Jonathan Bloomer, Chairman of Morgan Stanley International, and his wife are among the six individuals still unaccounted for following the tragic sinking of the mega-yacht Bayesian off the coast of Italy on Monday morning. According to officials and various reports, the 184-foot luxury sailboat capsized near the port of Porticello after being struck by a tornado. Salvatore Cocina, head of the civil protection agency in Sicily, confirmed that the yacht was carrying 22 people at the time of the incident.

Among those missing are British tech entrepreneur Mike Lynch, 59, and his 18-year-old daughter, Hannah. The yacht, owned by Lynch’s wife Angela Bacares, was involved in the incident. Chris Morvillo, a prominent attorney from Clifford Chance, who represented Lynch in a high-profile fraud case earlier this year, is also among the missing. The Italian coast guard has been actively searching for survivors, deploying divers to the wreckage site, which lies approximately 160 feet deep.

The incident occurred around dawn when the yacht was struck by a powerful tornado, leading to its sudden capsizing. Of the 22 people on board, 15 have been confirmed to have escaped before the yacht sank. This group includes Lynch’s wife Angela and a one-year-old girl. Eight of the survivors were subsequently taken to local hospitals for treatment. Charlotte Golunski, 36, played a heroic role in saving her one-year-old daughter Sophia by keeping her afloat amid the turbulent waters. Both mother and child are reported to be recovering, with the baby in good health and the mother suffering only minor abrasions.

The sinking of the Bayesian, which was built by the Italian shipyard Perini in 2008 and last refitted in 2020, is particularly tragic given the context of the trip. Lynch had organized this voyage as a celebration of his recent legal victory. Just two months prior, Lynch had been acquitted by a San Francisco jury of fraud charges related to the sale of his software company, Autonomy, to Hewlett-Packard for $11 billion in 2011. The trip was meant to mark the end of a challenging period for Lynch.

The incident also took a somber turn with the news of Stephen Chamberlain’s death. Chamberlain, Lynch’s co-defendant in the fraud case and former vice president of finance at Autonomy, passed away on Monday after being struck by a car in Cambridgeshire, UK. Chamberlain was 52 years old.

The yacht’s tragic end unfolded when the tornado struck just as dawn was breaking. According to reports, a nearby boat’s captain, Karsten Borner, noted the dramatic turn of events. He described how his crew had turned on their engine to maintain control and avoid a collision with the Bayesian as the storm hit. After the storm had passed, they discovered that the giant yacht had disappeared, leaving only the remnants of the disaster. Borner’s crew then rescued some survivors who had managed to find a life raft, including Golunski and her daughter, before handing them over to the coast guard.

The vessel, which was owned by Revtom Limited—a company with Bacares listed as the sole shareholder—had been a symbol of luxury and opulence before its tragic end. The Italian coast guard and rescue teams are continuing their efforts to locate the missing individuals, but the challenging conditions and the depth of the wreckage complicate their search. As time goes on, the anguish of the families and the broader circle of friends and colleagues affected by this disaster deepens, highlighting the profound impact of this tragic maritime event.