United Kingdom Tech entrepreneur Mike Lynch, Morgan Stanley International Chairman Jonathan Bloomer, and four others are feared dead following the sinking of a yacht off the coast of Sicily, as Italian divers prepared for a third day of search and rescue operations on Wednesday.
Local accounts believed that the missing individuals were probably stuck inside the Bayesian yacht when a tornado hit close to Porticello, Sicily, leaving them with nowhere to go.
“We are more likely to find the missing people inside the boat,” said Coast Guard spokesman Vincenzo Zagarola as rescue efforts concluded on Tuesday, according to Bloomberg.
According to Corriere della Sera on Wednesday, the yacht’s mast—which is purported to be the tallest in the world—remains intact, despite earlier reports.
Helicopters and military ships have been assisting with the search for the missing members since Monday. Nine crew members and six guests—including Lynch’s wife Angela Bacares—were saved, with one death recorded.
When asked about the chances of finding the remaining passengers alive, Zagarola gave a somber assessment: “Reasonably, the answer should be not.”
Rescue crews are having a difficult time finding the yacht because it is about 48 meters (157 feet) below the surface.
With a small circle of advisors, Lynch, 59, was celebrated his recent acquittal from fraud charges when the storm struck. These accusations were related to Lynch’s 2011 sale of Autonomy Corp., his software company, to Hewlett-Packard, which subsequently charged Lynch with accounting misconduct.
Lynch was found not guilty of any crimes by a San Francisco jury in June.
