[KARAH RUCKER]

DIVERS ARE CONTINUING THEIR SEARCH FOR SIX MISSING PEOPLE, INCLUDING BRITISH TECH ENTREPRENEUR MIKE LYNCH, AFTER A LUXURY YACHT SANK OFF SICILY’S COAST DURING A FIERCE STORM.

THE 184-FOOT BRITISH-FLAGGED SUPERYACHT, CAPSIZED ON MONDAY WHILE ANCHORED NEAR PORTICELLO. THE YACHT WAS CARRYING 22 PEOPLE, INCLUDING LYNCH, HIS 18-YEAR-OLD DAUGHTER, AND OTHER PROMINENT FIGURES LIKE MORGAN STANLEY INTERNATIONAL CHAIRMAN JONATHAN BLOOMER. SO FAR, 15 PEOPLE HAVE BEEN RESCUED, BUT ONLY ONE BODY HAS BEEN RECOVERED.

LYNCH, KNOWN AS ONE OF THE UK’S LEADING TECH ENTREPRENEURS AND OFTEN COMPARED TO BILL GATES, BUILT THE SOFTWARE GIANT AUTONOMY, WHICH HE LATER SOLD TO HP FOR $11 BILLION. HOWEVER, THE DEAL ENDED IN A FRAUD ACCUSATION, LEADING TO A HIGH-PROFILE TRIAL IN THE U.S.

LYNCH WAS ACQUITTED BY A JURY IN SAN FRANCISCO IN JUNE. HIS LAWYER WHO REPRESENTED HIM DURING THE TRIAL, AND BLOOMER, WHO TESTIFIED AS A CHARACTER WITNESS, ARE ALSO AMONG THE MISSING.

RESCUE TEAMS ARE STRUGGLING WITH CHALLENGING CONDITIONS, AS THE YACHT LIES 160 FEET BELOW THE SURFACE. FIRE DEPARTMENT OFFICIALS EXPRESSED CONCERN THAT THE BODIES MAY BE TRAPPED INSIDE THE VESSEL, AND THE DEPTH IS LIMITING THE DIVERS’ TIME UNDERWATER.

ITALY HAS BEEN HIT BY EXTREME WEATHER IN RECENT WEEKS, WITH UNUSUALLY WARM SEA TEMPERATURES CONTRIBUTING TO THE SEVERE STORM.

THE BRITISH GOVERNMENT’S has DISPATCHED INSPECTORS TO ASSESS THE INCIDENT. THEIR FOCUS WILL BE ON WHETHER THE YACHT’S CREW TOOK APPROPRIATE SAFETY MEASURES BEFORE THE STORM HIT.

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