Body of tech tycoon Mike Lynch recovered from sunken superyacht, reports say

by Admin
August 22, 2024

The body of British tech entrepreneur Mike Lynch was recovered on Thursday from his family’s superyacht that sank off the coast of Italy earlier this week and triggered an expansive search for six missing people, according to media reports.

Four bodies were recovered inside the wreck on Wednesday. Lynch’s 18-year-old daughter Hannah is still unaccounted for, according to Reuters. CNBC and The Washington Post also reported the news.

Six of the ship’s 22 passengers, including Lynch and his daughter, went missing after the yacht plunged under the water just before 5 a.m. on Monday as a storm swept across the area. The U.K.-registered yacht belonged to Lynch’s wife, Angela Bacares, who was also on board and was rescued.

Lynch, 59, was the co-founder of Britain’s largest enterprise software, Autonomy, which was sold to Hewlett-Packard in 2011, and founder of venture capital fund Invoke Capital.

Sometimes known as “Britain’s Bill Gates,” Lynch was slapped with charges after HP said it had uncovered deceit and a major accounting scandal within the firm. He spent a year on house arrest after being extradited from the UK.

An investigation opened by local prosecutors into the cause of the disaster is ongoing. Experts have pointed to a water spout, a tornado over the water that can travel up to 120 mph, that formed during the storm, as well as the heavy weight of the ship’s mast, one of the largest in the world.

The rescue mission saw a diving team, helicopters and multiple coast guard ships deployed to search the water. Fifteen people were pulled from the water on Monday, and eight were hospitalized in stable condition. Ricardo Thomas, the ship’s cook, was found dead on Monday, according to the coast guard.

Contributing: Jeanine Santucci, USA TODAY