On Monday, search efforts continued for six individuals, including British tech entrepreneur Mike Lynch, who were reported missing after their luxury yacht was struck by a tornado and sank near Sicily, resulting in one fatality among the 22 people aboard.
The yacht encountered the tornado early in the morning while it was anchored close to Porticello port on the Mediterranean island, as stated by a representative from Italy’s Coast Guard.
Among the missing are four British nationals and two Americans, according to the Coast Guard.
CNN received information from a source indicating that Lynch, the founder of the major software company Autonomy, was on the yacht. His wife, Angela Bacares, was among those rescued. This source remained anonymous as they were not cleared to speak with the media.
Rescue operations led to the saving of fifteen individuals, and a child was urgently flown to a pediatric hospital in Palermo. In total, eight people were admitted to hospital, the local mayor’s office reported. The body of one individual was discovered on the yacht’s hull, as confirmed by the Coast Guard.
The occurrence coincided with a small waterspout, a type of tornado, which formed in the area on Monday morning, as noted in a report from the European Severe Weather Database. The region also experienced severe storms the previous evening, resulting in heavy rainfall in parts of Sicily.
The Coast Guard had previously issued warnings about the potential for strong winds due to the storms affecting Southern Italy on Sunday.
Charlotte, 35, a survivor, recounted to the Italian news agency ANSA her struggle to keep her one-year-old daughter, Sofia, safe during the ordeal, describing how she briefly lost her in the sea before securing her amidst the tumultuous waves.
The yacht’s captain also survived the incident, per the Coast Guard spokesperson.
Named “Bayesian” and registered under the British flag, the 56-meter yacht had a crew and passenger list predominantly from Britain, alongside individuals from Anglo-French, New Zealand, Ireland, and Sri Lanka backgrounds.
Italy’s fire brigade reported that divers had reached the submerged yacht at a depth of 49 meters (160 feet) and helicopters were deployed to aid in the search effort.
A nearby boat’s captain described having to start his engine to maintain control during the storm, only to realize afterwards that the “Bayesian” had disappeared.
A team of four inspectors from the UK’s Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) is set to arrive in Palermo for a preliminary investigation, according to a source familiar with the operations who spoke to CNN anonymously.
Lynch, noted for transforming research from Cambridge University into Autonomy, Britain’s largest software company, has been a prominent figure in tech and an advisor to the British government on technology issues, despite facing legal challenges following the sale of his company to Hewlett-Packard (HP) for $11 billion in 2011. Recently, he was acquitted of fraud charges in San Francisco. Ownership records reveal that the yacht is owned by Revtom Limited, a company registered in the Isle of Man, with Bacares listed as the owner in the latest annual return.
