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YACHT TRAGEDY
High-profile attorney and wife among six feared dead in Bayesian superyacht sinking as search continues for survivors
Footage shows search teams frantically looking for any survivors
FOUR British tourists are feared dead after a £14million superyacht was hit by a tornado before sinking off the coast of Sicily.
The lifeless body of one victim who was sailing onboard the doomed Bayesian yacht has already been pulled from the Mediterranean, while emergency responders continue to search for a high-profile US attorney, his wife, and members of his legal team.
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A frantic hunt was launched for the remaining missing six - which is made up of four Brits and two Americans, Italian paper Ansa reports.
One of the missing Brits is tech entrepreneur Mike Lynch.
Lynch, a billionaire, was one of the 22 people sailing onboard the vessel, the Telegraph reported this afternoon.
Lynch's 18-year-old daughter is also missing.
Read More On Yacht Sinking
The other missing guests include the chairman of Morgan Stanley International, Jonathan Bloomer, Bloomer's wife, Lynch's attorney Christopher Morvillo, and Morvillo's wife, Nada, according to Italian authorities.
Lynch had gathered guests from his own company, Invoke Capital, and from the legal firm Clifford Chance, after being cleared of fraud charges in the US.
Lynch's co-defendant in his US fraud trial, Stephen Chamberlain, also died in hospital just a few days after being hit by a car on Saturday, his attorney revealed.
Clifford Chance lawyer Ayla Ronald, a member of the successful legal team invited to go sailing with Lynch, has been confirmed alive, according to her father, Lin Ronald.
Most read in The Sun
"I have texted with my daughter and she hasn't given me any updates about missing personnel or saved personnel," Ronald revealed to .
"She has only said to me that there are deaths, and she and her partner are alive," he added.
The U.S. Sun has reached out to Clifford Chance for comment.
'FRANTIC RESCUE'
A one-year-old British girl was heroically rescued by her mother in the sea before being rushed to hospital by emergency crews in a lifeboat.
The yacht is believed to have been flooded by water after a tornado off the coast of Porticello, near Palermo, just before 5am local time on Monday morning.
Helicopters, divers, patrol boats and firefighters are all helping with the desperate search of the wreckage.
A man's body was tragically found underwater alongside the shipwreck by divers, reports .
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Most of those missing were passengers on the £166,000 a week charter.
The cook is still missing as well.
At least 15 people were saved by coast guards, patrol boats, firefighters and local fishermen.
The ship's charterers said there were 12 guests and 10 crew sailing at the time.
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The heroic mum Charlotte, 35, spoke about the frantic rescue, telling Giornale di Sicilia: "For two seconds I lost the baby in the sea, then I immediately hugged her again amidst the fury of the waves.
"I held her tightly, close to me, while the sea was stormy. Many were screaming.
"Luckily the lifeboat inflated and 11 of us managed to get on board."
Charlotte reportedly needed stitches on her chest for a slight graze.
The father was also onboard at the time of the horror ordeal but wasn't able to find his family after being swept away by the sea.
Seven other survivors are still in hospital receiving treatment.
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Officials from the Red Cross, the Civil Protection, and the Municipality of Santa Flavia and Bagheria have provided the 14 people with clothing and aid.
Helicopters are still patrolling the coastal region as the search continues.
An expert team of divers have already been able to locate the hull where they discovered the man's body, say Italian media.
It was discovered 160ft below the water on the seabed around half a mile from the coast.
Sicily is currently under a weather warning for strong winds.
Almost all of the 22 passengers and crew onboard are said to have been inside their cabins and rooms when the weather took a turn.
Many of the terrified passengers managed to escape their rooms before being forced to enter the sea, say .
Unbelievable tragedy tonight. I'm out of words
Shocked witness
The yacht was said to have started to sink just off the shoreline with its anchor still down.
Local crews of fishermen quickly spotted the ship and managed to help raise the anchor along with two other sailing vessels, say local media.
The Bayesian costs £166,000-a-week to rent out.
It sails under a British flag, according to a Facebook post Sunday evening.
The ship is managed by Camper and Nicholsons International.
A spokesperson for the company told the BBC they are “dealing with a situation onboard one of [their] managed vessels”.
The boat left the Sicilian port of Milazzo last Wednesday and was last tracked east of Palermo last night, according to tracking app Vesselfinder.
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SUPER STORM
A spokesperson for the Foreign Office told The Sun: “We are in contact with the local authorities following an incident in Sicily, and stand ready to provide consular support to British nationals affected.”
A restaurant owner near to the port shared a picture of the Bayesian sailing in stormy conditions last night.
The caption read: "The yacht on the left sunk at 4:05, caught in the middle of the hurricane 300 meters from the port of Porticello, next to another sailboat that provided rescue.
"It looks like there are 22 on board but unfortunately 7 missing, they’re still afraid inside the hull.
"Unbelievable tragedy tonight. I'm out of words."
Citizens from New Zealand, Sri Lanka, Ireland and France were also onboard alongside the British nationals, say Italian media.
The group are said to have been on holiday in Sicily.
A shocked witness told local media about the moment the yacht started to sink: "At around 4:30 in the morning it was gone.
"A beautiful vessel where there had been a party. Evidently they were surprised by the storm that suddenly hit and they were unable to prevent it from sinking."
They claim the vessel's mast was torn apart by the tornado before it was knocked off balance and started filling with water.
The Bayesian first set sail in 2008 after being produced by Italian yacht builder Perini Navi, say .
We are in contact with the local authorities following an incident in Sicily, and stand ready to provide consular support to British nationals affected
UK Foreign Office
It can hold up to 12 guests and 10 crew members and features six cabins.
It is said to have the second tallest mast in the world at a height of 246ft, say .
She can reportedly reach speeds of up to 15.5 knots and is powered by twin Caterpillar C-32 diesel engines.
It comes just a week after a £1million yacht sank near Majorca with five people including a child onboard.
Terrifying footage shows an entire half of the vessel submerged off Camp de Mar in Andratx - promoting an urgent rescue mission with all five being rushed back to land safely.
Days earlier a luxury superyacht started to sink after a crew member left a door open - causing water to flood the interior.
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The 150ft vessel dubbed "Ethos" was carrying five wealthy tourists when it dramatically started tipping over as waves crashed into its side.
Sat just off the coast of Kefalonia, Greece, in the Paleokaravo Bay, the £180,000-a-week yacht was sent to a watery grave after the huge blunder.
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