By V.E.K.Madhushani, Jadetimes News
Six Missing After Luxury Yacht Sinks in Storm Off Sicily
Morgan Stanley International Bank Chairman Jonathan Bloomer and Clifford Chance lawyer Chris Morvillo are among six individuals reported missing after a luxury yacht sank during a storm off the coast of Sicily on Monday, according to Sicily's Civil Protection.
Among the unaccounted for are UK tech tycoon Mike Lynch, 59, and his 18 year old daughter Hannah. The incident occurred approximately 700 meters (2,300 feet) from the Mediterranean island's shore.
The 56 meter Bayesian yacht, carrying 22 people including British, American, and Canadian nationals, sank near the port of Porticello, just east of Sicily's capital, Palermo. Fifteen people, including a one year old British girl, were rescued. The body of the ship's cook was also recovered, as confirmed by Sicily's Civil Protection.
A search operation resumed early Tuesday morning, Italian media reported.
The British flagged yacht, with 10 crew members and 12 passengers on board, capsized at around 5:00 AM local time after a severe storm caused waterspouts rotating columns of air and mist. Witnesses told the Italian news agency Ansa that the Bayesian’s anchor was deployed when the storm struck, causing the mast to break and the vessel to lose balance and sink.
On Monday, specialist fire and rescue divers trained to operate in confined spaces were flown in from Rome and Sardinia. However, an initial search of the wreck, which lies approximately 50 meters below the sea’s surface, was unsuccessful.
“Access was limited to the bridge, with difficulty due to the presence of furniture obstructing passage,” the Italian fire department posted on social media.
Mike Lynch, one of the missing passengers, is often referred to as "the British Bill Gates." He co founded the software company Autonomy, which was sold to American computing giant Hewlett Packard (HP) in 2011 for $11 billion (£8.6 billion). Lynch had recently been acquitted in the US of multiple fraud charges related to this acquisition, following a decade long legal battle. Reports suggest that Lynch had invited members of his legal team onto the yacht to celebrate his acquittal.
The sinking occurred on the same day that Lynch's co defendant in the fraud case, Stephen Chamberlain, was confirmed to have died after being struck by a car in Cambridgeshire on Saturday.
Lawyer Chris Morvillo, who has been involved in several high profile corruption cases including Lynch's recent trial, is also among the missing. Morvillo previously served as an assistant US attorney for the Southern District of New York from 1999 to 2005, working on the criminal investigation surrounding the 2001 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center.
Jonathan Bloomer, the 70 year old chairman of Morgan Stanley International and chair of insurance company Hiscox, is also among those missing.
The Bayesian's registered owner is listed as Revtom Ltd., and the superyacht, which can accommodate up to 12 guests in six suites, was named after the Bayesian theory a subject on which Lynch's PhD thesis was based. Lynch's wife, Angela Bacares, who is listed as the sole legal owner of Revtom, was among the 15 people rescued.
A British mother, identified locally as Charlotte Golunski, and her one year old daughter also survived. Golunski later recounted how she held her baby above the surface of the sea to prevent her from drowning. She described the experience to Italian newspaper La Repubblica, stating they were woken by “thunder, lightning, and waves that made our boat dance.” She added, "It felt like the end of the world" before they were thrown into the water.
“For two seconds, I lost my daughter in the sea, then quickly hugged her amid the fury of the waves,” Golunski was quoted as saying.
Survivors indicated that the trip was organized by Lynch for his work colleagues. In the aftermath of the incident, a nearby Dutch flagged vessel rescued the survivors, providing aid until emergency services arrived. Captain Karsten Borner of the Dutch vessel reported that his crew noticed the yacht, which had been trailing them, had disappeared.
“We saw a red flare, so my first mate and I went to the position and found this life raft drifting,” Borner told Reuters. The life raft carried 15 survivors, three of whom were "heavily injured."
Eight of those rescued are currently receiving treatment in the hospital, according to the Italian coastguard.
The UK Foreign Office confirmed it is supporting several British nationals and their families following the incident. Britain's Marine Accident Investigation Branch is also dispatching a team of inspectors to conduct a preliminary assessment into the sinking of the UK registered yacht.
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