Bayesian Superyacht Captain on Tornado: ‘We Didn’t See it Coming’

The captain of the superyacht that capsized off the coast of Sicily has said he had no idea a tornado was coming toward the boat, according to reports in Italy.

The 56-meter (184-ft) British-flagged Bayesian luxury yacht was struck by the tornado at dawn on Monday morning and sank to 160ft off the coast of Palermo with 22 people on board, including 10 crew and 12 tourists.

“We didn’t see it coming,” the captain said, according to the Italian newspaper La Repubblica. He was speaking from a hospital and limping due to an injury to his calf, the paper reported.

One person died and six others are missing, including British tech magnate Mike Lynch, and Morgan Stanley boss Jonathan Bloomer and his wife.

Bloomer is the international bank chairman of the global financial services firm Morgan Stanley.

Two Americans, four Britons, and a Canadian were initially unaccounted for following the tragedy, which occurred between 4:30 a.m. and 5 a.m. local time, according to Italian media reports.

Early Tuesday morning rescue teams and divers returned to the site after a first search Monday ended unsuccessfully.

Fire rescue crews reported that divers were unable to access the below-deck cabins because they were blocked by debris that had shifted during the violent storm.

“Access was limited to the bridge, due to the difficulty represented by the presence of furnishings obstructing the divers’ passage,” the fire crews said in a statement.

The search was made particularly difficult because the ship was resting on the seabed at a depth of 160ft, which limits the amount of time divers can be underwater, said fire rescue spokesperson Luca Cari.

The search is expected to take time, he told The Associated Press early Tuesday.

The yacht had been moored about a half-mile off Ponticello when a storm hit at around 4 a.m.

Civil protection officials said they believed the ship was struck by a tornado over the water, known as a waterspout.

Fifteen of the Bayesian’s 22 passengers and crew were rescued after escaping onto a lifeboat and then to nearby sailboat, the Sir Robert Baden Powell.

Among the survivors was Charlotte Golunski, who said she momentarily lost hold of her 1-year-old daughter Sofia in the water, but then managed to hold her up over the waves until a lifeboat inflated and they were both pulled to safety, Italian news agency ANSA reported.

The father, identified by ANSA as James Emslie, was also among those rescued.

One body, belonging to the Bayesian’s chef, was recovered nearby.

Among those missing was Lynch, who was once hailed as Britain’s king of technology.

Lynch created tech company Autonomy in 1996 and sold it for $11 billion to Hewlett-Packard in 2011.

A year later, the U.S. company took an $8.8 billion write-down in the firm’s value after discovering “serious accounting improprieties” at Autonomy and accused Lynch of perpetrating a $5 billion fraud.

He was cleared in June of fraud and conspiracy charges in a U.S. federal trial.

His wife, Angela Bacares, was among those rescued.

The vacation appeared to be something of a celebration after Lynch’s acquittal, with guests including some of the people who had stood by Lynch throughout the ordeal.

Among those unaccounted for, according to the civil protection agency, were one of Lynch’s U.S. lawyers, Christopher Morvillo of Clifford Chance, and Morvillo’s wife.

Bloomer is also the former head of the Autonomy audit committee who testified at Lynch’s trial.

The yacht was built in 2008 by the Italian firm Perini Navi.

According to online charter companies, it has been available for charter for about $215,000 a week and is notable for its massive 75-meter tall aluminum mast, one of the tallest in the world.