Mike Lynch and daughter among missing after yacht sinks: What we know about disaster - and 'alarming' potential cause
The British-flagged luxury vessel named Bayesian was carrying 22 people when it got into difficulty off the coast of Sicily. Seven bodies have now been recovered from the wreckage.
Friday 23 August 2024 12:24, UK
Seven bodies have been found after a superyacht sank off the coast of Sicily.
Twenty-two people were on board the vessel named Bayesian when it got into difficulty in the early hours of Monday, with 15 people rescued.
Here's what we know about the sinking of the luxury vessel so far.
Follow latest updates on the superyacht sinking
What might have caused the sinking?
The British-flagged luxury vessel, named Bayesian, capsized at around 4.30am local time on Monday morning off Palermo, according to ship-tracking site Marine Traffic.
It sank in as little as 60 seconds with 22 people on board, 12 passengers and a crew of 10, according to the Italian coastguard.
Waterspouts, essentially tornados that form over water, were seen as powerful winds battered the area overnight, local media said.
The yacht may have sunk faster with all the doors open due to the hot weather, Sailing Today magazine editor Sam Jefferson has said.
"I imagine all the doors were open because it was hot, so there were enough hatches and doors open that it filled with water very quickly and sank like that," he said.
Official pictures show air conditioning units in several of the rooms, however, which could counter the suggestion open windows caused the vessel to sink faster.
The huge mast is also likely to have played a role, he added.
What are waterspouts?
Waterspouts typically occur during thunderstorms and can develop very rapidly, within minutes.
Their spin generally reaches wind speeds between 75-200mph, but can reach as high as 300mph.
They can travel at about 10-20mph typically but can reach greater speeds, making them difficult to avoid - especially in something as slow-moving as a yacht.
Matthew Schanck, chair of the Maritime Search and Rescue Council, called the reports of a tornado or waterspout "rare" and "quite alarming".
"The vessel was at anchor in a recognised anchorage," Mr Schanck said.
"Depending on wind direction and the state of the sea, this informs the captain whether it is a safe area to anchor or not. There was nothing that was too concerning, for my eye. All in all, the captain used the information they had to make a safe call."
Who owns the yacht?
The yacht belonged to the family of British tech tycoon Mike Lynch. He was confirmed to have died after rescuers found his body on Thursday. Mr Lynch was on holiday with his 18-year-old daughter Hannah, who is still missing, and his wife Angela Bacares, who was rescued.
Mr Lynch, 59, was known as the "British Bill Gates" and has been in the headlines in recent months over a high-profile fraud case.
In June, a US jury cleared him of all charges, which were related to the 2011 sale of his software company Autonomy to Hewlett-Packard (HP). The yacht trip is believed to have been a celebration of the end of Mr Lynch's legal troubles.
HP accused him of deliberately overstating the value of the company before it was acquired by the American tech giant.
Mr Lynch was extradited to the US to face trial in May last year and spent 13 months under house arrest in San Francisco as he awaited trial on 17 charges of conspiracy and wire fraud brought by the US Department of Justice - which were later reduced to 15 charges. He always denied any wrongdoing and was acquitted.
Read more:
Lynch's co-defendant dies days before yacht sinking
Who was on board when the boat sank?
The passengers were largely British and American, with crew members were from New Zealand, South Africa, and Canada.
Charlotte Golunski was among the Britons rescued. Her LinkedIn profile says she is a partner at Mr Lynch's firm Invoke Capital and has worked there since 2012.
Speaking after the ordeal, Ms Golunski told Italian media that she lost her daughter Sofia for "two seconds" amid the "fury" of the sea but was able to retrieve her. She said she held the infant above the waves until the lifeboat was ready.
"Many people screamed. Luckily the lifeboat inflated and 11 of us were able to get on board," she told ANSA.
The girl's father James Emsley also survived, according to Sicily's civil protection agency.
Also on board were Jonathan Bloomer, chairman of investment bank Morgan Stanley, his wife Judy Bloomer, a top US lawyer Chris Morvillo, who worked on Mr Lynch's criminal case, and his wife Neda Morvillo. Divers confirmed on Thursday that their bodies had been recovered.
The yacht's captain James Cutfield survived, along with South African crew members Leah Randall and Katja Chicken.
Recaldo Thomas, a Canadian-Antiguan chef who was working on the boat, was the first to be found dead, the Italian Coastguard confirmed to Sky News.
During rescue efforts, divers saw "corpses through the portholes" of the wreck as they recovered the body of a man at a depth of 50m (164ft), according to Salvo Cocina, the head of the Civil Protection of Sicily.
What do we know about the vessel?
The Bayesian is owned by a company controlled by Mr Lynch's wife.
It was known for its unusual 72.3m (246ft) single mast - one of the world's tallest made of aluminium - and shared its name with the statistical method Mr Lynch's Autonomy software was based on.
It was built by Italian company Perini Navi in 2008 and last refitted in 2020.
It was listed for rent for up to €195,000 (£166,000) a week, according to online charter sites.
The luxury vessel, which was managed by yachting company Camper & Nicholsons, could accommodate up to 12 guests in six suites.
It won a string of awards for its design, according to online specialist yacht sites.
Mr Schanck, of the Maritime Search and Rescue Council, said the vessel would have been equipped with "high standard" life-saving appliances and radio communications.
He added the yacht would have met all international standards and UK Maritime Coastguard Agency regulations before its voyage.
It was previously named Salute, or "health" in Italian, when it flew under a Dutch flag. Its minimalist interior featured light wood with Japanese accents designed by the French designer Remi Tessier, according to descriptions on charter sites.
What were its last movements?
The boat left the Sicilian port of Milazzo on 14 August and was last tracked east of Palermo on Sunday evening, with a navigation status of "at anchor", according to vessel tracking site VesselFinder.
The Bayesian previously travelled to other parts of Sicily before its last sighting off the coast of the port of Porticello.
On Sunday, the boat was seen off the coast of Cefalu before it travelled towards Porticello, MarineTraffic data shows.
In the days before, the yacht travelled around four of the Aeolian islands, just north of Sicily.
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Prosecutors in the nearby town of Termini Imerese have opened an investigation into the sinking.