A tornado and a storm at 4 in the morning devastated the area of Santa Flavia, in the sea of Bagheria, and the Bayesian, a 56-metre sailing boat, flying the flag of the United Kingdom, with an aluminium hull and superstructure, at anchor in Porticello sank in a flash, dragging the 12 passengers and 10 crew members into the water, some of whom did not have time to leave their cabins.
15 people were rescued, one man, the ship's cook Ricardo Thomas, died and his body was recovered and six people are missing: four British and two Americans. Among them is the British tycoon Mike Lynch, 59, with his 18-year-old daughter Hannah. The entrepreneur is co-founder of the multinational IT company Autonomy, founder of Invoke Capital and the cybersecurity company Darktrace and is known as the "British Bill Gates".
The sailing yacht would be registered to the company Revtom, registered on the Isle of Man, whose director would be the tycoon's wife, Angela Bacares, who is among those rescued. The guests would all be employees of Lynch's companies on a prize trip.
The search for the missing began from above, with some aircraft, while the divers of the Coast Guard of Messina and the speleo divers of the Fire Brigade from Rome, Sassari and Cagliari will go to the seabed at a depth of 50 meters, where the Bayesian lies.
British passenger Charlotte Golunski, 35, managed to grab her one-year-old daughter Sofia in the sea and save her. Both are safe, as is the child's father James Emsilie, 35.
The woman recounts those terrible moments: "For two seconds I lost the child in the water, then I immediately hugged her again amid the fury of the waves. I held her tightly, close to me, while the sea was stormy. Many were screaming. Luckily the lifeboat inflated and 11 of us managed to get on board. It was terrible. In a few minutes the boat was hit by a very strong wind and sank shortly after."
Ten people were taken to hospital with minor abrasions and wounds that were stitched up.
(Online Union)
