A super luxury yacht carrying 22 people sank near the coast of Sicily, Italy on Monday (August 9). Currently, one person has been confirmed dead, six are missing, and fifteen have been rescued. Among the missing individuals is British tech entrepreneur Mike Lynch.
Coast guard boats and firefighters rescued 15 people from the distressed sailboat named “Bayesian,” including a one-year-old baby, according to a report by The Guardian.
A spokesperson for the Italian fire rescue service, Luca Cari, stated that one body was found near the sunken ship, while six others remain unaccounted for.
A source familiar with the situation revealed to Agence France-Presse that Lynch was one of the four Britons reported missing, while his wife, Angela Bacares, has been rescued.
Lynch, aged 59, received the OBE (Order of the British Empire) in 2006 for his contributions to business. In 2011, he was appointed as a member of then-Prime Minister David Cameron’s Science and Technology Committee. He became a fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering in 2008 and the Royal Society in 2014.
In the mid-90s, he co-founded one of the UK’s most prominent tech companies, Autonomy, which was acquired by HP for $11 billion in 2011. Lynch faced 15 fraud charges related to this acquisition in 2018.
After a prolonged legal battle, he was extradited to the US from the UK and stood trial in San Francisco starting in March. In June of this year, the jury acquitted him of all charges. Throughout the trial, Lynch defended himself in the dock, denying any wrongdoing and accusing HP of mishandling the integration of the two companies.
Following the acquittal, Lynch expressed his anticipation of returning to the UK, to his beloved home with his family and innovating in his field.
A spokesperson for the UK Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office (FCDO) stated, “Following the incident in Sicily, we are in contact with local authorities and stand ready to provide consular assistance to affected British citizens.”
Of the eight survivors, including the one-year-old baby, who were all transferred to local hospitals, their conditions are reported to be stable.
Doctors at Di Cristina Hospital in Palermo, Sicily, reported that the child’s mother “used all her strength to keep her daughter afloat, arms outstretched upwards, preventing her from drowning.”
“It was pitch black at the time,” said Charlotte, a British citizen. “I couldn’t open my eyes in the water. I shouted for help, but all I could hear were screams around me.”
The yacht had not only British occupants but also citizens from the US, Canada, Sri Lanka, New Zealand, and Ireland.
According to the Italian Coast Guard, the 56-meter long yacht “Bayesian” carrying 10 crew members and 12 passengers, sank near Porticello after a fierce storm around 5 am local time.
Divers are working to approach the sunken vessel, which is submerged at approximately 49 meters depth. The Prosecutor’s Office in Termini Imerese, under Palermo’s jurisdiction, is investigating the incident.
Equasis, a maritime data service company, stated that “Bayesian” is owned by Revtom, registered in the Isle of Man. The latest annual report submitted by the company to the Isle of Man Registration Office in April designated Lynch’s wife, Bacares, as the sole legal owner, registered at an address in London.
The Coast Guard noted that the yacht was built by the Italian shipyard Perini in 2008. Information from an online yacht specialty website indicates that the luxury yacht features an aluminum hull, with a maximum speed of 15 knots, accommodating 12 guests and a maximum of 10 crew members.
Data from the tracking application Vesselfinder shows that the yacht left the port of Milazzo in Sicily on August 14 and was last tracked east of Palermo on Sunday night, with its status listed as “anchored.”
Reports from local media suggest that the vessel was struck by a water spout. Water spouts are columnar vortexes similar to small tornadoes, formed by a rotating flow of air over water.
Some fishermen reported that they sighted a small water spout near the coast around 3:55 am. Shortly after, they observed distress signals allegedly launched from the ship. Upon approaching, they only found “scattered sailboat wreckage floating on the water.”
In recent days, Italy has been experiencing severe storms and heavy rains, following weeks of intense heat, resulting in significant losses due to floods and landslides in the northern regions.