British Tech Giant Mike Lynch Among Those Missing After Luxury Superyacht Sinks In Storm Off Sicily

ROME — British IT magnate Mike Lynch, his lawyer, and four other persons are among those missing when their luxury superyacht sank during a severe storm off Sicily early Monday, according to Italian civil protection and officials. Lynch’s wife and 14 others survived.

Lynch, who was acquitted in a major fraud trial in the United States in June, was one of six persons who went missing when their chartered yacht sank off Porticello when a waterspout, or tornado over the water, slammed the area overnight, according to Salvo Cocina of Sicily’s civil defense service.

One body was discovered, and police divers were attempting to reach the ship’s hull, which was at a depth of 50 meters (163 feet) off Porticello, near Palermo, where it was anchored.

British Tech Giant Mike Lynch Among Those Missing After Luxury Superyacht Sinks In Storm Off Sicily

The Italian coast guard said it had a crew of ten and twelve passengers. A sudden severe storm had pounded the area overnight, striking where the 56-meter (184-foot) British-flagged Bayesian had been anchored.

“They were in the wrong place at the wrong time,” said Cocina, noting that another superyacht nearby was less severely damaged and could rescue some of the 15 survivors.

The Bayesian was noted for its solitary 75-meter (246-foot) aluminum mast, illuminated at night just hours before it sank. It is listed for rent on online charter sites for up to 195,000 euros (about $215,000 per week).

One of the survivors, Charlotte, told Italian news agency ANSA that she had briefly lost grip of her 1-year-old daughter Sofia in the ocean before holding her up over the waves until a lifeboat inflated, and they were both rescued.

Eight of the fifteen persons rescued and brought to land at Porticello were hospitalized. According to Luca Cari, a spokesperson for the Italian fire rescue department, one death was discovered near the wreck, while six others remain missing.

Cari said that rescue workers had located the vessel and that deep-water police divers were attempting to gain entry to the hull. The activities, visible from shore, included helicopters and rescue boats from the Coast Guard, fire rescue, and civil protection services.

Fisherman Francesco Cefalu said he saw a flare from shore at 4:30 a.m. and immediately went to the site. However, by the time he arrived, the Bayesian had sunk, leaving only cushions, wood, and other belongings from the luxury floating in the sea.

“But for the rest, we didn’t find anyone,” he stated from the dock hours later. He stated that he immediately notified the coast guard and remained on the scene for three hours but found no survivors. “I think they are inside, all the missing people.”

He claimed he had gotten up early to check the weather to see if he could go fishing and that a violent waterspout had struck the yacht.

“It could be that the mast broke, or the anchor at the prow pulled it, I don’t know,” according to him.

British Tech Giant Mike Lynch Among Those Missing After Luxury Superyacht Sinks In Storm Off Sicily

According to the coast guard, seven people were not rescued: one crew member and six passengers.

According to Charter World and Yacht Charters, the yacht was built in 2008 by the Italian firm Perini Navi and can sleep 12 passengers in four double cabins, a triple, the master suite, and crew accommodations.

According to descriptions and images on charter sites, the vessel, which previously flew under the Dutch flag as Salute, has a clean, minimalist interior of light wood with Japanese touches designed by French designer Remi Tessier.

SOURCE | AP