ROME -- The British tycoon Mike Lynch, 59, is understood to be missing along with his daughter, 18, after a luxury yacht sinking that has killed one man and left another six people feared drowned in Porticello, off the coast of Palermo. A search operation is underway to find the missing passengers, the fire service and coast guard have confirmed.

 The sailing boat, known as Bayesian and identified by a British flag, was carrying 22 passengers and crew in the harbour near Porticello when it was hit by a freak tornado at around 5 a.m on Monday morning, causing it to overturn and sink. The man killed has been identified as the chef of the boat's crew, a Canadian national who has not been named at this stage.

 Four British people and two Americans are among those still missing. Mike Lynch, the British technology tycoon known for founding Autonomy Corporation and recently acquitted for fraud charges, was travelling on the yacht when it sank but has not yet been found, Sole 24 Ore has reported. Lynch's wife, Angela Bacares, has reportedly been rescued. 

 “We are providing consular support to a number of British nationals and their families following an Incident in Sicily, and are in contact with the local authorities," a spokesperson for the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) has said.

 The luxury 56-metre long Bayesan boat, carrying 12 tourists and ten crew members, had been used for a party in the hours before. The vessel got into trouble around 4:30 a.m. when the storm hit, causing the main mast to be dislodged and, with the anchor lowered, the boat to overturn. An investigation has been opened to establish how the boat capsized, Termini Imerese's public prosecutor's office has said. 

 "All that was needed was for the boat to raise its anchor and head into port," a witness in Porticello described. "They were obviously surprised by the storm that hit them suddenly and weren't able to avoid sinking."

 Another boat in the harbour, anchored a short distance away from the Bayesan, alerted the coastguard after members on board noticed the yacht had got into trouble. A passenger on the neighbouring boat said he saw the Bayesan "had disappeared".

 "We saw a flare shot into the sky and we went to see who had shot it. We saw there was a lifeboat with 15 people inside. We called the coast guard and they came to help."

 British, Irish, and New Zealand nationals are among those to have been saved. The fifteen people inside the lifeboat were rescued by the coast guard, with eight in a stable condition. A 1-year-old girl, Sofia, was also rescued in the lifeboat and was taken to Palermo's Children's Hospital as a precaution. The baby's mother Charlotte Golunski, 35, said she "was sleeping" when the boat capsized.

 "For two seconds, I lost my little girl in the water, but then I immediately hugged her amid the fury of the waves."

 "So many people were shouting," she added. "Luckily the lifeboat inflated and 11 of us managed to get into it."

 Divers and coastguard rescue teams have been searching the water this morning to find the six missing passengers, as rescue divers search the hull of the boat which sank 49 metres. It has been reported that those missing might have been trapped in the boat's cabins when the storm hit. The 15 survivors, including the ship's skipper, are set to be questioned by police. 

 "In this moment, my prayers go to the missing people from the sinking of the yacht in Porticello," Roberto Lagalla, the mayor of Palermo, has said. "I also want to thank the coast guard, the fire service, and all the emergency operation that responded immediately and is still carrying out operations."

 Among the survivors, as reported in Giornale di Sicilia, are Britons Ayla Ronald, 36, Matthew Fletcher, 41, James Emsilie, 35, and his wife, Charlotte, and daughter Sofia.

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