Who are the six people missing after Bayesian superyacht sunk off the coast of Sicily? British tech tycoon Mike Lynch, his daughter Hannah, Morgan Stanley boss Jonathan Bloomer, top New York lawyer and their wives feared dead after ‘tornado’ capsized boat
The six people missing after Mike Lynch’s superyacht sank off the coast of Sicily include the tech magnate, his daughter, a Morgan Stanley executive, a top New York lawyer and both their wives.
The luxury yacht Bayesian was moored off the coast of Porticello when a waterspout struck the area at around 5am on Monday morning, destroying the yacht and causing it to sink rapidly.
Although one person tragically died and 15 people survived the disaster, six people, including British tech billionaire Lynch and his 18-year-old daughter Hannah, are still missing.
Jonathan Bloomer, chairman of Morgan Stanley International, and his wife Judy are still missing.
Chris Morvillo, the Clifford Chance lawyer who represented Mr Lynch in his recent legal battle, has also not yet been found, as has his wife Neda.
Lynch had invited family and friends to the yacht to celebrate his victory over fraud charges in the US.
The billionaire had invited guests from law firm Clifford Chance and his own company Invoke Capital after he was acquitted in June.
Mike Lynch (pictured) invited family and friends to his superyacht to celebrate his triumph over fraud allegations in the US. Lynch is missing, along with his 18-year-old daughter Hannah
Morgan Stanley International Chairman Jonathan Bloomer (pictured) and his wife are also missing.
Lynch’s attorney Christopher Morvillo (pictured) and his wife Neda are also missing.
Neda and her husband Christopher are both missing after the superyacht sank off the coast of Sicily on Monday
The luxury sailing ship Bayesian was moored off the coast of Porticello when a waterspout hit the area at around 5am on Monday
Four of the missing passengers are British and two are Americans. It is feared that those who have not yet been found were asleep in their cabins when the boat went under.
The wealthy American couple Morvillo have not been seen since the ship sank off the coast of Palermo on Monday morning after encountering bad weather.
Mr Morvillo, 59, worked as a lawyer for Mr Lynch, who had chartered the ship to celebrate a recent legal victory.
He is a partner at the prestigious law firm Clifford Chance, which has offices around the world.
Mr. Morvillo served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York from 1999 to 2005.
His 57-year-old wife has her own luxury jewelry line under her maiden name, Neda Nassiri.
The couple has an apartment on New York’s Upper East Side. They also own a $2.3 million, four-bedroom, five-bathroom luxury home in South Kent, Connecticut.
They have two daughters: 27-year-old Sabrina, a voice actress, and 23-year-old Sophia, who attended the prestigious theater program at Northwestern University.
The couple’s identities were first revealed by the Daily Mail on Monday evening.
Italian authorities have also confirmed that Mr Bloomer, a close friend of Lynch, is missing.
According to his LinkedIn profile, Mr. Bloomer is chairman of insurance company Hiscox and was previously CEO of Prudential until he was ousted in a boardroom coup in 2005.
“Our thoughts are with all those affected, particularly our chairman, Jonathan Bloomer, and his wife Judy, who are among the missing,” Aki Hussain, CEO of Hiscox, of which Bloomer was also chairman, said in a statement.
Among the 15 survivors is a one-year-old British baby named Sofia, who was kept afloat by her mother, 36-year-old Charlotte Golunski.
Lawyer Ayla Ronald, 36, (pictured), who was part of the successful legal team invited to sail with Lynch, is one of the survivors
Charlotte Golunski, 36, (pictured) also outlived her husband and her one-year-old baby
Ms Golunski, an Oxford graduate and senior associate at Invoke, also survived after fighting to prevent her child from drowning.
The mother told the Italian newspaper Republicca: ‘I kept her afloat with all my strength, my arms reaching up to prevent her from drowning.
‘It was completely dark. In the water I couldn’t keep my eyes open. I screamed for help, but all I could hear around me were the screams of others.’
Mrs Golunski’s British husband, James Emsilie, 36, also survived the tragedy.
Another survivor is 36-year-old lawyer Ayla Ronald of Clifford Chance, who was part of the successful legal team that was invited to sail with Lynch, according to her father Lin.
Mr. Ronald told The Telegraph: ‘I have been texting my daughter and she has not given me any updates on missing or rescued staff. She has only told me that there have been casualties and that she and her partner are alive.’
Lynch remains missing, while his wife Angela (pictured) survived and is recovering
Luxury sailboat Bayesian sank quickly after being caught in a ‘whirlwind’ in Sicily
Other survivors included Irish woman Sasha Murray, 29, Matthew Fletcher, 41, from London, James Calfield, 51, from New Zealand, Myin Htun Kyaw, 39, from Myanmar and French captain Matthew Griffith.
They were rescued by crews from nearby boats, including Karsten Borner, the captain of a sailing ship anchored near the Bayesian, who said his team struggled to keep their boat afloat when the tornado struck.
Fabio Cefalu, a fisherman in Porticello who witnessed the tragedy, said he saw a waterspout – a kind of mini-tornado – shortly before 4am that lasted about 12 minutes.
At around 4:10 a.m., he said he saw a red flare go off from Bayesian, but when he reached the area about 20 minutes later, the yacht had all but disappeared. “We only found the cushions and a few planks floating in the water,” he said.