British tech tycoon Mike Lynch and several others are missing after his luxury superyacht sank in a fierce storm off the coast of Sicily on Monday, Italian civil defence and authorities said. Lynch’s wife and 14 others survived.
Salvo Cocina of Sicily’s civil protection agency said Lynch, who was acquitted in a major fraud trial in the United States in June, was one of six people still missing after their rented boat sank near Porticello when an overwater tornado hit the area overnight.
A body has been recovered, and police divers are trying to reach the ship’s hull, which lies at a depth of 50 metres (163 feet) off Porticello, near Palermo, where the ship was anchored.
The Italian coast guard said it had a crew of 10 and 12 passengers. A sudden, severe storm lashed the area overnight and washed up right where the 56-metre (184-foot) long British-flagged Bayesian ship was anchored.
“They were in the wrong place at the wrong time,” Kokina said, adding that another superyacht nearby was not as badly damaged and was able to rescue some of the 15 survivors, including Lynch’s wife, Angela Bacares.
The Bayesian was known for its 75-meter (246-foot) mast, the world’s tallest made of aluminum, and had been lit up at night just hours before it sank. Online charter sites offer it for rent for up to 195,000 euros (about $215,000) per week.
One of the survivors, identified as Charlotte Emslie, said she was briefly unable to hold on to her 1-year-old daughter Sofia in the water but then managed to hold her above the waves until a lifeboat blew air and they both could be pulled to safety, Italian news agency ANSA quoted the mother as saying. The father, James Emslie, also survived, Cocina reported.
Of the 15 people rescued and brought ashore at Porticello, eight were hospitalised while the others were taken to hotels. One body, believed to be that of the cook, had been found near the wreck, but six others remained missing and were believed to be inside the hull, Italian fire service spokesman Luca Cari said.
Carey said rescue teams had located the ship and police divers deployed in deep water were trying to reach the hull. Coast Guard, fire and Civil Defence Service helicopters and rescue boats were involved in the operation, which was visible from the shore.
Fisherman Francesco Cefalu said he saw a flashing light off the coast at around 4:30 a.m. and rushed to the spot, but by the time he reached there, the Bayesian ship had sunk and only cushions, wood and other items from the superyacht were left floating in the water.
“But for the rest of the people, we didn’t find anybody,” he said hours later from the port. He said he immediately alerted the coast guard and remained on site for three hours, but found no survivors. “I think they’re inside, all the missing people.”
He said he had gotten up early in the morning to check the weather to see if he could go fishing, and assumed a sudden body of water had hit the boat.
“It could be that the mast broke, or the anchor on the foremast pulled it off, I don’t know,” he said.
Kokina reported that the crew and passengers were from a variety of countries: in addition to Britain, passengers and crew were from Antigua, France, Germany, Ireland, Myanmar, the Netherlands, New Zealand and Spain.
Lynch, once dubbed Britain’s technology czar, was acquitted in June of fraud and conspiracy charges relating to Hewlett Packard’s $11 billion acquisition of his company Autonomy Corp.
The acquittals followed an 11-week criminal trial in San Francisco that included intense scrutiny of HP’s 2011 acquisition of Autonomy, a business software firm founded by Lynch.
The fraud allegations mark a dramatic turnaround in fortunes for an entrepreneur once called Britain’s Bill Gates — a title he appeared to be living up to when he made $800 million from the sale of Autonomy.
The acquittal exonerated Lynch, who had denied any wrongdoing and described HP as a technologically ruinous company.
In a statement released after the verdict, Lynch said: “I am looking forward to returning to the UK and getting back to the work I love most: my family and innovating in my sector.”
Built by Italian company Perini Navi in 2008, the yacht can accommodate up to 12 passengers with four double cabins, one triple and a master suite, as well as accommodation for crew, according to Charter World and Yacht Charters.
According to descriptions and photos on charter sites, the ship was formerly named Salute when it flew under the Dutch flag. It has a sleek, minimalist interior of light wood with Japanese accents, designed by French designer Remi Tessier.