Italian special forces divers have recovered potentially crucial video equipment from the wreck of the Mike Lynch superyacht that could explain how it sank.

The Bayesian going down off the coast of Sicily last month resulted in seven deaths, including those of the British tech tycoon and his 18-year-old daughter Hannah.

The divers, from an Italian navy unit equivalent to Britain’s Special Boat Service, recovered video surveillance systems, computers and hard drives that will be sent to specialised labs, a source close to the investigation told Reuters.

It is hoped that if they were recovered intact, the equipment may help investigators find out what happened on the night of the sinking.

It is believed the yacht was hit by a meteorological phenomenon known as a downburst, which can pack as much punch as a mini tornado.

The six elite divers, deployed at the request of prosecutors who are investigating the sinking, are from a special forces unit called COMSUBIN. They used a hyperbaric chamber that allowed them to make repeated dives of up to 40 minutes.

The other victims of the Aug 19 tragedy were the ship’s Antiguan-Canadian chef, Recaldo Thomas, Morgan Stanley International bank chairman Jonathan Bloomer, his wife Judy Bloomer, Clifford Chance lawyer Chris Morvillo and his wife Neda Morvillo.

Fifteen people, including Mr Lynch’s wife, survived and were rescued by a nearby yacht.

The bodies of the seven victims have now been flown back to their home countries by private jet, according to Italian media reports.

Post-mortem examinations were conducted last week.

The jets took off from Palermo airport, to the west of where the yacht went down, according to Il Giornale di Sicilia newspaper.

James Cutfield, 51, the New Zealand skipper of the Bayesian, is under investigation for multiple manslaughter and causing a deadly shipwreck, along with two British crew members: Tim Parker Eaton, 56, and Matthew Griffiths, 22.

Under the Italian legal system, being placed under investigation does not imply guilt and does not necessarily mean that charges will be brought.

The Bayesian will be raised from the seabed and brought to shore as part of the investigation into how it sank within 16 minutes of being hit by the storm.

It is lying at a depth of 165ft, about half a mile off the fishing town of Porticello.