A carabinieri vehicle parked near the harbor where search continues for missing passengers after a yacht capsized on August 19, 2024 off the coast of Palermo, Italy.
Vincenzo Pepe | Getty Images
The chairman of Morgan Stanley International, Jonathan Bloomer, British tech entrepreneur Mike Lynch and four others are missing after a luxury yacht sank in a storm off the coast of Sicily.
Lynch’s 18-year-old daughter Hannah, Bloomer’s wife Judy, Clifford Chance lawyer Chris Morvillo and his wife Neda were missing as difficult search and rescue efforts resumed Tuesday.
One person, the ship’s cook, was confirmed by the Italian coast guard to have died. Lynch’s wife, Angela Bacares, was among the 15 people who were rescued.
Bloomer is the chair of Morgan Stanley International, the London-based branch of the investment banking giant, a nonexecutive role he has held since 2016. He is also the chair of insurance firm Hiscox.
Aki Hussain, group chief executive officer of Hiscox, said Bloomer and his wife Judy were both among those missing.
“We are deeply shocked and saddened by this tragic event,” Hussain said in a statement. A Morgan Stanley spokesperson said, “Our thoughts are with all those affected, in particular the Bloomer family, as we all wait for further news from this terrible situation.”
Morvillo is a partner at Clifford Chance based in New York, and recently represented Lynch in a landmark trial over allegations made against him by Hewlett Packard. Lynch was acquitted in June.
A Clifford Chance spokesperson said: “We are in shock and deeply saddened by this tragic incident. … Our utmost priority is providing support to the family as well as our colleague Ayla Ronald, who together with her partner, thankfully survived the incident. Our thoughts extend to the other passengers and crew and all those affected.”
The 56-meter (184 feet) sailing yacht Bayesian was hit by a violent storm around 4 a.m. local time on Monday, as it carried 10 crew members and 12 passengers on board. The anchored vessel capsized near the port of Porticello, with witnesses telling local media that the boat descended rapidly after its mast broke.
In a statement Tuesday, Italian emergency services said divers had accessed the inside of the wreck of the ship on Monday evening. Operations were complicated because of obstacles and narrow access points, they said, adding it was not possible to verify the presence of the missing individuals through cabin portholes.
Operations are now being planned to open access points to the cabins.
Divers operate in the sea to search for the missing, including British entrepreneur Mike Lynch, after a luxury yacht sank off Sicily, Italy August 19, 2024.
Vigili Del Fuoco Handout | Via Reuters
Renato Schifani, president of the region of Sicily, on Monday visited the children’s hospital in Palermo in Italy to see a British 1-year-old girl and her parents who were all rescued from the ship.
“My thoughts go to all the people involved and their families, but today we are also here to testify that the solidarity and commitment of our health workers and Civil Protection volunteers are a precious resource for our community,” Schifani said in a statement, according to a Google translation.
Many of those on board were employees and associates of Lynch, the 59-year-old founder of enterprise software firm Autonomy.
Lynch was embroiled in a protracted legal battle with Hewlett Packard after the U.S. tech giant accused him of inflating Autonomy’s value in an $11 billion sale. He was extradited from Britain to the U.S. last year to stand trial over the HP allegations.
Lynch was acquitted of fraud charges after a three-month trial. The boat trip was a celebration of Lynch’s acquittal, according to various media reports.
Stephen Chamberlain, Autonomy’s former vice president of finance and Lynch’s co-defendant in the trial who was also acquitted, reportedly died after being hit by a car while jogging in Cambridgeshire on Saturday.
“Steve fought successfully to clear his good name at trial earlier this year, and his good name now lives on through his wonderful family,” his lawyer said in a statement to the BBC.
— CNBC’s Ryan Browne contributed to this story.
