Mike Lynch, a British tech entrepreneur known as Britain’s Bill Gates, and two Americans are among six missing after a luxury superyacht sank off the coast of Italy, killing at least one man.
The British luxury yacht ‘Bayesian’ sank off the coast of Palermo, Sicily, early Monday morning after being hit by an unexpectedly severe storm. The incident resulted in one death at least and six people missing. The Italian Coast Guard has confirmed that the missing individuals include nationals from Britain, the United States, and Canada. The names of those who are deceased or missing have not yet been publicly released, but sources close to the rescue operations have confirmed Lynch’s status as missing.
Mike Lynch, aged 59, is well-known in the tech industry, Lynch is the founder of the British software company Autonomy, earning his reputation as “Britain’s Bill Gates” during the late 1990s and early 2000s as a key player in the U.K.’s data and software industry.
Lynch was recently acquitted in June by a San Francisco jury on 15 charges related to the sale of his software company, Autonomy, to Hewlett-Packard (HP) for $11 billion in 2011. The charges included one count of conspiracy and 14 counts of wire fraud, all related to specific transactions and communications during the sale.
Lynch said he was “elated” to be cleared in the criminal trial, during which he took the stand in his defense, denying to jurors any wrongdoing and blaming HP for botching the integration of the two companies.
Local media reported the yacht, sailing under the name Bayesian, sank after encountering a heavy storm overnight that caused waterspouts, or rotating columns of air, to appear over the sea.
Witnesses told Italian news agency Ansa that the Bayesian’s anchor was down when the storm struck, causing the mast to break and the ship to lose its balance and sink off the coast of Sicilian capital Palermo.
Divers have identified a wreckage 50m below the water’s surface and are searching for those missing.
However, 15 people have been rescued by authorities, with one confirmed casualty, leaving two Americans, four Britons and a Canadian still missing. According to the BBC, Lynch’s wife, Angela Bacares, was among those rescued, and the yacht is linked to her. The British state news service reported that the boat was owned by a company called Revtom, which lists Bacares as its sole legal owner.
Searches for Lynch and other missing people are still underway, with divers, multiple vessels, and a helicopter surveying the area, which is about 12 miles from the city of Palermo.
Those who have been rescued have been taken to hospitals in the Sicilian city, including a one-year-old child who was taken to Palermo’s Children’s Hospital.
The 35-year-old British mother of baby told ANSA: “For two seconds I lost my daughter in the sea.” She was able to find her again, and kept her safe during the storm: “I held her tightly, close to me, while the sea was in a tempest. Many people screamed. Luckily the lifeboat inflated and 11 of us were able to get on board,” she said.
