The Bayesain luxury yacht sank off the coast of Sicily after it was struck by a tornado on Monday morning. When resulting in one death, several injuries and six missing passengers. Among the missing passengers are Morgan Stanley’s Jonathan Bloomer, American lawyer Chris Morvillo, and UK’s Bill Gates, Mike Lynch. The vessel capsized as a result of its mast breaking during the storm.
According to the European Severe Weather Database, the Italian superyacht was struck by a waterspout, a type of tornado that forms over water or moves from land to water, plunging the twenty-two passengers on board into the coast of Palermo, Sicily’s capital city. Jonathan Bloomer, the non-executive chairman of Morgan Stanley International and chairman of London-listed insurer Hiscox and Mike Lynch, UK’s leading tech entrepreneur and co-founder of Autonomy, remain missing, alongside Chris Morvillo and his spouse.
The Italian island Civil Protection agency informed journalists that fifteen out of the twenty-two passengers have been rescued by divers. The six missing are yet to be located by divers that dove into the coast on Tuesday morning to continue the search. The British vessel, Bayesian, hosted mostly British passengers and crew, in addition to two Anglo-French, one Irish, and one Sri Lankan passenger. The 56-meter yacht toppled as the torrential storm worsened off the coast of Sicily.
