Desperate search continues as time running out to find tech billionaire Mike Lynch

Tech tycoon Mike Lynch, his daughter and four others who went missing when the $27m luxury yacht sunk off the coast of Italy are feared dead, as specialist divers race against the clock to try to find them.

It was meant to be a luxe-filled celebration for the family, friends, lawyers and work colleagues of the tech billionaire known as “Britain’s Bill Gates” after his dramatic acquittal on fraud charges in the US.

But Mike Lynch’s party on the Mediterranean ended in tragedy when his luxury $27 million superyacht capsized and sank off the coast of Porticello, near Italy’s Palermo, after it was flooded following a violent tornado.

The heroic captain of a Dutch sailing ship was one of the first on the scene, telling how he witnessed the tragic moment the superyacht went under before he and his crew helped get survivors to safety.

In horrific scenes, a British mother rescued her one-year-old-daughter from the tragedy after she woke in her cabin to find that the yacht had overturned and they were in the water.

Mr Lynch, 59, and his daughter Hannah, 18, are feared dead and are among six still missing after the 56-metre-long vessel, called The Bayesian, sank with 22 people on board.

BILLIONAIRE’S WIFE SPEAKS

Angela Bacares, the wife of missing billionaire Mike Lynch, has revealed she was woken by the superyacht tilting.

Ms Bacares, who is in a wheelchair after walking on broken glass, is anxiously awaiting news of her husband and daughter, Hannah.

She told Italian outlet La Repubblica that she woke at 4am on Monday and felt a “slight tilt” before the superyacht capsized off the coast of Sicily.

SPECIALIST DIVERS SEARCH FOR MISSING

Specialist Italian divers launched a fresh search for the six missing people on Tuesday.

Firefighter divers trained to work in tight spaces were flown in from Rome and Sardinia late on Monday, but a first search of the wreck some 50 metres below the sea surface failed.

“Access was limited only to the bridge, with difficulty due to the presence of furniture obstructing passage”, the firefighters said on X.

WHO IS STILL MISSING?

A man’s body, believed to be the yacht’s chef, was tragically found underwater alongside the shipwreck by divers, reports Corriere Della Sera.

Mr Lynch’s wife, Angela Bacares, was among the fifteen people who were rescued from the yacht by Karsten Borner’s sailing ship, the Sir Robert BP.

New Zealand-born lawyer Ayla Ronald, 36, who works for law firm Clifford Chance, survived the tragedy along with her partner Matthew Fletcher.

Her father Lin Ronald told Stuff that his daughter had texted him that “there are deaths, and she and her partner are alive”.

Mike Lynch and his wife Angela Bacares, who survived the tragedy.

Clifford Chance lawyer Ayla Ronald, from Christchurch, was rescued. Picture: Supplied

In addition to Mr Lynch his daughter Hannah, the chairman of Morgan Stanley International, Jonathan Bloomer, and his wife are among the missing.

Mr Bloomer is a close friend of Mr Lynch and was confirmed missing by Italian authorities.

A LinkedIn profile states Mr Bloomer is the chairman of insurance provider Hiscox and was formerly the chief executive of Prudential.

Mr Lynch’s lawyer, Christopher Morvillo, who also works at Clifford Chance, and his wife Nada, are missing.

Morgan Stanley International chairman Jonathan Bloomer is missing. Picture: Getty Images

Lawyer Christopher Morvillo, from Clifford Chance. Supplied

People said to be survivors of a capsized yacht leave Coast Guard Headquarters in Porticello near Palermo, Italy. Picture: Getty Images

MOTHER SAVES BABY FROM SINKING YACHT

Charlotte Golunski, 36, was sleeping on-board the superyacht when she was woken up by floods of water, The Sun reports.

The brave British mother used all her strength to hold her one-year-daughter Sophia afloat, saving the little girl’s life, but for a heart-stopping few seconds she thought she had lost her child in the sea.

“It was all dark. In the water I couldn’t keep my eyes open. I screamed for help but all I could hear around me was the screams of others,” Ms Golunski told Giornale di Sicilia.

“For two seconds I lost the baby in the sea, then I immediately hugged her again amidst the fury of the waves.”

