Sicily yacht sinking LIVE: London tech boss Mike Lynch and daughter among several missing as superyacht sinks

Four Britons are reportedly among six people missing after a luxury superyacht sailboat sunk off the coast of Sicily on Monday morning as a tornado hit the area.

A body has been found after the 56-metre boat, which had 22 people on board, sunk around 5am near Porticello, Palermo, Italian authorities reported.

British tech boss Mike Lynch is missing from the vessel, named by the SuperYacht Times as the Perini Navi sailing yacht Bayesian.

His teenage daughter Hannah, 18, is also thought to be missing.

The daily Il Giornale de Sicilia reported the sailboat was flying a British flag and had been moored in the port at Porticello. It had set sail on Sunday evening.

The outlet reported that firefighter divers have recovered a body in their search for missing yachtsmen near the vessel’s hull.

The vessel had a crew of 10 people and 12 passengers, representing British, American and Canadian nationalities, the Italian coast guard said.

Fifteen people, including a one-year-old child, were rescued by Italian Coast Guard patrol boats and taken to shore at Porticello. Eight people were taken to hospital.

The child’s mother described how she “held her daughter tightly” amid the “fury of the waves”.

A helicopter and rescue boats from the coast guard, carabinieri, fire rescue and civil protection service were at the scene searching for the missing and had located the wreck at a depth of 50 metres.

Follow our latest updates below.

Four inspectors deployed to Palermo to assess scene

Monday 19 August 2024 20:24 , Daniel Keane

The Marine Accident Investigation Branch said four of its inspectors were being deployed to Palermo following the sinking of the Bayesian yacht.

A basic assessment of the scene will be made by the team with no investigation launched at this stage.

In pictures: Italian police officers patrol the port in Porticello as search continues

Monday 19 August 2024 19:12 , Daniel Keane

Italian fisherman sailed to sinking boat after seeing flare

Monday 19 August 2024 18:30 , Daniel Keane

Fisherman Francesco Cefalu said he sailed from the shore to the scene after seeing a flare at about 4.30am from the Bayesian.

But by the time he arrived the ship had already sunk, with only items such as cushions and wood floating in the water.

He added: “I think they are inside, all the missing people.”

Daughter of Mike Lynch feared to be missing

Monday 19 August 2024 17:54 , Daniel Keane

Mike Lynch’s 18-year-old daughter Hannah is feared to be missing following the sinking of his luxury superyacht.

AFP cites the head of the Civil Protection Agency as saying that the teenager was among those being searched for by rescue officials.

British woman ‘held baby above water to stop her from drowning’

Monday 19 August 2024 17:22 , Daniel Keane

A British woman who survived when a superyacht sank off the coast of Sicily has told of how she held her one-year-old daughter above the water “with all her strength” to stop her from drowning.

Charlotte Golunski, 36, told La Repubblica newspaper of how she saved her daughter Sofia as the boat sank.

She said: “I held her afloat with all my strength, my arms stretched upwards to keep her from drowning.

“It was all dark. In the water I couldn’t keep my eyes open. I screamed for help but all I could hear around me was the screams of others.”

Charlotte and Sofia are being treated in hospital, as is Charlotte’s husband, James.

Read our full story here.

Foreign Office supporting ‘number of British nationals’

Monday 19 August 2024 16:54 , Daniel Keane

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office says it is supporting “a number of British nationals and their families” after a luxury yacht sunk off the coast of Sicily.

“We are providing consular support to a number of British nationals and their families following an incident in Sicily, and are in contact with the local authorities,” an FCDO spokesperson said in a statement.

Vessel ‘had completed number of sailings’ in days before tragedy

Monday 19 August 2024 16:34 , Daniel Keane

Bayesian completed a number of sailings in recent days, calling at various ports in Sicily, according to ship-tracking website VesselFinder.

The superyacht can accommodate up to 12 guests in six suites, and is listed for rent for up to £166,000 a week.

She was built in 2008 by Italian company Perini Navi.

Her registered owner is listed as Revtom Ltd, which is based on the Isle of Man.

Mike Lynch ‘loved his yacht’

Monday 19 August 2024 15:51 , Miriam Burrell

British tech boss Mike Lynch, who grew up in Ilford, reportedly “loved” the Bayesian superyacht.

A member of staff who worked at Mr Lynch’s Chelsea home told the Times the businessman “clearly had a lot of pride in the yacht”.

“He had a miniature model of it and photos of it on the water in the hallway of his Chelsea home. When I asked him about he told me about it’s size and how much his family loved spending time on it,” the unnamed staff member reportedly said.

