Mike Lynch’s Body Recovered After Yacht Sinks Off Sicily Coast

Mike Lynch Yacht Update: Tycoon ‘Considered Selling Boat’ Before Tragedy

vivian

August 22, 2024 12:55PM EDT

Mike Lynch leaves the Rolls Building in London following the civil case over his £8.4 billion sale of his software firm Autonomy to Hewlett-Packard in 2011. (Photo by Dominic Lipinski/PA Images via Getty Images)

PA Images via Getty Images

The tech tycoon was among six confirmed dead, while the search for his daughter continues.

British tech entrepreneur Mike Lynch‘s body has been retrieved by search and rescue authorities after his yacht sank off the coast of Sicily during a violent storm. He has been confirmed dead, according to officials.

But in an unfortunate turn of events, months before the superyacht sank, Lynch, 59, the founder of Autonomy Corporation, had considered selling the vessel but changed his mind after his acquittal, according to a report.

The tech mogul was among six people reported missing after the Bayesian, a 183-foot vessel, sank around 5 a.m. local time on Monday, August 19, after being struck by a tornadic waterspout during the storm. The boat’s chef, Recaldo Thomas, was also confirmed dead on Monday, while 15 others survived the disaster.

Lynch’s wife, Angela Bacares, was rescued on Monday, but his 18-year-old daughter, Hannah, remains unaccounted for.

Italian Coast Guards carry a body on a rescue boat in Porticello harbor near Palermo, with a third body at the back of the boat on August 21, 2024, two days after the British-flagged luxury yacht Bayesian sank. Divers searching for six missing people following the sinking of a superyacht off Sicily in a storm have found four bodies, a source close to the search told AFP. The Bayesian, which had 22 people aboard including 10 crew, was anchored some 700 metres from port before dawn when it was struck by a waterspout. Among the six missing were UK tech entrepreneur Mike Lynch and his 18-year-old daughter Hannah, and Jonathan Bloomer, the chair of Morgan Stanley International, and his wife Judy. (Photo by Alberto PIZZOLI / AFP) (Photo by ALBERTO PIZZOLI/AFP via Getty Images)

Massimo Mariani, an interior ministry official, told Reuters that Hannah might be inside the wreck or could have been thrown into the sea as the boat sank. A spokesperson for the Italian fire brigade stated that it could take days to locate the last missing person, given the challenges faced by divers working at a wreck site 50 meters (165 feet) below the surface.

The Italian coastguard also confirmed that the bodies of Jonathan Bloomer, his wife Judith Bloomer, lawyer Christopher Morvillo, and his wife Neda Morvillo were recovered after being discovered on the vessel the previous day.

Lynch had put the £30 million (an estimated $39 million USD) yacht up for sale in March this year but withdrew it from the market in July, the Telegraph reported. He had planned to spend the summer on board the boat and then review the decision to sell in the autumn, according to industry sources.

Following his acquittal, Lynch said he was “elated” and looked forward to returning to his family and his estate in Suffolk.

Lynch was a prominent figure in the UK tech industry, often compared to Microsoft founder Bill Gates for his success in backing innovative companies. His death comes just months after he was acquitted in federal court in San Francisco of criminal fraud charges related to the $11 billion sale of Autonomy to Hewlett-Packard in 2011.

David Tabizel, Lynch’s co-founder at Autonomy, said, “It looks like we’ve lost our dear Dr. Mike Lynch. RIP. The world has lost a genius. His family has lost a giant of a man.”

Andrew Kanter, a close friend and colleague of Lynch, remarked, “He was the most brilliant mind and caring person I have ever known. Over nearly a quarter century, I had the privilege of working beside someone unrivaled in their understanding of technology and business.”