Search teams are scouring waters along Italy鈥檚 southwestern shore, where a luxury sailing yacht sank early Monday. Six people are known to be missing, including British tech tycoon Mike Lynch and his daughter, and Morgan Stanley International Chairman Jonathan Bloomer and his wife.
Faced with the possibility that some people might have been trapped inside the ship when it sank in a storm, dive teams (including cave divers from the local fire brigade) have been looking for ways to enter the vessel.
The Palermo Coast Guard told NPR on Tuesday that such an operation is complicated by the depth and position of the hull, which lies on the seabed at a depth of around 50 meters, about a half-mile from the port in Porticello, Sicily.
Lynch, a mathematician and longtime tech entrepreneur, was on a vacation voyage that apparently doubled as a celebration of his recent acquittal on federal fraud charges in the U.S. At least two members of his legal team were reportedly on the boat.
Here鈥檚 what we know about Lynch and the tragic situation off Sicily鈥檚 coast:
Who is Mike Lynch?
Lynch, 59, made his name as the founder and longtime leader of Autonomy, a search engine and software company that helped companies manage information. Hewlett-Packard for $11 billion in 2011, but Lynch then faced accusations 鈥� and then federal charges 鈥� that he had misrepresented his company鈥檚 financial health and prospects. Lynch denied the claims, saying HP was blaming him for its own problems.
Lynch on multiple fraud and conspiracy counts in late 2018, months after Autonomy鈥檚 former chief financial officer, Sushovan Hussain, was (he was later sentenced to five years in prison).
Lynch successfully delayed extradition from the U.K. until . Earlier this year, the case finally culminated in a lengthy trial in San Francisco that ended with Lynch鈥檚 , after he testified on his own behalf.
Also acquitted was Stephen Chamberlain, Autonomy鈥檚 former finance VP. But on Saturday 鈥� just two days before Lynch was caught in a boating catastrophe 鈥� Chamberlain was , after he was struck while out for a run.
Lynch earned a Ph.D. in adaptive pattern recognition from Cambridge University. In 2006, he was awarded an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) honor for his work in the U.K.鈥檚 tech industry. After selling Autonomy, he founded an investment group focused on startups emerging from Cambridge University.
Who else was aboard?
Survivors include Lynch's wife, Angela Bacares, along with Charlotte Golunski, who works at Invoke Capital, Lynch鈥檚 venture capital firm. Golunski was on the ship with her daughter, Sofia, who had just celebrated her first birthday. In an interview with , Golunski said she held her little girl as she floated in darkness, using all her strength to keep her arms up and prevent Sofia from drowning. Sophia鈥檚 father was also onboard and survived.
Ayla Ronald, a lawyer who worked on Lynch鈥檚 fraud case, and her partner also escaped the wreck. Other survivors include several crew members, including who were part of the ship鈥檚 staff.
Missing along with Lynch and Bloomer are Lynch鈥檚 daughter, Hannah, 18; Bloomer鈥檚 wife, Judy; a lawyer for Lynch named Chris Morvillo; and his wife, Neda, according to local newspaper .
Bloomer was a partner at Arthur Andersen for some 20 years, until 1994, according to his . He then led the financial services company Prudential before taking on a number of chairman roles, including at the legal services firm DWF.
Bloomer is also currently chairman of insurance company the Hiscox Group.
鈥淲e are deeply shocked and saddened by this tragic event,鈥� Hiscox CEO Aki Hussain said in a statement sent to NPR. 鈥淥ur thoughts are with all those affected, in particular our Chair, Jonathan Bloomer, and his wife Judy, who are among the missing, and with their family as they await further news from this terrible situation.鈥�
, naufragio imbarcazione a Porticello: proseguono da parte dei le ricerche delle 6 persone segnalate come disperse. Giunti da Cagliari, Sassari e Roma i speleo [ 19:30]
— Vigili del Fuoco (@vigilidelfuoco)
What happened to the yacht?
The gathering took place aboard a massive sailing yacht called Bayesian 鈥� a term that, in mathematics and statistics, refers to probability and uncertainty. The yacht鈥檚 overall length is listed at 55.9 meters (183 feet).
The Bayesian was off the coast of Porticello when it was swamped by a violent storm before dawn on Monday morning. Numerous eyewitness accounts cited a waterspout 鈥� a highly localized spiraling storm that鈥檚 essentially a marine tornado. Around that time, the Bayesian was located in the Tyrrhenian Sea, according to the tracking site.
The ship, which had 22 people aboard, sank. In the aftermath, 15 people were rescued, but one died and six were unaccounted for.
What about the rescue effort?
Helicopters and marine craft have been searching for any sign of the passengers, hoping to find more survivors. Sea and cave divers have also been part of the effort.
Italy鈥檚 fire brigade, Vigili del Fuoco, for divers to enter the sunken vessel. An initial attempt on Monday was cut short after divers were able to , citing furniture that blocked a passageway.
When asked about the possibility of finding any other survivors of the calamity, Comandante Vincenzo Zagarola of the Italian Coast Guard told on Tuesday that given how much time has elapsed, it鈥檚 difficult to imagine a good outcome for the missing passengers. But, he said, the search will continue.
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