Suspected “Britain’s Bill Gates” and his daughter are missing
The identities of the dead and missing have not yet been officially released. The Italian Coast Guard has only revealed that the five missing people are British, American, and Canadian nationals.
But a source close to the matter confirmed that British businessman Mike Lynch and his 18-year-old daughter Hannah were among those missing.
British businessman Mike Lynch (Photo: Reuters).
Several other wealthy businessmen are also believed to be on the list. Reuters news agency quoted Salvatore Cocina, head of the Civil Protection Agency in Sicily, as saying that Jonathan Bloomer, chairman of Morgan Stanley International, and Chris Morvillo, a lawyer for Clifford Chance, were among those missing.
According to Italian media, the deceased was a chef on the cruise ship.
Meanwhile, Reuters news agency reported that Mr. Lynch’s wife, Angela Bacares, the boat owner, and her one-year-old daughter were among the 15 people who survived.
Survivors recounted the trip, which was organized by Mr. Lynch for colleagues.
Tech entrepreneur Lynch is the founder of Autonomy Corporation – a software company that has been one of the bright spots of the UK tech scene since the mid-1990s.
He was awarded an OBE for services to business in 2006 and was appointed to then prime minister David Cameron’s science and technology council in 2011.
He was elected a fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering in 2008 and the Royal Society in 2014. He has even been hailed as the “Britain’s Bill Gates”.
However, billionaire Lynch was also accused of fraud related to the sale of Autonomy to American technology company Hewlett-Packard for $11 billion and spent years pursuing the lawsuit, proving his innocence.
It was not until June of this year that he was cleared of all charges at his trial in the US.
Divers approach the hull at a depth of 49m
The Bayesian cruise ship accident occurred at around 5am local time on August 19, following a severe storm.
The 56m British-flagged luxury yacht sank rapidly near Porticello, with 22 people on board.
Rescue divers are trying to reach the hull at a depth of about 49m. The prosecutor’s office in Termini Imerese is investigating the incident.
Currently, eight of those rescued, including the one-year-old victim, have been transferred to local hospitals and all are in stable condition.
Rescue workers are working hard to search at the scene of the accident (Photo: Reuters).
The coast guard said the yacht was built by Italian shipbuilder Perini in 2008, last refitted in 2020, and is owned by billionaire Lynch’s wife.
According to online yachting websites, this luxury yacht has an aluminum hull, the world’s tallest aluminum mast (75m), can reach a maximum speed of 15 knots, and can carry 12 passengers and 10 crew.
The cruise ship left the Sicilian port of Milazzo on August 14 and was last tracked east of Palermo on the evening of August 18, at anchor, according to the Vesselfinder tracking app.
According to local media, the yacht may have crashed due to a waterspout.
Some fishermen reported spotting a small tornado off the coast at around 3:55 a.m. on August 19.
Italy has been hit by storms and heavy rains in recent days, while floods and landslides have caused major damage in the north of the country after weeks of heatwaves.
