A team of divers descended approximately 50 meters (164 feet) beneath the surface of the sea on Tuesday, embarking on a mission to search for six individuals who had gone missing aboard a yacht off the coast of Sicily.
While 15 individuals who were initially aboard were successfully rescued, it was later revealed that one individual had tragically passed away. The status of the remaining individuals on the vessel remains unknown.
Among the individuals feared lost at sea were Jonathan Bloomer, the Chairman of London-based Morgan Stanley International, his wife, and British-Irish technology entrepreneur Mike Lynch, along with his daughter.
Mike Lynch, renowned for his contributions to the technology sector as an entrepreneur and investor, is often likened to a British counterpart of Bill Gates.
Chris Morvillo, a lawyer representing Lynch in a legal proceeding in the United States, was also among those who went missing, along with his spouse.
In a remarkable turn of events, Lynch was acquitted of all charges in a San Francisco court in early June following a trial where he was accused of orchestrating a fraud amounting to $11 billion during the sale of his software firm, Autonomy, to a US technology conglomerate, Hewlett-Packard. Morvillo served as Lynch's legal counsel throughout the trial.
It is understood that Lynch had invited friends to join him on the yacht to celebrate his legal victory, during which Jonathan Bloomer, a defense witness, was aboard.
In a strikingly coincidental event, Steve Chamberlain, the co-accused in Lynch's trial, was fatally injured after being struck by a vehicle while engaging in a run on Saturday.
On Monday, rescue teams managed to recover the body of the chef aboard the British-flagged vessel, identified as Ricardo Thomas, an Antiguan citizen.
Divers, specially trained to navigate confined spaces, were dispatched from Rome and Sardinia late Monday night, but their initial search of the wreck was unsuccessful.
"Access was severely limited to only the bridge area, hampered by the presence of furniture that obstructed the passage," the fire service reported.
In addition to the recovery of nine crew members, Lynch's wife and a mother with her one-year-old child were also among those rescued.