Charlotte Golunski saved her daughter from drowning. Picture: Facebook

Ms Golunski managed to swim over to a lifesaving raft after coast guards and local fishermen came to the rescue and she and her daughter were taken to safety along with other survivors.

Her partner, James Emsilie, was also on-board at the time of the horror ordeal and was rescued.

HERO CAPTAIN TELLS OF HORROR

The heroic captain who rescued survivors told how he saw Ms Golunski and her child in the life raft.

“In the last life raft was also a little baby. So it was a big disaster,” Karsten Borner said.

The sea captain told of the tragic moment he witnessed the superyacht sinking.

“After the storm was over, we noticed that the ship behind us was gone. And then we saw a red flare,” he told the BBC.

“So my first mate and I went to the position, and we found this life raft drifting with 15 people inside.

The captain told The Sun The Bayesian “went flat on the water and then down”.

“Fifteen people inside. Four people injured, three heavily injured, and we brought them to our ship.”

Captain Karsten Borner’s ship rescued the survivors of the superyacht disaster. Picture: Supplied

He added: “With a light we saw that the ship was inside, and then we saw a triangle. So I think she went back. Terrible. Terrible moment.

An ambulance is parked near the harbour where a search continues for missing passengers after a yacht capsized. Picture: Getty Images

Police and Coast Guard workers prepare to search the site. Picture: AFP

WHAT CAUSED THE YACHT TO SINK?

The sinking of the British-registered luxury vessel may have been caused by a tornadic waterspout caused by one of the storms that has swept through Italy in recent days.

Waterspouts are whirling columns of air and water mist that typically occur during thunderstorms and can develop very rapidly, reaching wind speeds high as 480kmh.

Matthew Schanck, chair of the Maritime Search and Rescue Council, called the reports of a tornado or waterspout “rare” and “quite alarming”.

“The vessel was at anchor in a recognised anchorage,” Mr Schanck told Sky News.

“Depending on wind direction and the state of the sea, this informs the captain whether it is a safe area to anchor or not.

“There was nothing that was too concerning, for my eye. All in all, the captain used the information they had to make a safe call.”

WHO IS MIKE LYNCH?

Mike Lynch is an entrepreneur having founded and sold tech and software companies. He was awarded an OBE for his services to enterprise in 2006.

He was extradited to the US on fraud charges in 2023 with a judge setting his bail at $150 million.

A fellow sailor photographed the Bayesian only hours before it capsized. Picture: X

The Bayesian is 56 metres long and costs a staggering $320,000 per week to hire. Picture: Supplied

He had invited guests to the yacht from legal firm Clifford Chance, as well as his own company Invoke Capital, to celebrate him being acquitted of fraud charges.

Invoke Capital, one of Lynch’s companies has yet to comment on the tragedy.

Rescue boats search for six missing passengers after a yacht sank off the coast of Sicily. Picture: AFP

Italian police officers stand at the port as the search continues for six passengers missing from a sailboat that sank off the coast of Porticello, northwestern Sicily. Picture: AFP

A coast guard vessel searches for missing passengers. Picture: Getty Images

The Bayesian sails under a British flag, according to a Facebook post.

The boat is managed by Camper and Nicholsons International.

A spokesman for the company told the BBC they are “dealing with a situation on board one of [their] managed vessels”.

The boat left the Sicilian port of Milazzo last Wednesday and was last tracked east of Palermo last night, according to tracking app Vesselfinder.

LYNCH’S CO-DEFENDANT HIT BY CAR

The disaster comes just days after Mike Lynch’s former colleague and co-defendant in his US fraud trial died in hospital after being hit by a car while out running in the UK.

Stephen Chamberlain was fatally struck by the vehicle on Saturday morning, local time, in Cambridgeshire.

A source told The Telegraph: “Our dear client and friend Steve Chamberlain was fatally struck by a car on Saturday while out running.

“He was a courageous man with unparalleled integrity, and we deeply miss him. He fought successfully to clear his good name, which lives on through his wonderful family.”

Chamberlain, the former vice president of finance at the firm Autonomy, had faced the same US charges of fraud and conspiracy as his former boss Mr Lynch for allegedly scheming to inflate the company’s value before it was sold, The Sun reports.

Both had been acquitted of all charges by a jury in San Francisco in June.

Originally published as Desperate search continues as time running out to find tech billionaire Mike Lynch