Category Archives: Italy

‘She was easy to love’: friends and family pay tribute to Hannah Lynch

Posted on by

Daughter, 18, of tech tycoon Mike Lynch was one of seven people to die when the Bayesian sank off Sicily

The 18-year-old daughter of the British tech tycoon Mike Lynch, whose body was recovered on Friday from the wreck of her father’s yacht, was “fiercely intelligent and genuinely kind” and had a promising future, friends and teachers have said.

Hannah Lynch was described as “one of the best English students in the country”. She was one of seven people, including her father, who died after his yacht Bayesian sank during a storm off the coast of Sicily on Monday.

Continue reading...

Manslaughter charges considered as final body recovered from Sicily yacht

Posted on by

Coastguard confirms body of Hannah Lynch, 18, found after four-day search, bringing number of dead to seven

Prosecutors in Italy are investigating potential manslaughter charges relating to the sinking of the superyacht Bayesian as the body of Mike Lynch’s 18-year-old daughter, Hannah, was recovered.

The Bayesian sank off the coast of Sicily early on Monday morning when the area was hit by violent storms. Seven people died, including the British tech entrepreneur Lynch.

Continue reading...

Mike Lynch confirmed dead after yacht sank off Sicily coast during storm

Posted on by

Tech tycoon, 59, was among six people missing since early hours of Monday morning when Bayesian yacht capsized

The British tech entrepreneur Mike Lynch has been confirmed dead by search and rescue authorities after his yacht sank off the coast of Sicily during a violent storm, according to officials.

Lynch, 59, the founder of Autonomy Corporation, was among six people missing after the British-flagged 56-metre sailing boat Bayesian capsized at about 5am local time on Monday off the coast of Palermo when the area was hit by a tornado.

Continue reading...

Mike Lynch yacht: body of British tech entrepreneur retrieved by Italian coastguard, reports say – as it happened

Posted on by

Tech tycoon’s 18-year-old daughter Hannah is still unaccounted for, reports say. This live blog is closed

Assostampa, one of the main unions of Italian journalists, has issued a press release accusing the authorities of hindering the work of reporters on the Bayesian incident in Porticello.

According to the union, the “silence of the authorities is making the work of the press difficult, forcing them to carry out a complex and challenging task in order to verify the news”.

Continue reading...

Sicily yacht wreck divers find bodies of five missing people

Posted on by

Identities not disclosed but UK tech entrepreneur Mike Lynch and his daughter were among those onboard

Divers scouring the wreck of the luxury yacht that sank off the coast of Sicily on Monday have found the bodies of five of the six missing passengers.

The UK tech entrepreneur Mike Lynch, his teenage daughter Hannah Lynch, the Morgan Stanley International chair, Jonathan Bloomer, his wife, Judy, and the Clifford Chance lawyer Chris Morvillo and his wife, Neda, have been missing since the vessel went down on Monday morning.

Continue reading...

Italian investigators trying to establish why Bayesian superyacht sank so quickly

Posted on by

Bodies of missing people recovered as witnesses and experts ponder fate of ship hit by localised storm off Sicily

Fishers in the Sicilian village of Porticello who witnessed the Bayesian superyacht sink rapidly in a violent storm on Monday say that the vessel was in the wrong place at the wrong time.

But for Italian prosecutors investigating the incident, their focus will be on whether the captain and crew took all the necessary safety measures to prevent the tragedy.

Continue reading...

Sicily yacht sinking: five bodies reportedly found; two identified – as it happened

Posted on by

English banker Jonathan Bloomer and American lawyer Chris Morvillo reportedly confirmed as among bodies recovered by Italian rescuers

Reuters, citing a source, reports that one of the two bodies found by divers is a “heavily built man.”

Italian rescue divers have found two bodies inside the sunken luxury yacht, Reuters reported citing a source.

Continue reading...

