A day after his luxury yacht sank in a tornado off the coast of the Sicilian capital Palermo, the search for British billionaire Mike Lynch and his daughter continues.

The 50-metre-long boat, named Bayesian, had 22 people on board when it sank in the early hours of Monday morning. Among the seven missing people are four Britons, according to local media.

According to ship tracking site Marine Traffic, the yacht sank when a violent storm swept through the area overnight and was sailing under a British flag.

Salvo Cocina of the Sicilian Civil Protection said: “They were in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

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What do we know about the missing people on the yacht?

British technology magnate Mike Lynch is among the six missing tourists. The Independent understands. Mr Lynch, who founded software giant Autonomy in 1996, was awarded an OBE in 2006 for services to business. In June he was acquitted of massive fraud charges related to an $11 billion (£8.64 billion) sale to US company Hewlett Packard.

One man was pronounced dead. Photos from Monday show a body bag being lifted ashore where ambulances are waiting. According to an Italian newspaper, four of the missing passengers are British and two are American. the republic.

The general director of the Sicilian Civil Protection Agency, Salvatore Cocina, confirmed to the BBC that Lynch’s daughter Hannah and the Bayesian’s chef Ricardo Thomas are among those missing from the shipping accident. Hannah is said to be 18 years old.

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Numerous media reports said Mr Lynch had planned the superyacht cruise as a celebration with his family, staff and lawyers who had supported him throughout the decade-long trial. The BBC said Jonathan Bloomer, chairman of Morgan Stanley International Bank, and Chris Morvillo, a lawyer at Clifford Chance, were among the missing.

Johnathan Bloomer appeared as a defence witness for Mr Lynch at the trial and media reports say the two are close friends. His wife is also missing, according to the Daily Mail.

Lynch’s wife, Angela Bacares, was among the 15 survivors rescued from a lifeboat. Another survivor, 35-year-old Charlotte Golunski, told Italian journalists how she saved her one-year-old daughter Sofia from drowning.

She told la Repubblica that she lost Sofia for “two seconds”, adding: “I held her above water with all my strength and raised my arms to prevent her from drowning. It was completely dark. In the water I couldn’t keep my eyes open. I screamed for help, but all I could hear around me were the screams of others.”

According to her LinkedIn profile, Ms. Golunski is a partner at Mr. Lynch’s firm, Invoke Capital.

Charlotte and Sofia are being treated in hospital, as is Charlotte’s husband James.

Ayla Reynold, a New Zealander who works at Clifford Chance, also survived the horror. Her father Lin Ronald confirmed The Telegraph She had been invited on board as a thank you for her support in Lynch’s recent court case. He said his daughter did not give many details about what happened, but said: “There are dead people and she and her partner are alive.”

Where did the yacht sink?

The luxury yacht sank off the coast of Palermo in Sicily.

The 56-meter-long sailing boat sank with 22 people on board shortly before sunrise, the Italian coast guard said.

“The wind was very strong. Bad weather was expected, but not to this extent,” a coast guard official in Palermo told Reuters.

In recent days, Italy has been hit by storms and heavy rain. After weeks of scorching heat, floods and landslides caused major damage in the north of the country.

The boat left the Sicilian port of Milazzo on August 14 and was last tracked east of Palermo on Sunday evening with the navigation status “at anchor,” according to the ship tracking app Vesselfinder.

The Bayesian Superyacht

According to VesselFinder, the Bayesian superyacht is 56 meters long.

The superyacht can accommodate up to 12 guests in six suites and is available for rent for up to 195,000 euros (166,000 pounds) per week. The registered owner is Revtom Ltd, which is based on the Isle of Man.

Bayesian has made several trips in the last few days, calling at various ports in Sicily.

The 75-meter-high mast of the shipyard formerly known as “Salute” (“health” in Italian) is the tallest aluminum mast in the world, the Italian shipbuilder Perini said on its website.

Perini built the boat in 2008, it was last refitted in 2020 and managed by the yacht company Camper & Nicholsons.

Camper and Nicholsons International confirmed The Independent that the Bayesian sailing yacht “entered into heavy weather and subsequently sank.”

A statement added: “There were a total of 12 guests and 10 crew members on board. The Italian Coast Guard is leading the search and rescue operations and has safely recovered 15 people. Efforts to find the seven missing people are ongoing. Our priority is to assist in the ongoing search and provide all necessary assistance to the rescued passengers and crew. Further information will be provided as it becomes available.”