A person believed to be a crewmember has died and six tourists, including British tech entrepreneur Mike Lynch and his daughter, are missing after a superyacht sank in the early hours of Aug. 19 off the coast of Sicily in southern Italy.
Italian media outlets reported that 15 people, including a child, were rescued by the Italian Coast Guard and firefighters after the boat, identified as the British-flagged Bayesian, hit rough seas and capsized at daybreak.
Luca Cari, a spokesman for Italy’s fire rescue service, the Vigili Del Fuoco, said a helicopter and several coast guard boats were at the scene, searching for the missing people.
He said divers had already located the wreck of the sailboat.
A local news agency, Adnkronos, said the 184-foot boat was carrying 22 people, mainly British tourists but also two Anglo-French citizens, an Irish national, a Sri Lankan, and a New Zealander.
British MP ‘Desperately Sorry’
Alicia Kearns, a British member of Parliament, wrote on social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter: “Desperately sorry to hear of the capsizing of the Bayesian, a heartbreaking incident.
“My thoughts are with all the families of those lost at sea, and those recovering following the rescue operation, I’m sure the foreign office will be providing consular support to British nationals and their families.”
Eight of the 15 people who were pulled from the sea, including a 1-year-old child, were taken to the hospital and are in stable condition.
The Bayesian had been moored in the port of Porticello and had set sail in the evening, according to the ANSA media outlet.
The boat sank just a half mile off the coast.
Local media stated that a storm hit the northern coast of Sicily overnight, and there were also reports of whirlwinds and water spouts, which can be fatal for sailboats.
According to the tracking app Vesselfinder, the Bayesian left the port of Milazzo, near Messina in eastern Sicily, on Aug. 14 and was east of Palermo on the evening of Aug. 18, with a navigation status of “at anchor.”
The Bayesian was built in Italy in 2008 and delivered to its owner. The boat’s home port is London.
Rules Would Change
The waters around Sicily are popular vacation spots for tourists and sailboat enthusiasts.Sailboat accidents are rare but often make headlines.
In May 2014, four men died when a British sailboat, the Cheeki Rafiki, lost its keel and capsized in the North Atlantic Ocean.
Four years later, Douglas Innes, 43, was cleared of manslaughter by gross negligence but was given a suspended prison sentence after being convicted of failing to operate the boat in a safe manner.
The judge who sentenced Innes called on authorities to tighten the rules governing the inspection of sailboats, and Katy Ware, director of UK Maritime Services, said she had “personally pledged to the families” that rules would change.
The British Foreign Ministry has not responded to a request for comment.
