A yacht off Sicily sinks, leaving 1 person dead and 6 missing

A sailing yacht carrying 22 people sank during a strong storm off the coast of Sicily on Monday, according to Italian officials, leaving one person dead and six others—including a British software magnate—missing.

The storm "with strong winds" that hit at five in the morning caused the yacht to capsize, according to Luciano Pischedda, the Italian Coast Guard official in charge of the rescue efforts. The ship was anchored roughly 0.5 miles off the coast of Porticello, which is located 12 miles to the east of Palermo, the capital of Sicily.

The sailing yacht's managers, Camper & Nicholsons, stated in an email that there were ten crew members and twelve guests on board.

What caused the yacht to sink is still a mystery to the authorities. Mr. Pischedda stated, "This will be ascertained later," and mentioned that a number of crew members were hospitalized and had not communicated with investigators.

According to him, four British nationals, two Americans, and a man with dual citizenship from Canada and Antigua were among the deceased and unaccounted for.

The sources, who wished to remain anonymous owing to the delicate nature of the situation, claimed that Mike Lynch, who was frequently referred to in the British media as “Britain’s Bill Gates,” was not one of those saved.

Angela Bacares, his spouse, was saved. The IT entrepreneur Lynch, who has vanished, built the enterprise software company Autonomy. He was accused by Hewlett Packard of inflating the company's value in a $11 billion transaction, which led to a lengthy court struggle between the two companies. After a three-month trial, the 59-year-old, who had been extradited from Britain to the United States last year to face charges, was found not guilty of fraud.

The deceased has not yet been named, and it was not immediately apparent if the missing and deceased were passengers, crew members, or a mix of the two.

According to the coast guard, eight of the fifteen people who were saved were sent to hospitals in Palermo. The yacht's managers, Camper & Nicholsons, stated that "providing all necessary support to the rescued passengers and crew" was their top concern.

A statement from Italy's Fire Department stated that "divers, a motorboat, and a helicopter" had been sent out to aid in the search. According to the statement, the wreck was located at a depth of about 165 feet.

According to Italian news agency ANSA, one survivor, Charlotte, 35, spoke of how she struggled to hold onto her one-year-old daughter, Sofia, as a flurry of waves swamped the yacht.

“In two seconds I lost the baby in the sea, then I immediately hugged her again amidst the fury of the waves. I held her tightly, close to me, while the sea was stormy,” she told journalists. “Many were screaming.”

According to an Italian Coast Guard spokeswoman, the skipper is one of the survivors.

According to ship tracking website marinetraffic.com, the vessel, named the Bayesian by Italian authorities, is a 56-meter-long sailing yacht built in Italy that was first launched in 2008. It is flying the British flag. It was constructed by the Italian luxury yacht manufacturer Perini Navi.