'The missing six': Search resumes for British tech tycoon and daughter, 18, after superyacht sinks off Sicilian coast
20 August 2024, 06:56 | Updated: 20 August 2024, 09:55
The search has resumed off the coast of Sicily for missing British tech tycoon Mike Lynch and his 18-year-old daughter, who are among six people feared dead following the sinking of his superyacht.
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The British-flagged luxury yacht, named Bayesian, capsized at about 5am local time off the coast of Palermo on Monday after being hit by a tornado.
It's since been revealed the trip was intended to be a 'victory' celebration, after Mr Lynch was acquitted of fraud charges in the US.
Four of the missing passengers are British, authorities have confirmed, alongside two Americans, Italian news website la Repubblica confirmed.
Sicily's civil protection agency confirmed that Mr Lynch's 18-year-old daughter, Hannah, was also among those missing.
It's now been revealed that Jonathan Bloomer, the chairman of Morgan Stanley International, is among the missing according to Italian authorities.
Mr Bloomer's wife, as well as Lynch's attorney Christopher Morvillo and his wife Nada, are said to be the other three missing passengers.
Fifteen people including Mr Lynch's wife, Angela Bacares, were rescued, according to local media.
It comes just days after Lynch's co-defendant in the tech mogul's US fraud trial, Stephen Chamberlain, was “fatally struck” by car.
Overnight, rescue divers' efforts to get inside the sunken superyacht, which is resting on the sea bed 50m below the surface, have been hampered by 'obstructions inside the vessel' according to authorities.
Emergency services have said the dives that have so-far been attempted were "unsuccessful", with Italy’s fire brigade, Vigili del Fuoco, giving an update.
"The first inspection [by] cave divers inside the wreck was unsuccessful," he said to waiting media.
"Limited access to the bridge, with difficulties due to the presence of furniture that obstructs the passage," he added in a translated statement.
A body, believed to be that of the vessel's cook, has been found and police divers are trying to reach the hull of the ship, which is resting at a depth of 50 metres.
In total, the yacht was believed to be carrying 10 crew members and 12 passengers.
It comes as local fishermen joined the search effort on Monday.
"There were two sailboats half a mile away from the harbour with their anchors at sea," Fabio Cefalu told Italian media.
"After 10 minutes we saw a flare in the sky, we waited about 10 minutes to see the intensity of the tornado and we went out to sea.
"We were first to give rescue but we found no one at sea, we only found cushions and the remains of the boat."
Coast guards on patrol boats and firefighters attempted to rescue survivors, including a one-year-old baby, who was grabbed by her mother, Charlotte Golunski, 36, who “held her afloat" to stop her from drowning.
The child's mother said her daughter is now being treated in the Di Cristina hospital in Palermo.
The trip aboard the boat was said to be a "celebration", with Lynch reportedly hailing he had "got his life back" following his aquital.
Lynch was cleared of wire fraud after being extradited to the US over the £8.6 billion sale of tech company Autonomy to Hewlett-Packard in 2011.
Recounting how she protected her baby as the vessel sunk, Charlotte said: “I held her afloat with all my strength, my arms stretched upwards to keep her from drowning.
“It was all dark. In the water I couldn’t keep my eyes open. I screamed for help but all I could hear around me was the screams of others.”
Speaking to local news website la Repubblica, she added that her husband, James, had suffered minor injuries and was taken to Civico hospital in Palermo.
Charlotte said she had reassured her husband that their child was ok and the pair promised to hug each other again soon.
Mike Lynch was acquitted in the US earlier this year in a multi-billion pound fraud case. The yacht was owned by Mr Lynch, according to reports.
Filippo Tripoli, the mayor of Bagheria in Sicily, said: "This morning, off the coast of Santa Flavia, a foreign boat sunk due to bad weather, 15 people recovered and seven missing.
"Already all the police forces and emergency services are operational and our Red Cross volunteers are present.
"CCTV from Monday morning showed the fierce storm, including water spouts, that battered the area.
Umbrellas, plant pots, tables and chairs were sent flying in the strong winds.
The owners of local restaurant Baia Santa Nicolicchia said: "We have no memory of anything like this in our area."
The co-defended and former colleague of missing British tech tycoon Lynch died after being hit by a car just days before the Bayesian sank, reports claim.
Stephen Chamberlain was hit by a vehicle on Saturday, before dying in hospital, his lawyer said in a statement.
Chamberlain, the former vice president of finance alongside chief executive Lynch at tech company Autonomy, is said to have been hit while out running in Cambridgeshire.
Chamberlain's lawyer Gary Lincenberg told MailOnline: "Our dear client and friend Steve Chamberlain was fatally struck by a car on Saturday while out running.
"He was a courageous man with unparalleled integrity. We deeply miss him.
"Steve fought successfully to clear his good name at trial earlier this year, and his good name now lives on through his wonderful family."
Chamberlain left Lynch's software firm Autonomy in 2012.
