British tech tycoon Mike Lynch and his 18-year-old daughter are among six tourists missing after his luxury yacht capsized in stormy weather and sank off the coast of Sicily.
The 56-metre Bayesian, which was docked off the coast of Porticello, near Palermo, capsized shortly before 5am when the area was hit by a tornado, with 15 guests rescued from the water.
It has been reported that four of the missing passengers are British and two are American, while one body has been recovered.
Salvatore Cocina, director general of Sicily’s civil protection agency, told the BBC that 18-year-old Hannah Lynch was confirmed to be missing with her father, along with the yacht’s chef, Ricardo Thomas.
At the time it sank, the British-flagged superyacht was carrying 10 crew members and 12 passengers, with Mr Lynch’s wife Angela Bacares among those rescued, local media has reported.
Among those to be saved is Charlotte Golunski and her husband James Emsley, who had been on board with their one-year-old daughter Sofia when the storm began to violently sway the boat.
She said: “It was the end of the world and my husband and I were struggling to stand up.”
As the yacht sank, the family were thrown into the water. “For two seconds, I lost my daughter in the sea, then quickly hugged her amid the fury of the waves.”
“I held her afloat with all my strength, my arms stretched upwards to keep her from drowning,” she added. ‘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.”
Ms Golunski, Mr Emsley and Sofia are all being treated in hospital.
An Italian doctor at the paediatric hospital in Palermo who treated the family told local media: “She told me that while they were sleeping, at a certain point the yacht overturned due to the tornado, and they found themselves in the water.
“Some of them immediately managed to get onto the lifeboat. And some, evidently, didn’t make it.”
Karsten Borner, captain of a nearby boat said that his crew took on board some survivors who were on a life raft, including three who were seriously injured.
Fisherman Francesco Cefalu said he sailed from the shore to the scene after seeing a flare at about 4.30am but by the time he arrived, Bayesian had already sunk, with only items such as cushions and wood floating in the water.
He added: “I think they are inside, all the missing people.”
Salvo Cocina of Sicily’s civil protection agency said: “They were in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
One anonymous witness told Rai News: “That boat was all lit up. At about 4.30 in the morning, it was gone. A beautiful boat where there had been a party. A normal holiday spent happily at sea turned into a tragedy.
“The boat was not far from the port. It took very little to raise the anchor and head for the port. Evidently, they were surprised by the storm that suddenly hit and they were unable to avoid sinking.”
The vessel is understood to have belonged to Mr Lynch and was registered in a company under his wife’s name. The 59-year-old founded software giant Autonomy in 1996, and was made an OBE for services to enterprise 10 years later.
In June, he was cleared of conducting a massive fraud relating to an $11bn (£8.64bn) sale to US company Hewlett Packard, a deal which netted him £800m but kicked off a 13-year legal battle.
He faced more than 20 years in US prison if convicted of the fraud and conspiracy allegations, and The Times reported that he spent 13 months under house arrest awaiting the trial.
A spokesperson for Mr Lynch said there was no comment.
Specialist cave divers are now being flown to Sicily from the Italian mainland to assist, while a helicopter and the fire brigade have been involved in the search.
A spokesman for the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) said: “We are in contact with the local authorities following an incident in Sicily, and stand ready to provide consular support to British nationals affected.”
Bayesian completed several sailings in recent days, calling at various ports in Sicily, according to the ship-tracking website VesselFinder.
The superyacht can accommodate up to 12 guests in six suites and is listed for rent for up to €195,000 (£166,000) a week.
She was built in 2008 by Italian company Perini Navi and has previously won an award for best exterior styling at the 2009 World Superyacht Awards.
On Monday, it transpired Mr Lynch’s co-defendant in the US court case, Stephen Chamberlain, was fatally injured in a road accident two days before Mr Lynch went missing.
Mr Chamberlain, Autonomy’s former vice-president of finance alongside chief executive Lynch, was hit by a car in Cambridgeshire on Saturday morning while out running and was placed on life support, Reuters reported, citing a person familiar with the matter.
“He was a courageous man with unparalleled integrity, and we deeply miss him,” his lawyer Gary Lincenberg said in a statement. “He fought successfully to clear his good name, which lives on through his wonderful family.”
After leaving Autonomy in 2012, Mr Chamberlain worked as chief operating officer for cybersecurity firm Darktrace and volunteered as a finance director for Cambridge United soccer club, according to his LinkedIn profile.
Mr Chamberlain faced the same charges of fraud and conspiracy as his former boss for allegedly scheming to inflate the company’s value before it was sold but was also cleared of all charges.
Cambridgeshire Police did not name Mr Chamberlain but were appealing for witnesses after a collision between a pedestrian and a car had taken place in Newmarket Road in Stretham.
Officers said a blue Vauxhall Corsa was travelling between Stretham and Wicken on the A1123 when the collision happened at about 10.10am on Saturday. They added a man in his fifties had been taken to hospital with serious injuries.
