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Fifth body found in Sicily yacht wreck, after four bodies brought to shore; six people now confirmed dead

Five bodies have been found in the search for several people missing after a yacht sank off the Sicily coast, bringing the total number of dead to six. 

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Search efforts are in their third day, after the captain was reportedly questioned by Italian prosecutors over the sinking.

Six bodies have been found after the luxury vessel went down off the coast of Sicily in the early hours of Monday, with one person still unaccounted for.

Depth of the wreckage

Marco Tilotta, a diver who has been coordinating the search and rescue, said teams have been working continuously since Monday but conditions below the water have been "prohibitive".

The British-flagged superyacht is still largely intact on the seabed, but the 50m depth to which it sank makes it difficult to access.

The depth is far deeper than most recreational divers are qualified to reach and requires special precautions.

This mean divers can only spend around 12 minutes under the water at a time - with a maximum of 10 minutes of actual search time.

This is in part to help avoid decompression sickness - also known as the "bends" - which can occur when divers stay underwater for long periods and ascend too quickly.

"The longer you stay, the slower your ascent has to be," says Simon Rogerson, the editor of SCUBA magazine.

As well as the pressure at this depth, divers have to battle the cold and dark water conditions.

To try to overcome this, a tag-team method is being used to swap divers in and out.

Entering the yacht

Reaching the wreckage is only the beginning of the difficulties posed to divers.

The 56-metre-long vessel is currently lying on its right side, meaning there are few points of entry. Divers can also see nothing inside the yacht from the outside.

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