions. Because of the wreck91裸聊视频檚 depth, which requires special precautions, divers working in tag teams could only spend about 12 minutes at a time searching.

The limited dive time is designed in part to avoid decompression sickness, also known as the 91裸聊视频渂ends,91裸聊视频� which can occur when divers stay underwater for long periods and ascend too quickly, allowing nitrogen gas dissolved in the blood to form bubbles.

91裸聊视频淭he longer you stay, the slower your ascent has to be,91裸聊视频� said Simon Rogerson, the editor of SCUBA magazine. He said the tight turnaround time suggests the operation91裸聊视频檚 managers are trying to limit the risks and recovery time after each dive.

91裸聊视频淚t sounds like they91裸聊视频檙e operating essentially on no decompression or very tight decompression, or they91裸聊视频檙e being extremely conservative,91裸聊视频� he said.

Additionally, the divers were working in extremely tight spaces, with debris floating around them, limited visibility and oxygen tanks on their backs.

91裸聊视频淲e are trying to advance in tight spaces, but any single thing slows us down,91裸聊视频� said Luca Cari, spokesman for the fire rescue service. 91裸聊视频淎n electric panel could set us back for five hours. These aren91裸聊视频檛 normal conditions. We91裸聊视频檙e at the limit of possibility.91裸聊视频�

91裸聊视频淚t91裸聊视频檚 not a question of entering the cabin to inspect it,91裸聊视频� he added. 91裸聊视频淭hey91裸聊视频檝e arrived at the level of the cabins, but it91裸聊视频檚 not like you can open the door,91裸聊视频� he said.

The Italian coast guard said they had reinforced their dive teams and were using underwater remote-controlled robots, which can stay out for six or seven hours at a time and record the surroundings.

The lack of any signs of life and the recovery of bodies led outside experts to conclude that the search was now a recovery effort and investigation to determine how the tragedy had unfolded.

91裸聊视频淚 think the fact that there91裸聊视频檚 been quite a lot of diving presence around the vessel and that they haven91裸聊视频檛 been able to pick up any signs of life inside the vessel, is, is unfortunately, not a particularly good sign,91裸聊视频� said Souppez.