The driver of the car, a 49-year-old woman from Haddenham, remained at the scene and was assisting officers with their inquiries.
About the author
A race leapfrogs in District 11
The San Francisco Department of Elections moments ago released the results of an additional 35,979 ballots. That brings the grand total of processed ballots to 325,114 — 62.3 percent of the electorate. There are, perhaps, 81,000 ballots remaining. The ceiling on turnout appears to be about 77.8 percent, just a shade higher than the 77 percent historical average in presidential contests going back to 1916.On to the contested Board of Supervisors racesDistrict 1 Supervisor Connie Chan and challenger Marjan Philhour are now untied. Photos by Junyao Yang on Mar. 16 and June 1, 2024.Thursday’s ballot drop resulted in the mathematical oddity of District 1 incumbent supervisor Connie Chan and challenger Marjan Philhour both having exactly 11,001 votes. The race continues to trend Chan’s way. After being up by 262 votes yesterday, today’s vote drop saw her lead rise to 558. Four years […]
Harris Surrogate Says Joe Biden Gave a ‘Big F You’ to Fellow Democrats With Kamala Endorsement
Democratic National Committee women’s chair and Kamala Harris surrogate Lindy Li unloaded her frustrations to Fox News on Saturday, saying the Harris campaign was a “$1 billion disaster” and pinning the blame for it on Joe Biden.Li, a donor to Harris, told Fox News host Will Cain that the problems began with Biden’s swift endorsement of Harris on the day he left the presidential race.“I actually think President Biden, the whole endorsing her 30 minutes after he dropped out, I think that was a big, ‘F you’ to the party. ‘If you don’t want me, here’s somebody you may not like, deal with it,’” Li said.Cain asked if she meant Biden was “sticking the party with Kamala Harris?”“Kind of like sticking it to the man,” Li replied.Li cited the delay by Michelle and Barack Obama to endorse Harris as a […]
Video: S.F. Target security guard took cash from man, Tased and beat him
After Mission Local reported on a Target security guard beating San Francisco resident Shan Bowerman with a baton last week, additional onlooker video reveals what precipitated that beating: The guard, holding a Taser to Bowerman’s chest, forcibly took his money while he protested loudly. The guard Tases Bowerman in the video, takes the money — a few hundred dollars of a welfare payment by Bowerman’s reckoning — then strikes him in the face with the Taser. No one was arrested in the incident, but Bowerman was treated in an ambulance. The new footage obtained by Mission Local today corroborates Bowerman’s claims last week that the security guard had intervened in a dispute he had with his girlfriend, forcibly took the money from him, Tased him and then handed the wad of bills to Bowerman’s purported girlfriend. The video could lead to assault charges against […]
Arista Networks price target raised to $425 from $369 at UBS
https://www.tipranks.com/news/the-fly/arista-networks-price-target-raised-to-425-from-369-at-ubs UBS raised the firm’s price target on Arista Networks (ANET) to $425 from $369 and keeps a Neutral rating on the shares. The company’s “good but not great” revenue guidance is likely “conservative,” but not the softer gross margin outlook, which along with some softness in non-AI related revenue next year could hold back shares, the analyst tells investors. Published first on TheFly – the ultimate source for real-time, market-moving breaking financial news. Try Now>> See today’s best-performing stocks on TipRanks >> Read More on ANET: Source: finance.yahoo.com
Tie broken in D1, Mahmood pulling away in D5
The San Francisco Department of Elections moments ago released the results of an additional 29,917 ballots. That brings the grand total of processed ballots to 289,135 — 55.4 percent of the electorate. There are, perhaps, 117,000 ballots remaining. Today’s results are, clearly, not final — but they do provide a modicum of clarity. The ceiling on turnout appears to be about 77.8 percent, just a shade higher than the 77 percent historical average in presidential contests going back to 1916.Clarity was not needed in the mayor’s race. Mayor London Breed conceded the race yesterday and Daniel Lurie today claimed victory. After today’s ballot drop and ranked-choice voting permutations, Lurie leads by 27,308 votes (55.8 percent to 44.2 percent). While Breed or even Aaron Peskin could, as a mathematical exercise, still prevail, this race — again — has been conceded.With a new mayor, the dynamics […]
What to know about the House push to expand some Social Security benefits
WASHINGTON (AP) — The House is expected to try next week to pass a Social Security-related bill to ensure benefits for workers who are also eligible for other pensions despite a surprise move by hard-right Freedom Caucus leaders to derail the effort.It’s a quick turnaround to salvage what had been a bipartisan effort to pass the bill during what’s now the lame-duck post-election period of the Congress.Here’s what’s going on:WHAT DOES THE BILL DO?The measure that would repeal the so-called “government pensions offset” has been gaining support in the House — a robust 300 lawmakers, including House Speaker Mike Johnson, have signed on to it.The bill summary says the government pensions offset “in various instances reduces Social Security benefits for spouses, widows, and widowers who also receive government pensions of their own.”The bill would repeal that provision and reinstate full […]
