After yacht sinks off Sicily, search continues for six missing

PALERMO, Sicily (Reuters) – Rescue teams were getting ready in Sicily to resume a search for six missing people, including British tech entrepreneur Mike Lynch and his daughter, after a luxury yacht was struck by a violent storm and sank on Monday, killing one on board.

The British-flagged “Bayesian,” a 56-metre-long (184-ft) sailboat, which was carrying 22 people, was anchored just off the port of Porticello when it was hit by ferocious weather.

Jonathan Bloomer, chairman of Morgan Stanley International and Chris Morvillo, a lawyer at Clifford Chance who represented Lynch in a long-standing trial in the U.S., were among the missing.

The wives of both men were also unaccounted for, Salvatore Cocina, head of Civil Protection in Sicily, told Italian media.

Specialist divers had reached the ship on Monday at a depth of some 50 metres, but access was limited due to objects in the way, the fire brigade said.

Fifteen people had escaped before the boat went down, including Lynch’s wife, Angela Bacares, who owned the boat, and a one-year-old girl.

On Monday, rescue teams recovered the body of the yacht’s onboard chef, identified as Antiguan citizen Ricardo Thomas.