Morgan Stanley boss Jonathan Bloomer, tech tycoon Mike Lynch missing in Sicily yacht sinking

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Morgan Stanley bank chairman Jonathan Bloomer is confirmed to be among those missing after a British yacht sank in Sicily. He is the chairman of the Morgan Stanley Bank International and insurance company Hiscox.

According to reports, Hiscox CEO confirmed that Bloomer and his wife Judy are among those still missing, on Tuesday.

“Our thoughts are with all those affected, in particular our Chair, Jonathan Bloomer, and his wife Judy, who are among the missing,” Aki Hussain said in a statement to AFP.

Furthermore, British tech tycoon Mike Lynch, co-founder of Autonomy Corporation and the founder of Invoke Capital, and his 18-year-old daughter Hannah are also missing. Lynch went missing after a luxury yacht, The Bayesian, that he was travelling in, was struck by a violent storm and sank off the Sicilian capital Palermo on Monday, a person familiar with the rescue operation said.

Lynch, aged 59, was reportedly aboard the yacht for a celebration after his acquittal, in June, by a jury in San Francisco of fraud charges linked to the sale of his software company, Autonomy, to Hewlett-Packard for $11bn in 2011.

The sale cemented Lynch’s reputation as UK’s answer to Bill Gates, but it quickly turned sour after Hewlett-Packard wrote down Autonomy’s value by $8.8bn.

Lynch said he was “elated” to be cleared in the criminal trial, during which he took the stand in his own defence, denying any wrongdoing and blaming HP for the failed post-deal merger that led to the devaluation. 

Rescue operations

Italian authorities rescued 15 of those on board, but a day later six passengers remain missing, and one body has been recovered, according to media reports.

The body has not been formally identified, but the Palermo coastguard said it was the ship’s cook, as per the BBC. The search is continuing on Tuesday.

Reports citing local authorities said the missing could have been trapped in the yacht as it went down. Divers have been deployed to go through the sunk yacht but resurfaced last night after being unsuccessful in their attempts to get inside the wreckage as furniture blocked the way, added reports.

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