British tech tycoon Mike Lynch and his 18-year-old daughter are among the six people missing after a luxury superyacht sank off the coast of Sicily Monday, sources said.
The 59-year-old, who was once dubbed the UK’s answer to Steve Jobs, was onboard the 160-foot Bayesian sailboat with 22 others when it was struck by a tornado off the port of Porticello at sunrise, according to a person familiar with the rescue operation.
Lynch’s 18-year-old daughter, Hannah, is also among the missing passengers, according to his wife, Angela Bacares, the Telegraph reported.
Bacares and 14 others, including a one-year-old child, managed to escape the boat before it went down.
At least one passenger was killed, the Italian coast guard said.
In addition to Lynch and his daughter, there are four other people unaccounted for, including two Americans.
The boat was carrying a crew of 10 people and 12 passengers at the time.
The names of those killed or still unaccounted for weren’t immediately released by authorities but Italian media reported that the dead man was the yacht’s onboard chef.
Those who survived said the trip had been organized by Lynch for his work colleagues, according to sources.
Lynch — a wealthy tech founder — was acquitted just two months ago by a San Francisco jury of fraud charges linked to the sale of his software company, Autonomy, to Hewlett-Packard for $11 billion in 2011.
The sale had cemented Lynch’s reputation as Britain’s answer to the Microsoft magnate — but it quickly turned sour after HP wrote down Autonomy’s value by $8.8 billion.
In the wake of the jury’s ruling, the entrepreneur said he was “elated” to be cleared after denying any wrongdoing and blaming HP for botching the integration of the two companies.
Meanwhile, the coast guard said divers were currently trying to inspect the wreck of the Bayesian.
The six missing people are believed to be inside the boat’s hull, a spokesperson for the Italian fire rescue service said.
The search and rescue operations, which were visible from shore, involved helicopters and boats from the coast guard, fire rescue and civil protection service.
The boat is believed to be owned by Lynch’s wife.
The Bayesian, which was built by Italian shipbuilder Perini in 2008 and was last refitted in 2020, is owned by a firm called Revtom Limited – which Lynch’s wife is named as the sole shareholder of.
With Post wires