Search for Missing Passengers Continues After Yacht Tragedy off Sicily

Search Operations Continue for Missing Passengers Following Yacht Tragedy off Sicily

On Tuesday morning, deep-sea divers from Italy’s firefighter corps resumed their desperate search for six missing passengers, including a British software mogul and his daughter, following the tragic sinking of a yacht off the coast of Sicily on the previous day. The yacht, known as the Bayesian, is a 180-foot British-flagged sailing vessel that was anchored near the port of Porticello when it was struck by what witnesses described as a waterspout—essentially a small tornado over water—during an unexpected and fierce storm.

Of the 22 individuals who were aboard the yacht at the time of the incident, 15 were fortunate enough to find refuge on a life raft and were subsequently rescued by the captain of a nearby sailing cruise ship. Tragically, the body of the ship’s cook was recovered on Monday, but several passengers remain unaccounted for, as reported by Salvatore Cocina, an official with Sicily’s civil protection agency. Among those missing are:

• Mike Lynch, a prominent British technology entrepreneur, and his daughter, Hannah Lynch
• Jonathan Bloomer, the chairman of Morgan Stanley International, and his wife
• Christopher J. Morvillo, a distinguished lawyer at Clifford Chance, and his wife

Mike Lynch recently endured a tumultuous legal battle, culminating in his acquittal of fraud in a U.S. trial in June. This high-profile case revolved around allegations that he had defrauded Hewlett-Packard during the sale of his company, Autonomy, for a staggering $11 billion. The news surrounding Mr. Lynch is particularly poignant as it follows closely on the heels of the tragic death of Stephen Chamberlain, a former vice president of finance at Autonomy and Mr. Lynch’s co-defendant in the fraud trial. Chamberlain was fatally struck by a car while jogging on Saturday, a loss that has cast a shadow over the ongoing search efforts.