“They had a personal chef who worked both on the boat and in their home. When I visited there were leftovers from their last boat trip in the fridge which he let the serving staff have.”

Body ‘believed to be yacht’s chef’

Monday 19 August 2024 15:24 , Josh Salisbury

A body, believed to be that of the vessel’s chef, has been found and 15 people, according to local media.

Four of the missing passengers are British and two are American, Italian news website la Reppublica stated.

The British-flagged superyacht Bayesian capsized at about 5am local time off the coast of Palermo when the area was hit by a tornado.

The body was found near the wreck at a depth of 50m (164ft), Italian fire and rescue services said.

‘They were in the wrong place at the wrong time’ – coastguard

Monday 19 August 2024 15:15 , Josh Salisbury

The crew and passengers of the Bayesian were in the “wrong place at the wrong time,” the Italian coastguard said.

One body has been recovered, and police divers are trying to reach the hull of the ship, which was resting at a depth of 50 meters off Porticello, near Palermo, where it had been anchored.

It had a crew of 10 people and 12 passengers.

A sudden fierce storm had battered the area overnight, and struck the place precisely where the 56-metre British-flagged Bayesian had been moored.

“They were in the wrong place at the wrong time,” an Italian coastguard spokesperson, noting that another superyacht nearby wasn’t as badly damaged.

Captain of nearby ship tells of rescue effort

Monday 19 August 2024 14:12 , Josh Salisbury

The captain of a nearby boat has told of helping out with the rescue effort of the stricken Bayesian.

Karsten Borner said that when the storm hit he turned the engine on to keep control of the vessel and avoid a collision with the Bayesian.

“We managed to keep the ship in position and after the storm was over, we noticed that the ship behind us was gone,” he said.

The Bayesian “went flat on the water, and then down,” he added.

He said that his crew then found some of the survivors on a life raft – including three who were seriously injured and “a little baby and the wife of the owner” – and took them on board before the coast guard picked them up.

Missing Brit tech tycoon recently cleared on US fraud charges

Monday 19 August 2024 13:49 , Josh Salisbury

British technology tycoon Mike Lynch is missing after the luxury yacht sank in bad weather off the coast of Sicily, according to reports.

Mr Lynch, previously dubbed Britain’s king of technology, was acquitted last month of allegations that he orchestrated fraud and conspiracy leading up to a deal.

He told media outlets at the time that he feared he would die in jail over the now-cleared charges.

The businessman was extradited to the US last May for a trial that acquitted him on all 15 felony counts over the 11-billion dollar (£8.64 billion) purchase of his company.

The 11-week criminal trial in San Francisco looked into Silicon Valley pioneer Hewlett Packard (HP)’s 2011 acquisition of Autonomy, a business software company that Mr Lynch founded and then oversaw as chief executive in Britain.

He had faced more than 20 years in US prison if convicted.

Pictured: Scene where Bayesian sank

Monday 19 August 2024 13:41 , Josh Salisbury

‘British tech entrepreneur’ among those missing

Monday 19 August 2024 13:20 , Miriam Burrell

British tech entrepreneur Mike Lynch is among those missing off the coast of Sicily, The Telegraph understands.

His wife Angela Bacares is among those rescued, the paper reported.

‘Owner of superyacht and another child missing’

Monday 19 August 2024 13:05 , Miriam Burrell

The captain of a nearby boat told Reuters that the owner of the Bayesian and another child are among those missing.

“After the storm was over, we noticed that the ship behind us was gone,” Karsten Borner told journalists.

He said that his crew then found some of the survivors on a life raft, including three who were seriously injured and took them on board before the coast guard picked them up.

Borner said “a little baby and the wife of the owner” were among the survivors, while the owner of the sunken ship and another child were among those missing.

Prosecutors in the nearby town of Termini Imerese have opened an investigation to look into what has gone wrong.

Mum of rescued girl tells of terror

Monday 19 August 2024 12:08 , Josh Salisbury

The mother of a one-year-old girl who was rescued from the Bayesian has told of her terror as it sank.

She told of how managed to board a lifeboat with 10 other people as the boat capsized while clutching her baby daughter.

Speaking to Giornale Di Sicilia, she said: “For two seconds I lost my baby in the sea, then I immediately hugged her again amid the fury of the waves.

“I held her tightly, close to me, while the sea was stormy. Many were screaming. Luckily the lifeboat inflated and 11 of us managed to get on board.”

The girl has been taken to a nearby hospital and is in a stable condition.

What do we know about sunken Bayesian?

