Cambridge entrepreneur Mike Lynch, his daughter and four others feared dead after yacht sinks off coast of Sicily
Cambridge entrepreneur Mike Lynch, his 18-year-old daughter and four others are feared to have died, with their bodies trapped inside a luxury yacht which sank in a tornado.
Search and rescue efforts by sea and air have yet to locate the missing six people.
Vincenzo Zagarola, of the Italian Coastguard, said it is believed the boat sank quickly.
Asked about the likelihood of them being alive, he replied: “Never say never, but reasonably the answer should be not.”
The yacht, called the Bayesian, was moored around half-a-mile off the coast of Porticello when it sank at around 5am local time on Monday as the area was hit by a storm.
The others missing are Morgan Stanley International bank chairman Jonathan Bloomer, his wife, Judy Bloomer, Clifford Chance lawyer Chris Morvillo; and his wife, Neda Morvillo.
Italy’s fire brigade Vigili del Fuoco said it is developing a plan to enter the wreckage of Bayesian, which is resting on the seabed off the coast at a depth of 50 metres.
It described the operation as “complex”, with divers limited to 12-minute underwater shifts.
Fifteen of the 22 passengers and crew on board – including Mr Lynch’s wife, Angela Bacares – were rescued after escaping onto a lifeboat.
The body Recaldo Thomas, a chef who was working on the boat, was recovered on Monday (19 August).
A spokesperson for Latymer Upper School in Hammersmith, west London, where Hannah Lynch was a former pupil, said in a statement: “We are all incredibly shocked by the news that Hannah and her father are among those missing in this tragic incident and our thoughts are with their family and everyone involved as we await further updates.”
On Tuesday, an inflated orange lifeboat was docked at the harbour near where search crews are being dispatched.
Dr Lynch, who founded software giant Autonomy in Cambridge in 1996, was cleared in June of conducting a massive fraud relating to an $11bn (£8.64bn) sale to US company Hewlett Packard.
The boat trip was a celebration of his acquittal.
Mr Bloomer appeared at trial as a defence witness for Dr Lynch, with reports suggesting the pair are close friends.
A spokesperson for Morgan Stanley said the bank was “shocked and saddened” while Clifford Chance, which represented Dr Lynch in the fraud trial, said it was a “tragic incident”.
Ed Llewellyn, British ambassador to Italy, met some of the survivors of the sinking at a hotel.
He said: “I’ve spoken to some of the British survivors both yesterday and today – I want to express my deep sympathy from myself and colleagues at the British embassy for what’s happened.
“We’re doing what we can to support them in this incredibly sad and difficult situation to help them with contacts from the Italian authorities at a practical level.”
Ayla Ronald, a New Zealand national working at Clifford Chance, survived the ordeal.
Her father Lin Ronald confirmed to the Telegraph she had been invited aboard as a thanks for assistance in Dr Lynch’s recent court case.
“I have texted my daughter and she hasn’t given me any updates about missing personnel or saved personnel. She has only said that there are deaths and she and her partner are alive,” he said.
“Ayla is a lawyer who is part of the legal team that were invited to go sailing as a result of the success in the recent United States court case.”
One of the survivors, British tourist Charlotte Golunski, told la Repubblica she held her one-year-old daughter, Sofia, to stop her from drowning.
Ms Golunski works for Invoke Capital, a company founded by Dr Lynch that has a Cambridge base in JJ Thompson Avenue. She is also a board member at Cambridge AI company Luminance, which Dr Lynch also founded.
The Marine Accident Investigation Branch said four of its inspectors have been deployed to Palermo.
Dr Lynch’s co-defendant in the Autonomy trial, Stephen Chamberlain, died after being hit by a car while out running in Stretham at about 10.10am on Saturday (17 August).
Mr Chamberlain’s family said: “Steve was a much-loved husband, father, son, brother and friend.
“He was an amazing individual whose only goal in life was to help others in any way possible.
“He made a lasting impression on everyone who had the privilege of knowing him.”
Mr Chamberlain, 52, from Station Road, Longstanton, was taken to hospital with serious injuries following the collision with a blue Vauxhall Corsa, which was travelling between Stretham and Wicken on the A1123 Newmarket Road.
The car driver, a 49-year-old woman from Haddenham, remained at the scene and is assisting Cambridgeshire police with their enquiries.
Mr Chamberlain, 52, from Station Road, Longstanton, was cleared of all charges in June, along with Dr Lynch.
During his career, Mr Chamberlain also worked for Darktrace and Waterbeach-based Sepura.
