London, 20 August 2024 (PA Media/dpa/MIA) - The search for British technology tycoon Mike Lynch and his daughter continues after a luxury yacht sank in a tornado off the coast of Sicily.

Lynch and his daughter Hannah are among six tourists missing after the yacht, named Bayesian, was battered during intense storms off the coast of Palermo in the early hours of Monday morning.

A body, believed to be that of the vessel's cook, has been found and police divers are trying to reach the hull of the ship, which is resting at a depth of 50 metres.

Four of the missing passengers are British and two are American, Italian news website la Repubblica stated.

Sicily's civil protection agency told the BBC that 18-year-old Hannah Lynch was among those missing with her father, along with the yacht's chef, Ricardo Thomas.

The yacht was carrying 10 crew members and 12 passengers.

Fifteen people including Lynch's wife, Angela Bacares, were rescued, according to local media.

The British-flagged superyacht capsized at about 5 am local time (0300 GMT) on Monday off the coast of Palermo when the area was hit by a tornado.

Lynch, who founded software giant Autonomy in 1996, was made an OBE for services to enterprise in 2006.

In June, he was cleared of conducting a massive fraud relating to an $11 billion sale to US company Hewlett Packard.

A spokesperson for Lynch said there was no comment.

The yacht sank as a fierce storm battered the area overnight.

The daily Il Giornale di Sicilia newspaper reported that the vessel had mostly British passengers on board, but also people from New Zealand, Sri Lanka, Ireland and British-French citizens.

Salvo Cocina of Sicily's civil protection agency said: "They were in the wrong place at the wrong time."

One of the survivors, British tourist Charlotte Emsley, told la Repubblica she held her one-year-old daughter, Sofia, to stop her from drowning.

She said: "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 and Sofia are being treated in hospital, as is Sofia's father, James Emsley.

A spokesman for the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) said on Monday: "We are in contact with the local authorities following an incident in Sicily, and stand ready to provide consular support to British nationals affected."

The Marine Accident Investigation Branch said four of its inspectors were being deployed to Palermo.

A basic assessment of the scene will be made by the team, with no investigation launched at this stage, the PA news agency understands.

Bayesian completed a number of sailings in recent days, calling at various ports in Sicily, according to ship-tracking website VesselFinder.

The superyacht can accommodate up to 12 guests in six suites, and is listed for rent for up to €195,000 ($216,000) a week.

She was built in 2008 by Italian company Perini Navi.

Her registered owner is listed as Revtom Ltd, which is based on the Isle of Man.

It has since emerged that the co-defendant of Lynch in his US fraud trial, Stephen Chamberlain, died after being hit by a car whilst out running on Saturday.

Gary Lincenberg, Chamberlain's lawyer, said in a statement provided to the PA news agency: "Our dear client and friend Steve Chamberlain was fatally struck by a car on Saturday while out running.

"He was a courageous man with unparalleled integrity. We deeply miss him.

"Steve fought successfully to clear his good name at trial earlier this year, and his good name now lives on through his wonderful family."

Lynch is of Irish heritage – his father was a fireman from Co Cork, and his mother was a nurse from Co Tipperary.

In a 2015 radio interview, Lynch confirmed that he was born in Ilford in London, despite a number of reports that he was born in Ireland and raised in England.

He said during the same interview that he spent childhood summers in Carrick-On-Shannon and Tipperary and has family who still live there.

Photo: X