Billionaire tech tycoon and daughter missing after tornado strikes
Six people, including a billionaire tech tycoon and his daughter, have been declared missing off the coast of Sicily after a tornado struck the area, causing their luxury super yacht to capsize and sink.
Four British are reportedly among six people missing at sea, including billionaire Mike Lynch and his 18-year-old daughter Hannah.
At the time of the tragedy, 22 people were onboard and 15 were rescued by coastguard patrol boats and firefighters, including Mr Lynch’s wife Angela Bacares.
The coast guard said that divers had been sent to inspect the wreck of the Bayesian, which was lying at a depth of 49 metres.
Authorities confirmed that one body, believed to be that of the yacht's chef, has been found during their search of the vessel's hull.
Charlotte Golunski, who was on board the vessel, told local news outlet La Repubblica newspaper of how she saved her daughter Sofia as the boat sank.
She said, “I held her afloat with all my strength, my arms stretched upwards to keep her from drowning."
“It was all dark. In the water I couldn’t keep my eyes open. I screamed for help but all I could hear around me was the screams of others.”
Charlotte, her husband James and their daughter Sophia are among those onboard being treated at hospital.
The captain of a nearby boat, Karsten Borner, said that when the storm hit he turned the engine on to keep control of the vessel and avoid a collision with the Bayesian.
"We managed to keep the ship in position and after the storm was over, we noticed that the ship behind us was gone," he said, adding that the Bayesian "went flat on the water, and then down."
Storms and heavy rainfall have swept down Italy in recent days after weeks of scorching heat, which had lifted the temperature of the Mediterranean sea to record levels, raising the risk of extreme weather conditions, experts said.
Image credits: AFP/Alberto Lo Bianco/LaPresse/Shutterstock Editorial