Sicily yacht incident: British tycoon Mike Lynch missing after boat sinks in Palermo storm
British tech tycoon Mike Lynch is among seven people missing after a £14 million yacht sank off the coast of Sicily early this morning.
Mr Lynch, once described as Britain’s Bill Gates, was on board the Bayesian when it was struck by a violent storm around 5am but was not one of the 15 people rescued.
A British mum who survived the sinking described the terrifying scenes as the vessel went down.
Charlotte – whose surname was not given – told Italian newspaper La Repubblica she held her one-year-old daughter Sofia afloat to stop her drowning.
She said: ‘I screamed for help but all I could hear around me was the screams of others.’
Angela Bacares, the wife of Mike Lynch, has been confirmed to have been rescued from the shipwreck, although seven people, including three Britons, remain missing.
22 people were on board the yacht when it sank near Porticello on the Italian island this morning.
A man’s body has since been found but his nationality is unconfirmed.