The trip was meant to be a celebration for British tech mogul Mike Lynch after his acquittal of fraud charges. Accompanied by his closest friends and family aboard the £30 million superyacht Bayesian, the 59-year-old father of two from Suffolk planned to celebrate his "second chance" after spending nearly a year under house arrest.
However, the joyful sailing excursion to Sicily turned into a tragedy just on Monday when the superyacht, with 10 crew members and 12 passengers on board, was struck by an unexpected waterspout due to severe weather and sank near Palermo. Lynch is now feared dead along with five others who went missing after the yacht capsized.
Excursion Turns Into Tragedy
Last night, Lynch—once referred to as the British Bill Gates and estimated to be worth £852 million—along with his 18-year-old daughter Hannah, who recently finished her A-levels and secured a spot to study English at Oxford University, were among the six missing and feared dead.
The body of one man, believed to be the ship's chef, has been recovered, while expert divers are concerned that those still unaccounted for may be trapped in the ship's hull, possibly in their cabins.
"They were in the wrong place at the wrong time," Salvo Cocina of Sicily's civil protection agency said last night.
The frantic search for the missing carried on through the night.
In a remarkable turn of events, the tragedy unfolded just days after Stephen Chamberlain, a former colleague of Lynch—who had stood alongside him in the successful fight against the fraud case—died after being hit by a car.
In June Lynch won a 13-year legal battle after he was cleared by a San Francisco court of allegations related to a massive fraud in the £8.64 billion sale of his company, Autonomy, to the U.S. firm Hewlett-Packard in 2011.
A conviction could have resulted in a 25-year prison sentence in the U.S.
The entrepreneur, who also owns a home in Chelsea, expressed his "indescribable" relief at being acquitted and his happiness at returning to Britain, texting a friend that it was "so wonderful to be home."
He also shared his joy at spending time with his two daughters, aged 21 and 18, and their six dogs.
To celebrate his newfound freedom, Lynch invited guests from the legal firm Clifford Chance, as well as his own company, Invoke Capital, to join him on the yacht trip.
Ayla Ronald's father, whose daughter was part of Lynch's legal team, confirmed that the sailing trip was planned to celebrate the tycoon's acquittal.
Doomed Trip
The yacht sank after a violent storm swept through the area overnight on Sunday. Lynch's wife, Angela Bacares, 57, who was among those rescued, recounted that the boat suddenly 'tilted' around 4 a.m., causing glass to start shattering.
The superyacht was illuminated, lighting up the night sky, when a waterspout—a swirling column of air and water mist—formed nearby.
Among the others missing, and now feared dead is Morgan Stanley International chairman Jonathan Bloomer and his wife.
Italian officials have confirmed the death of the ship's chef, Canadian-born Thomas Recaldo, whose body has been recovered.
Bloomer, who is reportedly a close friend of Lynch, is also the chairman of insurance provider Hiscox and was previously the CEO of Prudential, according to his LinkedIn profile.
The Italian coast guard dispatched divers to search for survivors in the wreckage, which lies about 160 feet underwater. Authorities suspect that some of the missing passengers might have been trapped in their rooms when the yacht went down, according to the BBC.
