A violent storm struck a luxury yacht off the coast of Sicily early Monday, leading to the vessel’s sinking and leaving one person dead and six missing, including British tech entrepreneur Mike Lynch.
The British-flagged “Bayesian,” a 56-meter sailboat, was anchored near Porticello when it was hit by severe weather, according to the Italian coast guard. The yacht, carrying 22 people, rapidly disappeared beneath the waves shortly before dawn. Fifteen individuals, including Lynch’s wife Angela Bacares and a one-year-old girl, managed to escape before the yacht sank.
The identities of the deceased and missing have not yet been disclosed, but sources confirm that Lynch was among those unaccounted for. Italian media reported that the deceased was the yacht’s onboard chef.
The missing individuals include British, American, and Canadian nationals. According to survivors, the trip had been organized by Lynch for his colleagues.
A coast guard official in Palermo stated, “The wind was very strong. Bad weather was expected, but not to this extent.” A nearby boat captain described how his crew turned on their engine to avoid a collision with the Bayesian as it anchored beside them. After the storm, they discovered the Bayesian had vanished.
The captain’s crew found some survivors, including three seriously injured individuals and a baby girl and her mother, on a life raft and provided initial assistance until the coast guard arrived.
Lynch, 59, was a prominent British tech entrepreneur known for founding the software company Autonomy, which he sold to HP for $11 billion in 2011. Following a high-profile legal battle with HP, Lynch was acquitted of fraud charges in June after spending over a year under house arrest.
The coast guard is investigating the wreck, which lies at a depth of 49 meters, and prosecutors in Termini Imerese have opened an inquiry into the incident.
Recent storms and heavy rainfall in Italy follow weeks of extreme heat, which had raised Mediterranean Sea temperatures to record levels and increased the risk of severe weather, according to meteorologist Luca Mercalli.
The Bayesian, built by Italian shipbuilder Perini in 2008 and last refitted in 2020, features the world’s tallest aluminum mast. The yacht, named after Bayesian theory central to Lynch’s software, was last tracked off Palermo on Sunday evening before the storm hit.
