By PALERMO, Sicily — Rescue divers continued their search Tuesday for six missing people, including British tech entrepreneur Mike Lynch and his daughter, after a luxury yacht sank off Sicily’s coast during a violent storm early Monday morning.
The British-flagged Bayesian, a 56-meter-long (184-ft) superyacht, was anchored off the port of Porticello when it was struck by an intense pre-dawn storm. Witnesses reported the vessel disappeared beneath the waves within minutes, puzzling naval experts who noted that a yacht of the Bayesian’s size should typically remain afloat for hours even when taking on water.
Of the 22 people aboard, 15 managed to escape before the yacht capsized. One fatality was quickly confirmed, with the body of Ricardo Thomas, the Antiguan onboard chef, recovered shortly after the incident. The remaining six passengers unaccounted for are Mike Lynch and his 18-year-old daughter Hannah; Jonathan Bloomer, non-executive chair of Morgan Stanley International, and his wife Judy; and Chris Morvillo, lawyer at Clifford Chance, and his wife Neda.
Salvatore Cocina, head of civil protection in Sicily, expressed grim expectations for the search. “The fear is that the bodies got trapped inside the vessel,” he said.
The yacht now rests at a depth of 49 meters (160 feet), presenting significant challenges for the rescue operation. Divers are limited to 8-10 minutes at the wreck site before needing to resurface due to the depth. Fire brigade spokesman Luca Cari highlighted the difficulties in accessing the yacht’s interior, citing confined spaces and obstacles complicating forward movement.
Fire department diver Marco Tilotta reported that the boat appears intact and is lying on its right side. Divers have not yet determined if the 72-metre-long mast snapped during the storm.
Karsten Borner, skipper of a nearby boat, recounted the Bayesian’s rapid sinking. He said the yacht flipped on its side soon after the storm hit and submerged within two minutes, leaving little time for those below deck to escape.
The incident has drawn international attention due to the high-profile nature of those involved. Mike Lynch, often referred to as Britain’s Bill Gates, founded Autonomy, once the UK’s largest software firm. He recently made headlines after being acquitted in June by a San Francisco jury in a fraud case related to Hewlett-Packard’s $11 billion acquisition of Autonomy in 2011.
Chris Morvillo represented Lynch in the case, while Jonathan Bloomer had appeared as a character witness on Lynch’s behalf. In an extraordinary coincidence, Stephen Chamberlain, Lynch’s co-defendant in the trial, died in a road accident in Britain over the weekend.
The Bayesian was owned by Lynch’s wife, Angela Bacares, who survived the disaster. The British government’s Marine Accident Investigation Branch has dispatched four inspectors to Sicily to conduct a “preliminary assessment” of the incident.
Experts suggest that early investigations will focus on whether the yacht’s crew had properly secured access hatches before the storm and if appropriate measures were taken given the weather forecasts. Borner noted that while thunderstorms had been predicted, there was no indication they would be particularly severe.
The rapid sinking of such a large yacht has raised concerns within the maritime industry. One unnamed superyacht expert in Britain expressed disbelief, noting that the volume of water needed to sink the Bayesian was enormous, given the compartments designed to prevent such catastrophes.
Meteorologist Luca Mercalli highlighted the potential role of climate change in the incident, noting significantly higher than normal sea surface temperatures around Sicily.
As the search continues and investigations begin, the incident serves as a stark reminder of the unpredictable nature of sea travel, even for the most luxurious vessels, and raises questions about maritime safety in the face of increasingly extreme weather events.
