Mike Lynch, a 59-year-old British technology entrepreneur, has been declared deceased following an extensive search and rescue operation, as reported by various news outlets. The 183-foot luxury yacht Bayesian foundered near Sicily’s coast at approximately 5 AM local time on Monday amidst a severe storm. Lynch was among the 22 individuals on the yacht, which included both passengers and crew members.
In the immediate aftermath, 15 survivors were rescued, and one body was recovered. Subsequently, five additional bodies have been retrieved, with Lynch’s among them. Currently, Lynch’s daughter remains the only person unaccounted for, according to Reuters, which cites sources involved in the rescue efforts.
Lynch was a prominent figure in the tech industry, having co-founded companies such as Autonomy and Darktrace, and established the venture capital firm Invoke Capital. His sale of Autonomy to Hewlett-Packard for $11 billion led to a protracted legal dispute, with accusations of sales inflation and deception towards HP. However, in June, a San Francisco jury exonerated him of all 15 fraud charges.
The yacht trip was intended as a celebration of Lynch’s legal triumph, with his family, friends, and business colleagues in attendance. Among the deceased are the yacht’s chef, Neda, and Chris Morvillo, a lawyer from Clifford Chance who represented Lynch, as well as Judy and Jonathan Bloomer, with Jonathan serving as the non-executive chairman of Morgan Stanley International. Angela Bacares, Lynch’s spouse, survived the incident unharmed.
In a separate but equally tragic event, Stephen Chamberlain, 52, Lynch’s co-defendant, also met with misfortune. The BBC has reported that Chamberlain was fatally struck by a vehicle on Saturday, August 17, while jogging in Cambridgeshire, England, and succumbed to his injuries.
