A Tragic Incident Off the Coast of Palermo
A British tech magnate, Mike Lynch, and several others are missing following the sinking of the luxury superyacht “Bayesian” near Palermo, Sicily, during a violent storm. Italian authorities confirmed that at least one person was killed, and six remain unaccounted for, including Lynch.
Survivors and rescue efforts
The 184-foot sailboat sank around 5 a.m. local time on Monday with 22 people on board. Fifteen people were rescued, including Lynch’s wife, Angela Bacares. The ship’s cook was confirmed dead, but the Coast Guard has not released further details. The yacht, built by Italian shipbuilder Perini in 2008, was carrying American, British, and Canadian citizens.
Dramatic rescue accounts
Survivors recounted harrowing moments during the storm. Charlotte Emsley, one of the rescued passengers, described the terror of losing her 1-year-old daughter, Sofia, in the water before managing to retrieve her and keep her safe. “I held her tight, close to me, while the sea was stormy,” Emsley shared.
The captain of a nearby vessel, Karsten Borner, detailed the chaos, explaining how his crew had to navigate carefully to avoid collisions during the storm. “We noticed that the ship behind us was gone,” Borner said.
Italian authorities have deployed divers, a motorboat, and a helicopter to search for the missing passengers. The wreckage lies at a depth of 165 feet, and specialized divers from Sassari and Naples have been brought in to assist with the operation.
Who is Mike Lynch?
Mike Lynch, dubbed “Britain’s Bill Gates,” is a prominent figure in the tech industry. He founded the software firm Autonomy and was embroiled in a legal battle with Hewlett Packard over allegations of inflating the company’s value in a $11 billion sale. Lynch was acquitted of fraud in the U.S. last year after a lengthy trial.
The Bayesian had left the port of Milazzo on August 14 and was last tracked near Palermo on Sunday night, anchored off the coast. A local resident, Fabio La Bianca, captured a photograph of the yacht just hours before the tragedy, expressing his shock in a social media post: “Absurd tragedy tonight. I am lost for words.”