British entrepreneur Mike Lynch among missing after luxury yacht sinks off Sicily

Emergency and rescue services work near the scene where a sailboat sank in the early hours of Monday, off the coast of Porticello, near the Sicilian city of Palermo, Italy, August 19, 2024. REUTERS/Igor Petyx

PALERMO, Sicily (Reuters) -One man died and six people were missing, including British tech entrepreneur Mike Lynch and his daughter, after a luxury yacht was struck by an unexpectedly violent storm and sank off Sicily early on Monday.

The British-flagged "Bayesian", a 56-metre-long (184-ft) sailboat, was carrying 22 people and was anchored just off shore near the port of Porticello when it was hit by ferocious weather, the Italian coast guard said in a statement.