A tornado has sunk a British-flagged superyacht off the coast of Sicily, leaving one man dead and six people missing, including a prominent British businessman.
The tech tycoon known as the “British Bill Gates” has been in the headlines in recent months for a high-profile fraud case.
In June, he was acquitted by a US jury of all charges relating to the 2011 sale of software company Autonomy to Hewlett-Packard.
Dr. Lynch’s wife, Angela Bakales, has been identified as among 15 people rescued after the yacht capsized.
The vessel, with 22 people on board, sank off the coast of Palermo at around 4:30 a.m. local time (3:30 a.m. UK time) on Monday.
Most of the passengers were reportedly from Britain, including a mother and her one-year-old daughter, among those rescued.
She told newspaper Giornale di Sicilia:
“I held on to it while the sea was rough. Many people screamed. Luckily the lifeboat inflated and 11 of us managed to get on. “
The mother reportedly required stitches for chest injuries after the ordeal.
Sicily’s civil defence chief Salvo Cosina said divers saw a “body through a porthole” in the wreck during the rescue operation as they retrieved the body of a man next to them at a depth of about 50 metres.
The nationality of the dead man has not yet been revealed.
The vessel was anchored off the coast of the fishing village of Porticello when it capsized, according to ship-tracking site Marine Traffic.
The Italian coast guard said the vessel had passengers from Britain, the US and Canada on board.
Italian news agencies reported that most of the people on board were British, with other passengers claiming to be from New Zealand, Sri Lanka and Ireland. British and French nationals were reportedly among the 22 people aboard the superyacht.
“I saw it sink with my own eyes”
Pietro Asciuto, a fisherman from Porticello who witnessed the storm, told local media: “I immediately closed all the windows. Then I saw the ship. It had only one mast and it was very big.” “I saw it suddenly sink.”
He added: “I think the cyclone came from Porticello… I went immediately afterwards to the Gulf of Santa Nicolichia to get a better look at what was happening.
“The ship was still afloat, but then suddenly it disappeared. I saw it sink with my own eyes.”
Fabio Cefalu, another local fisherman, spotted the wreck off Porticello and called emergency services.
He said: “At around 3.55am we saw the cyclone. 15 minutes later we saw a flare 500 metres from the quay.
“At around 4.35am we went out to sea to try to help but only saw the remains of a boat floating. There was no one in the sea.” We therefore immediately called the harbour master’s office.”
A spokesman for the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) said: “We are in contact with local authorities following the incident in Sicily and stand ready to respond.”
Camper & Nicholsons, which provided yacht management services to Bayesian, confirmed the vessel sank at about 4.30am local time. In a statement the company said: There were 12 passengers and 10 crew on board
“The Italian Coast Guard is leading the search and rescue operation and has safely rescued 15 people. We are continuing to search for the seven missing and are providing all necessary assistance to the rescued passengers and crew.”