British tycoon and daughter missing as UK-flagged vessel carrying tourists SINKS off Italian coast after being hit by tornado

It is understood that the Bayesian - an 184ft-luxury yacht - belongs to the British billionaire, who was travelling with his family and friends. The boat had been designed to accommodate up to 12 guests in six suites, along with ten crew members.

The guests were reportedly celebrating Lynch's recent success after he was cleared of all charges by a US jury in the high-profile fraud case related to the sale of his software company Autonomy to Hewlett-Packard (HP) in 2011.

#Palermo, naufragio imbarcazione davanti alla costa di Porticello, 15 persone salvate, 7 segnalate come disperse: dall’alba #sommozzatori dei #vigilidelfuoco impegnati nelle ricerche. Relitto individuato a 50 metri di profondità, in arrivo sommozzatori speleo [#19agosto 10:00] pic.twitter.com/IJGP2aRRWB

— Vigili del Fuoco (@vigilidelfuoco) August 19, 2024

His wife, Angela Bacares, has been rescued, however, his daughter, Hannah, 18, is among the six people missing alongside her father.

The fire brigade said that the "lifeless body of a man" had been recovered by its divers near the 50-metre-deep wreck. He was later confirmed to be the cook.

Some 15 people, including a one-year-old girl, have already been rescued from the vessel, according to local media, with coastguard officials racing against time to reach the wreck.

Italy's national fire brigade, which runs search and rescue operations across the country, uploaded footage to social media of the scene before further images emerged of emergency services in Porticello.

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#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

— Vigili del Fuoco (@vigilidelfuoco) August 19, 2024

In the pictures and videos, boats and helicopters can be seen circling the water's surface - with the service confirming that specialist cave divers were arriving to contribute to rescue efforts.

Italian outlet Corriere della Sera reported that the fire brigade's divers had "seen corpses in the portholes" of the boat, and had informed Sicily's emergency response agency chief Salvo Cocina.

The vessel carrying a majority-British set of passengers alongside two Anglo-French citizens, an Irish national, a New Zealander and a Sri Lankan, news agency Adnkronos reported.

First to arrive at the scene had been the Sir Robert BP, a Dutch-flagged boat that was in close proximity to the sunken vessel, which rescued the 15 survivors - who are all in a stable condition, Adnkronos said.

Further local reports indicate the Bayesian sunk when a tornado and rough seas hit the area at sunrise.

One witness in Porticello told Italian news agency Ansa: "The boat was all lit up... At around 4.30am it was gone... A beautiful boat where there had been a party - a normal holiday spent happily at sea turned into a tragedy.

"The boat was not far from the port... Evidently, they were surprised by the storm that suddenly hit and they were unable to avoid sinking."

Another witness, fisherman Pietro Asciutto, said: "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 big. I saw it sink suddenly."

The boat left the Sicilian port of Milazzo on August 14 and was last tracked east of Palermo on Sunday evening, with a navigation status of "at anchor", according to vessel tracking app Vessel Finder.

And reports the yacht had been hit by a "tornado" or "whirlwind" followed by a night of severe weather across Sicily.

The island had been subject to a weather warning for wind - and CCTV footage from early this morning showed heavy rain and strong gusts slamming into Santa Nicolicchia, near where the Bayesian had been stationed.

One coast guard official stationed in Palermo said: "The wind was very strong. Bad weather was expected, but not of this magnitude."

Meteorologist Jim Dale told GB News: "A water spout is quite unusual - if it hit directly, then it would have been a catastrophic impact. They are extremely powerful, extremely scary. They move very quickly, so it's a case of no escape.

"If they were moored, that's a good thing. At least they weren't at sea, but if people were on board at that time, they were likely to have been asleep, so not in the best situation to necessarily escape.

"These things happen extremely quickly. It's one of those weather phenomena that we hope doesn’t happen to you, to yourself, or to people around you, but occasionally, and especially at this time of year, in that kind of situation, they do occur.

"Unfortunately, this is one that's already a casualty and probably more to follow."

He added: “Sicily, particularly on the northern side, they've been suffering drought, rather than necessarily big events like this, but the heat that's been generated…will probably be part of the equation, in terms of feeding that particular cumulonimbus cloud and the water spout that then followed.

“They should be getting the advice. They should be taking weather advice. As I say, in the middle of the night, everybody's asleep. Sadly, it's one of those things that occurs from time to time."

Camper and Nicholsons International, a yacht firm which manages the Bayesian, confirmed to the BBC that it was ''dealing with a situation onboard one of [their] managed vessels".

The Foreign Office said it was "in contact with the local authorities following an incident in Sicily, and stand ready to provide consular support to British nationals affected".