Monday 19 August 2024 12:03 , Josh Salisbury

Bayesian, the yacht which capsized in Italy believed to be carrying British passengers, is 56 metres long, according to ship tracking website VesselFinder.

She was built in 2008 by Italian company Perini Navi.

Her registered owner is listed as Revtom Ltd.

There is little publicly-available online information about the company, which appears to be based on the Isle of Man.

Bayesian completed a number of sailings in recent days, calling at various ports in Sicily.

I saw boat sink suddenly’, says fisherman

Monday 19 August 2024 12:02 , Josh Salisbury

Witnesses have told of their shock at seeing the British-flagged Bayesian superyacht sink suddenly on Monday morning.

“I was at home when the tornado hit. I immediately closed all the windows. Then I saw the boat, it had only one mast, it was very big. I saw it sink suddenly”, Pietro Asciutto, a fisherman from Porticello told Corierre Della Sera.

Another witness added: “That boat was all lit up. At around 4:30 in the morning it was gone. A beautiful boat where there had been a party.

“A normal holiday spent happily at sea turned into a tragedy. The boat was not far from the port. It took very little to raise the anchor and head for the port.

“Evidently they were surprised by the storm that suddenly hit and they were unable to avoid sinking.”

Girl, 1, rescued from yacht wreck

Monday 19 August 2024 11:21 , Josh Salisbury

A one-year-old child has been rescued from the downed yacht.

Eight of the 15 people rescued, including a one-year-old child, were transferred to local hospitals. All were in a stable condition, with the young girl reportedly given chest stitches for a slight graze.

The missing people were of British, American and Canadian nationality, the Italian coast guard said.

“The wind was very strong. Bad weather was expected, but not of this magnitude,” a coast guard official in Palermo told Reuters.

Storms and heavy rainfall have swept down Italy in recent days – with floods and landslides causing major damage in the north of the country – after weeks of scorching heat.

Helicopter drafted in to search for missing passengers

Monday 19 August 2024 11:10 , Josh Salisbury

A helicopter and rescue boats from the coast guard, carabinieri, fire rescue and civil protection service were at the scene searching for the missing and had located the wreck at a depth of 50 metres.

The boat capsized at around 5am on Monday morning off the port of Porticello.

Experienced deep-water divers were arriving at the scene to try to enter the hull, said a fire brigade spokesperson.

Those who had not been rescued included one member of the crew and six passengers, the coast guard said.

Local media said a fierce storm, including water spouts, had battered the area overnight but the skies appeared clear by Monday morning.

Yacht had ‘mostly Brits on-board’ as seven passengers remain missing

Monday 19 August 2024 11:08 , Josh Salisbury

The Italian daily Il Giornale di Sicilia newspaper reported that the yacht had mostly British passengers on board, but also people from New Zealand, Sri Lanka, Ireland and British-French citizens.

Speaking earlier, Filippo Tripoli, the mayor of Bagheria in Sicily, said: “This morning, off the coast of Santa Flavia, a foreign boat sank due to bad weather, 15 people recovered and seven missing.

“Already all the police forces and emergency services are operational and our Red Cross volunteers are present.”

Foreign Office ‘ready’ to help affected Brits

Monday 19 August 2024 11:05 , Josh Salisbury

The Foreign Office has said it is aware of reports of missing Britons and is “ready” to help.

A spokesperson told the Standard: “We are in contact with the local authorities following an incident in Sicily, and stand ready to provide consular support to British nationals affected.”

What we know about the Bayesian vessel

Monday 19 August 2024 10:53

The Bayesian is a luxury sailing yacht.

It can accommodate up to 12 guests across six staterooms, the SuperYacht Times said.

Bayesian was made in 2008 by Italian yacht builder Perini Navi. It features exterior design by her builder, with interior penned by Rémi Tessier and naval architecture by Ron Holland Design.

The SuperYacht Times said: “Together with her streamlined, full aluminium hull and 1,500 square-metres of sail, she can reach speeds of 15.5 knots.

“Under power, she boasts a maximum cruising range of 3,600 nautical miles at 13 knots, with power coming from twin Caterpillar C-32 diesel engines.”

Who is missing?

Monday 19 August 2024 10:47 , Miriam Burrell

One body was found near the wreck, but six others are unaccounted for, said Luca Cari, a spokesperson for the Italian fire rescue service.

Those still missing include one member of the crew and six passengers, the coast guard said.

Seven people were initially reportedly missing, including the ship’s cook, four Britons, two Americans and a Canadian.

On board there were mostly British citizens, and also a New Zealander, a Sri Lanken, two Anglo-French and an Irishman, news agency Adnkronos reported.