Earlier in the day, the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera reported that a yacht with tourists aboard had sunk off the coast of the Sicilian city of Porticello. Of the 22 people, including Lynch’s business associates, who reportedly were on board, one passenger died and six others remain missing. The accident was caused by a powerful storm.
Lynch himself, his 18-year-old daughter Hannah Lynch, and yacht chef Ricardo Thomas are confirmed to be among those missing, the broadcaster reported, citing the director general of Sicily's civil protection agency, Salvatore Cocina. A specialist caving search and rescue diving team has arrived from Rome to join the ongoing search and rescue operations, the official said.
Lynch’s wife, Angela Bacares, was among the 15 people rescued, the UK media reported, citing sources close to the matter.
Earlier in the day, the broadcaster reported that the rescue teams were continuing search operations with four patrol boats, a helicopter and a team of divers.
Mike Lynch founded Autonomy Corporation in 1996. Under his leadership, it became one of the largest UK-based enterprises and the businessman was dubbed the "British Bill Gates". In 2011, the company was sold to Hewlett-Packard for 8.6 billion pounds ($11.1 billion), UK media reported, adding that Lynch himself reportedly earned 500 million pounds from the deal. In 2018, the US prosecutor's office charged Lynch with inflating the company's value within the deal; as a result, at the US's request, the businessman was extradited to the United States. In June 2024, a San Francisco jury acquitted the entrepreneur on all charges.