Four Britons missing after yacht sinks off Sicily

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British tech entrepreneur Mike Lynch is missing after the sinking of a superyacht off the coast of Sicily, The Telegraph understands.
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British tech entrepreneur Mike Lynch is missing after the sinking of a superyacht off the coast of Sicily, The Telegraph understands.
Dr Domenico Cipolla, head of emergency room at the Giovanni di Cristina paediatric hospital in Palermo, has described the experience of Charlotte, the British mother who was onboard the Bayesian when it sank. 
DrCipolla said:“She told me that while they were sleeping, at a certain point the yacht overturned due to the tornado, and they found themselves in the water. 
“Some of them immediately managed to get onto the lifeboat. And some, evidently, didn’t make it.
“She told me that she was in the water for no more than two, three seconds, and she managed to save the baby, to keep her arms up, and then, with the others, they were able to get on the lifeboat, and then, I think, they were rescued by the Coast Guard.
“They are all in good condition. We managed to get the parents to talk (to each other) on the phone, all the doctors and nurses were all very moved, also because the little girl is fine, the prognosis is good and we are carrying out tests just to be careful.”
The captain of a nearby boat that rescued the 15 people has described the conditions in which the Bayesian sank last night.
Karsten Borner said his own vessel, the Sir Robert BP, was battered by very strong gusts in the early hours of the morning, managing to stabilise it while anchored by using the engine.
He said as they were doing this, they noticed the Bayesian nearby and manoeuvred to avoid hitting it.
“We managed to keep the ship in position, and after the storm was over, we noticed that the ship behind us was gone.”
The Bayesian is 56 metres long (183ft) according to ship tracking website VesselFinder.
The luxury super yacht is said to have a 75m (246ft) long mast.
She was built in 2008 by Italian company Perini Navi with an initial asking price of 35 million euros (£30 million) according to Nautic Link. 
According to the leasing company Yacht Charter Fleet, the boat is furnished with a “Japanese-style” interior.
It has been designed to accommodate up to 12 guests in six suites, along with ten crew members.
The Bayesian was awarded the best exterior styling at the 2009 World Superyacht Awards.
Vigili del Fuoco,  Italy’s fire and rescue service, has confirmed a male body has been recovered from the yacht.
In a post on X it said the “lifeless body of a man recovered [has been] from the wreck by the divers.”
It posted the statement alongside a clip of the rescue effort with.footage showing helicopters, boats and divers carrying out a search operation.
#Palermo, naufragio imbarcazione a Porticello: recuperato dai #sommozzatori dei #vigilidelfuoco il corpo senza vita di un uomo, all’esterno del relitto. Proseguono le operazioni di ricerca con il coordinamento in mare della @guardiacostiera [#19agosto 11:30] pic.twitter.com/Y2m9o5ohCe
One person has died and four British nationals are missing after a yacht sank off the coast of Sicily, Italian media has reported.
The 50-metre boat, which is called the “Bayesian”, sank at around 5am in the stretch of sea in front of Porticello in the province of Palermo.
The vessel reportedly had mostly British nationals on board and 15 people were saved by coast guard patrol boats and firefighters, including a one-year-old child.
The one-year-old English girl who was saved from the shipwreck has been named as Sophie, local media reports. 
The Bayesian sank at around 5am in the stretch of sea in front of Porticello in the province of Palermo.
Below is a map of its journey before it went down. 
A mother has told of how she kept her one-year-old daughter alive after a yacht sank off the coast of Sicily.
Charlotte, a survivor of the incident said her child is now being treated in the Di Cristina hospital, in Palermo, following the ordeal in which the Bayesian sank due to severe winds. 
The mother, who is said to be a British tourist, told la Repubblica, a local news website: “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 said her husband James has been taken to Civico hospital in Palermo after suffering minor injuries. 
La Repubblica said that the father asked about his daughter’s health during a phone call with his wife.
According to the paper, he said: “How is the little girl? Is she there with you?”
His wife reassured him and they promised to hug each other again soon, the site reported. 
Alicia Kearns, shadow foreign minister for Europe, wrote on X: “Desperately sorry to hear of the capsizing of the Bayesian – a heartbreaking incident.
“My thoughts are with all the families of those lost at sea, and those recovering following the rescue operation, I’m sure the foreign office will be providing consular support to British Nationals and their families.”
The Foreign Office said in a statement: “We are in contact with the local authorities following an incident in Sicily, and stand ready to provide consular support to British nationals affected.”
Pietro Asciutto, a fisherman from Porticello who witnessed the sinking, told ANSA: “I was at home when the tornado hit. I immediately closed all the windows. Then I saw the boat, it had only one mast, it was very large. I saw it sink suddenly.”
He added: “I think the tornado came from Porticello. Shortly after I went down to the Bay of Santa Nicolicchia to get a better look at what was happening. 
“The boat was still floating, then suddenly it disappeared. I saw it sink with my own eyes.”
A former chief stewardess of the Bayesian has described news of the yacht’s sinking as “strange” because the boat had withstood the choppiest of seas.
Monica Jensen, 48, told The Telegraph: “It seems a bit strange. We have been in bad weather with it, crossed the Atlantic.
“It’s been all over. These things definitely don’t happen very often.”
