A tragic event off the coast of Sicily has left one person dead and six missing in the popular yachting region.
At the time of reporting, one is confirmed dead, 6 are missing, and 15 have been rescued.
One of the missing is believed to be British tech tycoon Mike Lynch, who was aboard the superyacht when it sank during what's being described as a waterspout.
The incident occurred around 5 am local time on August 19th when the Bayesian superyacht capsized during extreme weather conditions.
The Bayesian carried an LOA of 56 m (183 feet) and was launched by Italian firm Perini Navi in 2008. She also carried a large, singular 75 meter mast (246 feet) made of aluminum, which was reportedly lit up during the night of the storm. Several nearby boaters captured photos of Bayesian and her picturesque silhouette.
The yacht was carrying 22 people. Among those missing also include Lynch's 18-year-old daughter and Jonathan Bloomer, the chair of Morgan Stanley International bank. Lynch's wife, Angela Bacares, is among those who have been rescued.
Chris Morvillo, a lawyer who represented Lynch, and his wife Neda Morvillo, are also among the missing.
There are also reports that a Canadian is among those deceased. According to Marine Industry News UK, The city of Palermo's Coast Guard said a man pulled from the water is a Canadian who was serving as the ship’s cook. According to the CBC, the man was a Canadian citizen living in Antigua. The Italian Coast Guard has stated there are British, American, and Canadian citizens among those unaccounted for.
It's believed that a waterspout, a rare form of waterborne tornado, is responsible. Conditions indicating a waterspout were reported at roughly 4 am local time and are believed to have snapped the mast on Bayesian, causing her to keel over and take on water.
Fabio Cefalù, 36, a local fisherman from Porticello, was among those at the docks when the storm arrived.
“I arrived at the port at 3:30 am for a fishing trip,” Cefalù told The Guardian. “But when we saw the first flashes of lightning, we decided to stop. At 3:55am, a mini tornado arrived. The docks of the port diverted it and it hit the sailboat head-on. They were in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
Cefalù also said the crew “saw a flare 500 metres from the dock,” adding: “We went to see what had happened. We only saw the floating debris of the boat. We immediately called the Coast Guard."
“The sea was terrible. The wind very strong. The storm destroyed my solar panels. The vessel was hit head-on. I thought I would find someone in the sea. But nothing. The boat had disappeared from the radar."
“In my opinion, the missing passengers are still on board. They were caught in their sleep by the storm and didn’t have time to get out.”
The Italian Air Force's Centre for Aerospace Meteorology and Climatology registered intense lightning activity and strong gusts of wind around the time of the sinking. The centre's director, Col. Attilio Di Diodato, told The New York Times he could not rule out a waterspout.
Waterspouts are rotating columns of air that occur over a body of water and appear as a funnel-shaped cloud in contact with the water.
There are two distinct types- the most common is a weak vortex called a "fair weather" or "non-tornadic" waterspout. The second type is typically called a 'tornado' that occurs over water rather than land. These are known as a "tornadic," "supercellular," or "mesocyclonic" waterspout.
The vast majority of waterspouts occur in the tropics but under the right conditions have been reported across Europe, North America, Australia, and New Zealand.
The Bayesian is believed to be in about 50 meters of water (164 feet) and was anchored at the time she sank. Rescue crews are continuing to search the area while also attempting to gain access to the ship's interior.
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