Sicily yacht sinking: Search for missing continues, including tech magnate Mike Lynch - MASHAHER

Key Points

A luxury yacht capsized off Sicily, leaving one dead and six missing, including UK tech magnate Mike Lynch.
Fifteen people have been rescued and eight were hospitalised after storm hit the 56m yacht.
The Bayesian, notable for its tall mast, was moored near Porticello when a waterspout struck.

A luxury superyacht carrying foreign tourists capsized and sank off the Italian island of Sicily in bad weather.

One body was found, six people remain missing and 15 people were rescued, authorities said.

The ship had overturned around 5am local time (1pm AEDT) on Monday off the port of Porticello.

It had a crew of 10 people and 12 passengers, including British, American and Canadian nationalities, the Italian coast guard said.

Among the missing is British technology magnate Mike Lynch, according to Italy’s civil protection and authorities. Lynch’s wife and 14 other people survived.

Lynch, who was acquitted in June in a big US fraud trial, was among the six people who remain unaccounted for after their chartered sailboat sank off Porticello, when a tornado over the water known as a waterspout struck the area overnight, said Salvo Cocina of Sicily’s civil protection agency.

Health workers carry a body bag on the pier as rescue operation continues for the missing people who were on board. Source: ANSA / Igor Petyx

One body has been recovered, and police divers were trying to reach the hull of the ship, which was resting at a depth of 50 metres off Porticello, near Palermo, where it had been anchored, rescue authorities said.

A sudden fierce storm had battered the area overnight, and struck the place precisely where the 56-metre British-flagged Bayesian had been moored.

The Bayesian was notable for its single 75-metre mast, one of the world’s tallest made of aluminium and which was lit up at night, just hours before it sank.

British technology tycoon Mike Lynch is missing after Bayesian sank. Source: AAP / Yui Mok

Online charter sites list it for rent for up to 195,000 euros (about $321,000) a week.

Eight of the 15 people rescued and taken ashore at Porticello were hospitalised while the others were taken to a hotel.

One body believed to be the cook was found near the wreck, but six others were unaccounted for and believed inside the hull, a spokesperson for the Italian fire rescue service said.

Rescue crews located the vessel and deep-water police divers were trying to access the hull, they said.

The operations, which were visible from shore, involved helicopters and rescue boats from the coast guard, fire rescue and civil protection service.

Authorities said the crew and passengers hailed from a variety of countries: In addition to Britain and the United States, passengers and crew were from Antigua, France, Germany, Ireland, Myanmar, the Netherlands, New Zealand and Spain.

A Dutch foreign ministry spokesperson said the lone Dutch citizen on board, a man, had been rescued and was not in a life-threatening condition.

The yacht, built in 2008 by the Italian firm Perini Navi, can accommodate 12 passengers in four double cabins, a triple and the master suite, plus crew accommodations, according to Charter World and Yacht Charters.

The vessel, which previously was named Salute when it flew under a Dutch flag, featured a sleek, minimalist interior of light wood with Japanese accents designed by the French designer Remi Tessier, according to descriptions and photos on the charter sites.

Source Agencies