After the superyacht accident in the Mediterranean, there is no trace of some of the passengers. Among them are high-profile personalities from the world of business and finance.
Palermo – The wreck of the “Bayesian” now lies 49 meters deep on the seabed off the coast of Sicily. Special divers are still searching for the missing people. British tech entrepreneur Mike Lynch (59) and his daughter Hannah (18) are missing. Little by little it is becoming known who else was on board the wrecked luxury yacht – there were other millionaires on board, including the President of Morgan Stanley International, Jonathan Bloomer.
Missing after super yacht accident: Tech tycoon Mike Lynch (59) faces 25 years in prison
In 2011, Mike Lynch sold his software company “Autonomy” to Hewlett Packard (HP) for eleven billion US dollars. He was celebrated as the “British Bill Gates”. But the deal turned out to be a major fiasco for the Americans. The computer giant had to write off billions. Lynch and a financial manager were accused of having manipulated the sales figures before the sale. There was a legal aftermath.
Lynch was eventually extradited to the United States, where he faced trial and a prison sentence of up to 25 years. Lynch was unexpectedly acquitted in the fraud trial in San Francisco in June 2024. For years, Lynch claimed to have been made a scapegoat for a failed takeover.
Millionaires missing on sailing ship “Bayesian” after accident off Sicily
With the holiday in Sicily – a sailing trip on the luxury yacht “Bayesian” Mike Lynch probably wanted to celebrate the end of a years-long legal dispute, reports the BBCThe 59-year-old had previously returned to Great Britain to be with his family, his wife and his two daughters. His daughter Hannah (18) was planning to start studying in Oxford after the summer.
Friends and their family members were invited on board the billionaire’s yacht. The inner circle also included his lawyer and a bank boss from Morgan Stanley.
Top lawyer among the missing
Chris Morvillo, a lawyer at the top international law firm Clifford Chance, represented Lynch in his recent trial. According to BBC Morvillo was responsible for “high-profile corruption cases” and from 1999 to 2005, as an Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, he was involved in the criminal investigations related to the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in 2001.
Jonathan Bloomer, the chairman of Morgan Stanley International, is also missing in the Mediterranean. The 70-year-old Briton is BBC also chairman of the insurance company Hiscox. “We are deeply shocked and saddened by this tragedy,” the British news channel quoted a Morgan Stanley spokesman as saying. “Our thoughts are with everyone affected, especially the Bloomer family, as we all await further news on this terrible situation.”
Other missing persons include Journals of Sicily also Bloomer’s wife Judy and the wife of Lynch’s lawyer Morvillo Nada.
Billionaire yacht “Bayesian” sinks in the Mediterranean off the coast of Sicily
- Six people are missing: billionaire Mike Lynch (59), his daughter Hannah (18), Morgan Stanley boss Jonathan Bloomer, his wife Judy Bloomer and Lynch’s lawyer Chris Morvillo.
- There were 22 people on board the “Bayesian” at the time of the accident on Monday morning – ten crew members and twelve passengers.
- 15 people – including Lynch’s wife Angela Bacares (57) – were rescued. Charlotte Golunski and her husband James, as well as their one-year-old daughter Sophie are among the survivors.
- A body was recovered from outside the wreckage on Monday (19 August). It is believed to be that of the ship’s cook.
“No bodies visible through the porthole” – search operation continues
It is believed that their bodies are trapped in the boat on the seabed. According to the fire service, the “Bayesian” is lying at a depth of 50 meters near the coast in the Porticello area. On Monday evening, divers managed to gain access to the command bridge, but were unable to go any further. Specialized cave divers were called in specifically for this purpose, reports the Italian fire service Vigili del Fuoco.
Search teams have been in action again since Tuesday morning. The plan is to penetrate further into the interior of the wreck, but access to the cabins is difficult. The missing people were probably there at the time of the shipwreck, they say. “The portholes make it impossible to check their presence inside,” the fire department emphasized in a statement on Tuesday morning. Helicopters and boats are continuing to search the sea surface.
A “water tornado” sank the yacht on Monday morning (August 19) at around 5 a.m. A video shows the extent of the storm. (ml)
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