Ms Jensen worked on the 56m superyacht from November 2018 to October 2020 for a private owner and said the boat had since been sold. 
She accompanied the boat on two Caribbean seasons and cruised around Italy, Malta, Greece and the Balearics.
Ms Jensen said the crew would have been well-drilled on the evacuation process.
She said: “You can’t work on a boat without the right certificates, training and you do drills monthly.”
Emergency services are pictured carrying a bodybag to shore after local media reported a man’s body had been recovered from the shipwreck off the coast of Sicily. 
The Italian Coast Guard said in a statement: “This morning at about 5am, following a violent gale, a 56-metre yacht named Bayesian and flying the UK flag sank off Porticello.
“The first shipwrecked were rescued by a boat in the immediate vicinity and brought ashore by four Coast Guard vessels, which promptly responded to the scene from Porticello, Termini Imerese and Palermo.
“Initial information received from the yacht crew indicated that 22 people (10 crew members and 12 passengers) were onboard the yacht.
“There are currently 15 people rescued and seven missing (one crew member and six passengers), of British, American and Canadian nationality.
“Of the people recovered, eight were transported to local hospitals. The vessel is reported to have sunk on a seabed of about 50 metres.
“The search continues unabated with naval, air and underwater resources, including the Messina Coast Guard Diving Unit.”
Filippo Tripoli, the mayor of Bagheria in Sicily, said: “This morning, off the coast of Santa Flavia, a foreign boat sunk due to bad weather, 15 people recovered and seven missing.
“Already all the police forces and emergency services are operational and our Red Cross volunteers are present.”
Bartolomeo Lo Coco, who owns the Tosto Chiosco cafe in Porticello, said it was common for rental yachts and boats to sail through the fishing village, adding that the captain should not be blamed for what had occurred because the weather had been so unpredictable.
“This was a terrible misfortune that no-one could have foreseen. It is nobody’s fault, the captain should not be blamed.”
Lo Coco said Carabinieri police, Coast Guard and firefighters were still searching the port. He stressed that the yacht was at a depth of 50 to 60 metres.
Bartolomeo Lo Coco, who owns the Tosto Chiosco cafe in Porticello, said those in the port were in “mourning” following the deeply shocking incident.
He said no one could have predicted the storm and the whirlwind that appeared to have caused the accident.
“We are in mourning here, all of us are in mourning,” he told The Telegraph. “We have never seen anything like this, ever. There is a very serious tragedy.”
His kiosk, which serves snacks and sandwiches, overlooks the water in Porticello.
He said the whirlwind, which occurred in the early hours of Monday, had not only caused the tragic accident but also widespread damage in the port.
He added: “This wasn’t a thunderstorm, this was a whirlwind. It happened all of a sudden. There is a lot of damage here.  Boats were dislodged from their moorings and restaurant tables were broken within minutes and sent flying several metres.”
The body of a man has been recovered from the seabed in the search for missing people following a shipwreck off the coast of Sicily, according to il Fatto Quotidiano.
The local news website said: “A body was found and recovered by rescuers on the seabed. Firefighters and the Coast Guard are looking for six other passengers, while fifteen have been rescued.”
Among the survivors is a one-year-old girl who is being treated in the Civico hospital with her mother, the site said.
According to witnesses, the vessel was in front of the port of Porticello when the severe weather struck. 
The anchor was down and the strong gust would have caused the vessel to lose balance which is believed to have led to the shipwreck.
Footage shared by the BAIA Santa Nicolicchia restaurant shows the storm hit the port.
The violent weather causes damage outside the restaurant, knocking over chairs and plant pots.
The Bayesian was designed for luxury travel, according to local media.
Tgcom24 described the yacht as an “elegant 56-metre sailing boat” weighing 473 tons. It was said to be flying a United Kingdom flag when it sank.
The online newspaper said it was built by the Perini Navi Viareggio shipyard in February 2008, before being refitted in 2020.
The boat had arrived in Porticello after a stop in Milazzo and a passage in front of Cefalù, Tgcom24 reported.
Aerial footage of the search has been posted on social media by Vigili del Fuoco, Italy’s fire and rescue service.
The post on X, formerly Twitter, said: “A Palermo boat wreck off the coast of Porticello, 15 people saved, seven reported missing.
“Since dawn firefighters and divers have engaged in the search. The wreck has been identified 50 metres deep.”
The BAIA Santa Nicolicchia restaurant in Porticello wrote on its Facebook page that the yacht sank at around 4am after being caught in a hurricane.
They called it an “unbelievable tragedy”, adding that they were “lost for words”.
The post read: “Last picture I took at 10pm. The yacht on the left sank at 4.05am, caught in the middle of the hurricane 300 metres from the port of Porticello, next to another sailboat that provided rescue.
“It looks like there are 22 on board but unfortunately seven missing, they’re still afraid inside the hull.
“Unbelievable tragedy tonight. I’m out of words.”
The last photo thought to have been taken of the yacht at 10pm on Sunday in Porticello.
Four Britons are reported to be missing after a yacht sank in a stretch of sea in front of Porticello.
Seven people are missing in total, including four Britons, one Canadian, two Americans and the ship’s cook.
The vessel reportedly had mostly British nationals on board and 15 people were saved by coast guard patrol boats and firefighters, including a one-year-old child.
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