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*As Yacht Sinks Off Sicily
59 years old UK tech tycoon Mike Lynch, often referred to as “the British Bill Gates,” who co-founded the software company Autonomy, which he sold to Hewlett-Packard in 2011 for $11 billion and his daughter Hannah, 18, were among those missing after a luxury yacht sank off the coast of Sicily on Monday.
Also, the incident, which occurred about 700 meters (2,300 feet) from the Mediterranean island’s shore had Morgan Stanley International bank chairman Jonathan Bloomer and Clifford Chance lawyer Chris Morvillo missing, according to Sicily’s Civil Protection agency.
The 56-meter yacht, named Bayesian, was carrying 22 people, including British, American, and Canadian nationals.
Fifteen people were rescued, including a one-year-old British girl. The body of the yacht’s cook was recovered from the wreckage.
The yacht capsized around 5:00 AM local time after encountering a severe storm that caused waterspouts, or rotating columns of air, to form over the sea.
The vessel sank near the port of Porticello, just east of Palermo, Sicily’s capital.
Eyewitnesses account stated that the yacht’s anchor was down when the storm struck, causing the mast to break and the ship to lose balance and sink.
Rescue operations are ongoing, with the wreckage lying at a depth of 50 meters. Divers are preparing to resume their search for the missing.
In the immediate aftermath, survivors were rescued by a nearby Dutch-flagged vessel, which tended to them until emergency services arrived.
Captain Karsten Borner of the Dutch vessel recounted how his crew spotted a red flare before finding a life raft carrying 15 survivors, three of whom were severely injured.
Eight of the rescued individuals are currently receiving treatment in the hospital, according to the Italian coastguard.
The UK Foreign Office is supporting the affected British nationals and their families.
