A powerful tornado led to the submergence of an opulent sailing yacht near Sicily's coastal waters. Here's the available information.
Seventeen individuals were pulled from the wreckage on a Monday, as reported by Italy's Coast Guard. Subsequently, a corpse was retrieved from the destroyed vessel's hull.
Two Americans and four British nationals are among the missing, including British business magnate Mike Lynch, Jonathan Bloomer, the chair of Morgan Stanley International, and prominent lawyer Chris Morvillo.
Here's what we've gathered.
What transpired?
A sudden whirlwind – a kind of tornado – swooped over the Mediterranean island early on Monday, presumably causing the sailboat to capsize amidst heavy rains and severe thunderstorms.
The British-registered yacht, titled the “Bayesian,” was anchored about half a mile from the Porticello port, on Sicily's northern coast. The vessel sank when its mast fractured in half during the storm, as reported by Salvatore Cocina, head of Sicily's Civil Protection, to CNN on Tuesday.
Witnesses spoke of furious gales and hurricane-like winds that deposited a pile of debris near the pier.
More than a dozen survivors were spotted grabbing onto life rafts in the area, based on the account of the captain of a neighbouring boat, who steered clear to avoid colliding with the Bayesian.
"We experienced a powerful hurricane gust, prompting us to start the engine to keep the ship at a slanted position," explained Karsten Bower to reporters in Palermo on Monday. "Following the storm, we found that the ship behind us was missing."
Bower and his crew rescued four injured individuals, he stated, before calling Italy's Coast Guard – who later rescued the remaining survivors.
One rescued individual – a child – was airlifted to the children's hospital in Palermo. A total of eight individuals were hospitalized, as confirmed by the mayor's office.
One survivor, Charlotte, 35, narrated her struggle to cling to her 1-year-old daughter, Sofia, as per an Italian news agency ANSA.
"Within seconds, I lost the baby to the sea, then I swiftly hugged her once more amidst the fury of the waves. I held her tightly, close to me, as the ocean seethed," she recounted to journalists. "Many were screaming."
The mother and daughter were later reunited with the father, James, as per a doctor at the local children's hospital in Palermo.
"The survivors are exhausted and keep asking about the missing individuals," the doctor, Domenico Cipolla, shared on Monday. "They are conversing and weeping constantly because they've realised there's little hope of finding their companions alive."
Italy's fire department dispatched helicopters to assist in the search, officials claimed on Monday. Divers were also scheduled to enter the sunken ship on Tuesday, following an unsuccessful attempt on Monday.
The depth of the wreckage necessitates that divers can only work there for limited durations, according to Marco Tilotta, an inspector for the diving unit of Palermo's local fire department. The Italian fire department stated on Monday that their divers had reached the yacht's hull 49 meters (160 feet) below sea level.
The United Kingdom's Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) will also dispatch a team of four investigators to Palermo to conduct a preliminary examination of the scene, a source familiar with the operations informed CNN, under the condition of anonymity.
Who were on board?
Twenty-two individuals had boarded the Bayesian, which was sailing under the British flag and predominantly carried British passengers and crew, as well as two Anglo-French, an Irish, and one Sri Lankan individual, a spokesperson for Italy's Coast Guard disclosed to CNN.
A high-profile cast of individuals are among those reported missing, including Lynch, the 59-year-old British tech investor who confronted a fraud case earlier this year in the United States – which traced back to the disastrous $11 billion sale of his firm to tech giant Hewlett-Packard (HP) in 2011.
His 18-year-old daughter was also named among the missing. Lynch's wife, Angela Bacares, survived the incident.
Bloomer, the finance titan, and Morvillo, a distinguished lawyer – and both their wives – are also among the missing, according to Salvatore Cocina, head of Sicily's Civil Protection.
Morvillo, an American partner at Clifford Chance, played a role in defeating the US fraud case against Lynch in June.
More about the boat
Constructed in 2008, the 56-meter (184-foot) yacht was manufactured by Italian firm Perini Navi, as reported by Reuters. According to the Associated Press, the boat had been available for hire for $215,000 (€195,000) per week.
The name of the vessel is derived from the statistical theory upon which Lynch built his fortune, as per Reuters.
The yacht's mast stood 72.27 meters (237 feet) tall above the designated water line, falling just short of the world's tallest mast which measures 75.2 meters, according to Guinness World Records. The yacht's mast was the tallest aluminum mast worldwide, as per the Perini Navi website.
Dangerous weather conditions
Intense storms across Sicily led to heavy rainfall on Sunday night. Initial reports suggest a small whirlwind, which appeared over the area on Monday morning, may have been responsible for the yacht's sinking.
Whirlwinds – among several types of tornadoes – are spinning columns of air that form over water, or transition from land to water. They are often accompanied by powerful winds, massive waves, hail, and hazardous lightning. While they are most common over tropical oceans, they can develop almost anywhere.
Tidal vortexes drawing power from tropical temperatures, and the Mediterranean has been experiencing a heatwave, hitting an unprecedented daily median of 28.9 degrees Celsius (84 Fahrenheit) as per provisional research findings from the Marine Science Institute in Spain.
Residential thermometers in Sicily have shown readings even higher, touching nearly 30 degrees Celsius (86 Fahrenheit), approximately 3 degrees above the norm, as confirmed by Italian meteorologist Luca Mercalli in conversation with CNN.
Mercalli stated, "Warmed-up oceans carry more energy and moisture to the surroundings, serving as significant fuel sources for tempests."
Laura Paddison and Eve Brennan, reporters from CNN, provided additional information for this report.
The "Bayesian" was a British-registered yacht anchored in Sicily, Italy, and its passengers and crew included individuals from various parts of Europe. The tragedy occurred during a severe storm that hit the Mediterranean, causing the yacht to sink and resulting in numerous missing persons, including high-profile individuals like Mike Lynch and Jonathan Bloomer, who have significant ties to both Europe and the world.
