Work to recover the late British tech tycoon Mike Lynch's sunken superyacht off the coast of northern Sicily has been paused following the death of a diver involved in the operations, the company leading the effort said on Saturday.

A diver who was working on preliminary operations to raise the late tech tycoon Mike Lynch’s sunken superyacht, Bayesian, has died during underwater work in Sicily. The 39-year-old Dutch diver died on Friday while working underwater in preparation to cut the ship’s mainmast.

The company overseeing the recovery of a superyacht that sank a year ago off Sicily says it will halt operations following the death of a specialist diver while working underwater.