Sicily yacht latest: Morgan Stanley executive alongside British tech tycoon Mike Lynch confirmed missing

A fishing boat sails past a coast guard vessel operating in the sea to search for British technology tycoon Mike Lynch, his daughter and others will resume today after a luxury yacht sank in a tornado off the coast of Sicily.

Mr Lynch and his daughter Hannah are among six tourists missing after the yacht, named Bayesian, was battered during intense storms off the coast of Palermo in the early hours of Monday.

Italy’s fire brigade Vigili del Fuoco said in its latest update that early inspections of the wreck by cave divers were “unsuccessful”.

This was due to limited access to the bridge and furniture obstructing passages, it said.

The wreckage of the super yacht is lying on the seabed at a depth of 50m after it capsized near the Sicilian capital Palermo.

Fabio Cefalu, a fisherman who witnessed the freak storm, told Italian media he stayed on site for several hours as the sailboat capsized.

“After 10 minutes we saw a flare in the sky, we waited about 10 minutes to see the intensity of the tornado and we went out to sea,” he said.

“We were first to give rescue but we found no one at sea, we only found cushions and the remains of the boat.”

The yacht sank as a fierce storm battered the area overnight, and was flying a British flag, according to ship-tracking site Marine Traffic.

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The search for British technology tycoon Mike Lynch, his daughter and others will resume today after a luxury yacht sank in a tornado off the coast of Sicily.

Mr Lynch and his daughter Hannah are among six tourists missing after the yacht, named Bayesian, was battered during intense storms off the coast of Palermo in the early hours of Monday.

The BBC reported searches are due to resume later on Tuesday morning.

Italy’s fire brigade Vigili del Fuoco said on X that early inspections of the wreck were “unsuccessful” due to limited access to the bridge and furniture obstructing passages.

A body, believed to be that of the vessel’s cook, has been discovered.

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

Among those confirmed so far are Morgan Stanley International chair Jonathan Bloomer and Chris Morvillo, an attorney at British law firm Clifford Chance.

Ayla Reynold, a New Zealand national working at Clifford Chance, survived the ordeal. Her father Lin Ronald confirmed to the Telegraph she had been invited aboard as thanks for assistance in Mr Lynch’s recent court case.

“I have texted my daughter and she hasn’t given me any updates about missing personnel or saved personnel. She has only said that there are deaths and she and her partner are alive,” he said.

“Ayla is a lawyer who is part of the legal team that were invited to go sailing as a result of the success in the recent United States court case.”

15 people are believed to have been rescued from a British-flagged luxury superyacht that sank in bad weather off the coast of Sicily in the early hours of the morning.

22 people are believed to have been on board, including the owner of the boat British tech tycoon Mike Lynch, who is missing.

Of the 15 people, eight are believed to have been taken to hospital to treat injuries.

Mr Lynch’s wife, Angela Bacares, is one of the 15 rescued.

Other survivors have been confirmed as Charlotte and James Emsley and their one-year-old daughter Sofia. They are all being treated in hospital.

“I held her afloat with all my strength, my arms stretched upwards to keep her from drowning,” Charlotte told local media. “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.”

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office said 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.