A luxury ship sank
in a storm off the coast of the island of Sicily in Italy early Monday. British
technology businessman Mike Lynch, his lawyer and four others are missing in
the accident. Italian officials gave this information. He said that Lynch's wife
and 14 others were rescued. Salvos Cucina, associated with Sicily's civil
protection agency, said that Lynch is among the six people who have not been
traced yet. He said that Lynch's ship sank amid a storm near Porticello. Lynch
was acquitted in a major fraud case in the US in June this year.
Officials said that
the luxury superyacht capsized and sank off the coast of Sicily due to the
storm on Monday morning. The ship capsized shortly before 5 am at the place
where it was anchored. The Italian coast guard said it had a crew of 10 and 12
passengers on board, including British, American and Canadian citizens.
Officials said they had recovered one body and 15 people were rescued.
Sudden storms lashed
the area overnight, including tornadoes over the water, local media reported.
However, by Monday morning the skies had cleared and the seas were calm. The
56-metre-long British-flagged Bayesian ship was known for its 75-metre mast,
one of the world's tallest. It was lit up at night just hours before it sank.
One woman who was
rescued alive from the ship said she held her one-year-old daughter Sofia above
the waves until a lifeboat arrived. Italian Fire Rescue spokesman Luca Cari
said one body was found near the wreck but six others were missing. Cari said
rescuers located the wreck at a depth of 50 metres. A fisherman on the shore
said that he saw a bright light at 4:30 in the morning and immediately rushed
to the spot, but before that the ship had sunk. Only the goods kept in the
super yacht remained ready. He said, 'I think, all the missing people are
inside the ship.'