Related
Harris Surrogate Says Joe Biden Gave a ‘Big F You’ to Fellow Democrats With Kamala Endorsement
Democratic National Committee women’s chair and Kamala Harris surrogate Lindy Li unloaded her frustrations to Fox News on Saturday, saying the Harris campaign was a “$1 billion disaster” and pinning the blame for it on Joe Biden.Li, a donor to Harris, told Fox News host Will Cain that the problems began with Biden’s swift endorsement of Harris on the day he left the presidential race.“I actually think President Biden, the whole endorsing her 30 minutes after he dropped out, I think that was a big, ‘F you’ to the party. ‘If you don’t want me, here’s somebody you may not like, deal with it,’” Li said.Cain asked if she meant Biden was “sticking the party with Kamala Harris?”“Kind of like sticking it to the man,” Li replied.Li cited the delay by Michelle and Barack Obama to endorse Harris as a […]
Arista Networks price target raised to $425 from $369 at UBS
https://www.tipranks.com/news/the-fly/arista-networks-price-target-raised-to-425-from-369-at-ubs UBS raised the firm’s price target on Arista Networks (ANET) to $425 from $369 and keeps a Neutral rating on the shares. The company’s “good but not great” revenue guidance is likely “conservative,” but not the softer gross margin outlook, which along with some softness in non-AI related revenue next year could hold back shares, the analyst tells investors. Published first on TheFly – the ultimate source for real-time, market-moving breaking financial news. Try Now>> See today’s best-performing stocks on TipRanks >> Read More on ANET: Source: finance.yahoo.com
What to know about the House push to expand some Social Security benefits
WASHINGTON (AP) — The House is expected to try next week to pass a Social Security-related bill to ensure benefits for workers who are also eligible for other pensions despite a surprise move by hard-right Freedom Caucus leaders to derail the effort.It’s a quick turnaround to salvage what had been a bipartisan effort to pass the bill during what’s now the lame-duck post-election period of the Congress.Here’s what’s going on:WHAT DOES THE BILL DO?The measure that would repeal the so-called “government pensions offset” has been gaining support in the House — a robust 300 lawmakers, including House Speaker Mike Johnson, have signed on to it.The bill summary says the government pensions offset “in various instances reduces Social Security benefits for spouses, widows, and widowers who also receive government pensions of their own.”The bill would repeal that provision and reinstate full […]
TSMC to suspend production of advanced AI chips for China from Monday, FT reports
(Reuters) -Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company has notified Chinese chip design companies that it is suspending production of their advanced AI chips from Monday, Financial Times reported on Friday, citing three people familiar with the matter. TSMC has told Chinese customers that it will no longer manufacture AI chips at advanced process nodes of seven nanometres or smaller, the report said. Any future supplies of such semiconductors by TSMC to Chinese customers would be subject to an approval process which is likely to involve Washington, two of three people quoted said, according to the report. "TSMC does not comment on market rumor. TSMC is a law-abiding company and we are committed to complying with all applicable rules and regulations, including applicable export controls," the company said in a comment. The U.S. Department of Commerce did not immediately respond to a Reuters […]
Lucid’s (NASDAQ:LCID) Q3 Sales Top Estimates, Stock Soars
Luxury electric car manufacturer Lucid (NASDAQ:LCID) met Wall Street’s revenue expectations in Q3 CY2024, with sales up 45.2% year on year to $200 million. Its non-GAAP loss of $0.28 per share was 9.7% above analysts’ consensus estimates. Is now the time to buy Lucid? Find out in our full research report. Revenue: $200 million vs analyst estimates of $198.1 million (in line) Adjusted EPS: -$0.28 vs analyst estimates of -$0.31 EBITDA: -$613.1 million vs analyst estimates of -$613.8 million (small beat) Gross Margin (GAAP): -106%, up from -241% in the same quarter last year Operating Margin: -385%, up from -546% in the same quarter last year EBITDA Margin: -306%, up from -453% in the same quarter last year Free Cash Flow was -$622.5 million compared to -$706.1 million in the same quarter last year Sales Volumes rose 90.9% year on […]
Mysterious black balls that washed up on Sydney beach were foul-smelling mini ‘fatbergs’
The mystery of the black balls that washed up on some of Sydney’s most iconic beaches last month has now been solved – and it’s more disgusting than you could ever imagine.Australian beachgoers were turned away from seven beaches last month after lifeguards spotted thousands of black spheres, prompting closures and clean-up efforts.A team of scientists at the University of New South Wales (UNSW) has revealed the black balls – initially thought to be made of tar – were actually mini “fatbergs,” made up of human feces, methamphetamine, human hair, fatty acids, and food waste, among hundreds of other vile and befuddling substances.“They smell absolutely disgusting, they smell worse than anything you’ve ever smelt,” lead investigator Associate Professor Jon Beves told CNN affiliate 9News.The New South Wales Environment Protection Authority (EPA) first warned Sydney residents to avoid swimming or touching […]
