British tech entrepreneur Mike Lynch is missing after his luxury yacht sank in a violent storm off the coast of Sicily.
British 'Bill Gates' Mike Lynch gone missing: A devastating storm off the coast of Sicily has left one man dead and six others missing, including British tech entrepreneur Mike Lynch. The incident occurred early on Monday when a luxury yacht, the Bayesian, was struck by unexpectedly violent weather and sank near the port of Porticello.
The Bayesian, a British-flagged 56-meter (184-foot) sailboat, was carrying 22 people when it was hit by the storm. The yacht, anchored just off shore, vanished beneath the waves shortly before dawn. Eyewitnesses reported that the yacht sank quickly. The Italian coast guard confirmed the incident, noting that 15 people managed to escape before the yacht went down, including Lynch's wife, Angela Bacares, and a one-year-old girl.
The names of the dead and missing have not been officially released. However, a person familiar with the rescue operation confirmed that Mike Lynch was among those unaccounted for. Italian media reported that the deceased man was the yacht's onboard chef. The missing individuals reportedly have British, American, and Canadian nationalities.
Rescue Operations
Survivors revealed that the trip had been organized by Lynch for his work colleagues. A coast guard official in Palermo described the storm as having unexpectedly strong winds. “Bad weather was expected, but not of this magnitude,” the official said.
Karsten Borner, the captain of a nearby boat, recounted the events. As the winds surged, he turned on his engine to maintain control of his vessel and avoid a collision with the Bayesian, which had been anchored alongside. "We managed to keep the ship in position, and after the storm was over, we noticed that the ship behind us was gone," Borner said. He and his crew later found some survivors on a life raft, including three seriously injured individuals and a baby girl with her mother. They brought them on board until the coast guard arrived for further assistance.
Mike Lynch’s Background
Mike Lynch, 59, is a prominent figure in the tech industry, often compared to Bill Gates. He built Autonomy, Britain’s largest software firm, based on his groundbreaking research at Cambridge University. In 2011, he sold Autonomy to Hewlett-Packard (HP) for $11 billion. However, the deal soon soured, with HP accusing Lynch of fraud after writing down the value of Autonomy by $8.8 billion.
Lynch spent much of the last decade defending his name in court. In June, he was acquitted by a jury in San Francisco of the fraud charges related to the HP deal. He had spent over a year effectively under house arrest before being cleared. After the trial, Lynch expressed his elation at the verdict, maintaining his innocence and blaming HP for mishandling the integration of the two companies.
Investigations and Environmental Factors
Following the sinking of the Bayesian, the Italian coast guard deployed divers to inspect the wreck, which lies at a depth of 49 meters. Prosecutors in the nearby town of Termini Imerese have launched an investigation to determine what went wrong.
The storm was part of a series of extreme weather events hitting Italy recently, following weeks of scorching heat. Meteorologist Luca Mercalli explained that the Mediterranean Sea's surface temperature around Sicily was around 30 degrees Celsius (86 Fahrenheit), nearly 3 degrees higher than usual. "This creates an enormous source of energy that contributes to these storms," Mercalli said, adding that while global warming may not be the sole cause, it likely amplified the storm’s severity.
The Bayesian Yacht
The Bayesian was built by Italian shipbuilder Perini in 2008 and was last refitted in 2020. It features the tallest aluminum mast in the world at 75 meters. The yacht could accommodate up to 12 guests in six suites and had a crew of 10. Owned by a firm called Revtom Limited, Lynch's wife, Angela Bacares, is listed as the sole shareholder.
The yacht’s name, Bayesian, resonates deeply with Lynch, as his PhD thesis and the software that made his fortune were based on Bayesian theory. The Bayesian had left the Sicilian port of Milazzo on August 14 and was last tracked east of Palermo on Sunday evening, with a navigation status of "at anchor."
As the search and investigation continue, the maritime community and tech industry alike are closely following developments in this tragic event.
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