One person has died, and six others remain missing after a luxury yacht was struck by an unexpectedly fierce storm and sank off the coast of Palermo, Sicily, on Monday, according to the Italian coast guard. Among the missing is British tech entrepreneur Mike Lynch, according to a source close to the rescue operation.
The 56-meter sailboat, identified as the British-registered yacht Bayesian, went down with 22 people on board just before sunrise, the coast guard said in a statement. The missing individuals include nationals from Britain, the United States, and Canada.
Fifteen people, including a one-year-old child, were rescued. “The wind was extremely strong. Bad weather was anticipated, but not to this extent,” a coast guard official in Palermo told Reuters.
In recent days, storms and heavy rainfall have swept across Italy, causing floods and landslides in the northern regions after weeks of scorching heat. The extreme weather has led to significant damage.
Boats searching for missing passengers after the Bayesian yacht sank – Photo: Getty Images / Stringer (Getty Images)
Eight of the 15 rescued from the *Bayesian* were transferred to local hospitals, where all were reported to be in stable condition, according to local media.
A captain of a nearby vessel recounted the terrifying experience to Reuters. When the storm struck, he started the engine to maintain control and avoid colliding with the *Bayesian*.
“We managed to hold our position, and after the storm passed, we realized the boat behind us had disappeared,” Karsten Borner told reporters.
Borner described how the *Bayesian* “flattened on the water, then went under.” His crew later found survivors on a life raft, including three seriously injured people, a baby, and the wife of the yacht’s owner. They brought them aboard before the coast guard arrived to take them to safety.
Entrepreneur Mike Lynch, aged 59, was acquitted in June by a San Francisco jury of fraud charges related to the $11 billion sale of his software company, Autonomy, to Hewlett-Packard in 2011. After the verdict, he expressed relief, stating he was “elated” to be cleared, maintaining that he had done nothing wrong and attributing the failed merger to HP’s mismanagement.
**DIVERS INSPECT WRECKAGE**
The coast guard reported that divers were examining the wreck, which lies at a depth of 49 meters. Meanwhile, prosecutors in Termini Imerese have launched an investigation to determine the cause of the incident.
The *Bayesian* was originally built by Italian shipbuilder Perini in 2008 and underwent a refit in 2020. Managed by Camper & Nicholsons, the yacht has garnered multiple awards for its design. It can host up to 12 guests in six suites, with a crew of 10.
Previously known as *Salute*, a name symbolizing health in Italian, the yacht boasts the world’s tallest aluminum mast at 75 meters, according to Perini’s website. The vessel departed from the Sicilian port of Milazzo on August 14 and was last tracked near Palermo on Sunday evening, showing a navigation status of “at anchor,” as indicated by the vessel tracking app Vesselfinder.
A spokesperson for the UK Foreign Ministry confirmed that British officials were in contact with local authorities and are prepared to offer consular assistance to affected British nationals.
