Work to recover tech tycoon Mike Lynch’s sunken superyacht has paused after a diver died.

Jonathan Bloomer, 70, and his wife Judy, 71, from Sevenoaks, were among the seven people who died when the 56 meter sailing boat sank off the coast of Sicily last summer.

Inquest proceedings in the UK are looking into the couple’s deaths, as well as those of Mr Lynch, 59, and his daughter Hannah, 18.

It was previously confirmed that recovery work would begin this month after Italian authorities approved a detailed salvage plan.

But that work has now been put on hold after a man, believed to be a diver for Dutch firm SMIT Salvage, died during underwater work on Friday, the PA news agency reports. An investigation will look into what happened.

The vessel Bayesian was due to be raised from the seabed within two weeks.

Marcus Cave, of British firm TMC Marine, which is overseeing salvage efforts, said today (May 10): “Yesterday’s tragedy has been felt by all involved in this project, and the priority right now is the family of this expert, specialist diver, who was well liked and indeed loved by all involved in the project.

“This pause in operations will enable thorough investigations to be completed into this tragic accident. It will also help us to mourn and regroup.

“We are extremely saddened by yesterday’s tragedy. Our thoughts are with everyone affected. Salvage operations at sea always carry an element of risk.

“The salvage team is providing full cooperation to the authorities in their investigations.”

The 56-metre (184ft) Bayesian sank off the coast of the Italian island on August 19.

About 70 specialist personnel had been mobilised to the fishing village Porticello from across Europe to work on the recovery operation, which began earlier this week.

Inquest proceedings in the UK are looking at the deaths of Mr Lynch and his daughter, as well as Morgan Stanley International bank chairman Jonathan Bloomer, and his wife, Judy, who were all British nationals.

A coroner in Suffolk, where Mr Lynch resided, confirmed that a full inquest into the deaths of four people in the Bayesian yacht disaster in the Mediterranean cannot proceed until separate criminal investigations in Britain and Italy have concluded.

The others who died in the sinking were US lawyer Chris Morvillo and his wife Neda Morvillo, and Canadian-Antiguan national Recaldo Thomas, who was working as a chef on the vessel.

Fifteen people, including Mr Lynch’s wife, Angela Bacares, were rescued.

The tycoon founded software giant Autonomy in 1996 and was cleared in June last year of carrying out a massive fraud over the sale of the firm to Hewlett-Packard (HP) in 2011.

The boat trip was a celebration of his acquittal in the case in the US.