Originally published on E! Online
More details have emerged about the sailing disaster in Sicily.
Days after a superyacht sank off the coast of Palermo, Italy, during a violent storm, the body of a British tech entrepreneur has been found Mike Lynch59, was recovered on August 22, NBC News confirmed.
Lynch’s daughter Hanna18, is the sixth and final missing person from the 184-foot sailboat — which sank on August 19 — and rescuers are still searching for her.
The Royal Academy of Engineering, where Lynch had been a fellow since 2008, expressed its condolences following the news of his passing. “We have fond memories of the active role he played in the past, as a mentor, donor and former council member,” the academy wrote on X, 22 August. “Our thoughts are with his family and friends at this time.”
Lynch, also known as ‘Britain’s’ by the British media Bill Gateswas acquitted this summer of fraud charges related to Hewlett Packard’s $11 billion acquisition of his company Autonomy Corp., the outlet reported. The sailing vacation was a post-trial celebration, as some of his defense team was also in attendance.
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The others pulled from the wreckage were Lynch’s associates, many of whom were part of his defense team during his fraud trial, including the chairman of Morgan Stanley International Jonathan Bloomer and his wife Judy Bloomer; attorney Clifford Chance Chris Morvillo and his wife Neda MorvilloSalvatore Cocina, director of the Sicilian Civil Protection Agency, told NBC News on August 21.
Lynch’s wife Angela Bacares and the ship’s cook Bring back Thomas were recovered shortly after the crash, along with nine other crew members and two other passengers. Eight were taken to a hospital and the rest were sent to a nearby hotel. Thomas later died, the publication said. Fifteen of the 22 people on board survived.
One survivor, Charlotte Golunskiremembered the harrowing event and how she, her 1-year-old daughter Sofie and partner James Emsley survived.
Golunski said she and her family survived because they were on the deck of the yacht when it began to sink, she told the Italian newspaper The Republic August 20, according to the BBC.
She explained that she and her family woke up to “thunder, lightning and waves bouncing our boat,” and that it felt like “the end of the world.”
“For two seconds I lost my daughter in the sea, and then I quickly hugged her amidst the fury of the waves,” she added. “It was completely dark. In the water I couldn’t keep my eyes open. I screamed for help, but all I could hear around me were the screams of others.”
She said a lifeboat was blown up and 11 people, including her family, climbed into it.
Director of the Civil Protection Agency of Sicily Salvatore Kitchen said it was likely a waterborne tornado, also known as a waterspout, that hit the area. He noted that the luxury boat was “in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
(E! News and NBC News are part of the NBCUniversal family.)
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