Bayesian yacht sinking: six presumed dead as divers try to access cabins

Posted on by

UK tech entrepreneur Mike Lynch and daughter among those thought to have been trapped when storm hit off Sicily

Six people are now presumed dead after the super yacht they were onboard sank in a violent storm off the coast of Sicily.

Divers tried in vain on Tuesday to gain access to the inside of the sunken 56-metre Bayesian luxury vessel, where rescue crews believe those missing may have been trapped.

Continue reading...

Climate crisis fuelled storm that sank yacht in Sicily, say experts

Posted on by

Record sea temperatures in the Mediterranean contributed to waterspout that hit Bayesian

Record temperatures in the Mediterranean Sea this summer contributed to the freak storm that sank a superyacht off the coast of Sicily, with similar extreme events expected to increase in frequency and intensity as the climate crisis tightens its grip, Italian scientists have said.

One person is confirmed to have died and rescuers are searching for six missing people, including the British tech entrepreneur Mike Lynch and his 18-year-old daughter, Hannah, after the 56-metre Bayesian capsized in the early hours of Monday.

Continue reading...

Who are the six people missing after Sicily yacht sinking?

Posted on by

What we know about four Britons and two Americans still unaccounted for after boat sank during storm

Fears are growing for six people who are missing after a superyacht, the Bayesian, sank off the coast of Sicily when it was hit by a tornadic waterspout during a storm on Monday morning.

On Monday the body of one man, the yacht’s chef, was recovered from the water. There were 15 survivors. A rescue mission is under way to search for six others who remain unaccounted for. The four Britons and two Americans have all been named. Here is what we know about them.

Continue reading...

Sicily yacht sinking: body found confirmed to be chef Recaldo Thomas as missing passengers feared dead – as it happened

Posted on by

Thomas was one of ten crew members onboard Bayesian yacht, says Italian coastguard, as passengers including tech tycoon Mike Lynch remain missing

Lorenzo Tondo reporting from Porticello

Fabio Cefalù, 36, a fisher from Porticello, was one of the first to attempt providing assistance to the Bayesian.

We went to see what had happened. We only saw the floating debris of the boat. We immediately called the Coast Guard.

The sea was terrible. The wind very strong. The storm destroyed my solar panels. The vessel was hit head-on. I thought I would find someone in the sea. But nothing. The boat had disappeared from the radar.

Continue reading...

Sicily yacht sinking: Morgan Stanley International chair Jonathan Bloomer among missing

Posted on by

UK tech entrepreneur Mike Lynch and daughter also among six unaccounted for after superyacht was hit by tornado and sank

Morgan Stanley International chairman Jonathan Bloomer is among those missing after a yacht carrying UK tech entrepreneur Mike Lynch sank off the coast of Sicily during a violent storm, an Italian official has said.

Salvatore Cocina, head of the civil protection agency in Sicily, said Bloomer and Chris Morvillo, a lawyer at Clifford Chance, were among the six people missing. Lynch and his 18-year-old daughter, Hannah, were also unaccounted for as of late Monday.

Continue reading...

‘We didn’t see it coming’: the tumultuous Sicilian night that took down the Bayesian

Posted on by

Witnesses tell of ‘absurd tragedy’ and a mother describes how she fought to save her child from drowning

The 12 holidaying passengers had come from the UK, the US, Canada, New Zealand and Ireland, occupying six luxurious suites of Bayesian, a 56-metre-long superyacht boasting the tallest aluminium mast in the world. Among the 10 crew members were people from Sri Lanka.

The award-winning, British-flagged vessel, which was built in 2008 by the Italian shipbuilder Perini and managed by Camper & Nicholsons, left the calm blue waters of the Sicilian port of Milazzo on 14 August, sailing for a few days around the Aeolian Islands and off the historic coastal village of Cefalù.

Continue reading...

UK tech entrepreneur Mike Lynch among missing in Sicily yacht sinking

Posted on by

One man dead and six people missing including Lynch and his daughter after superyacht carrying 22 sank in storm

The British tech entrepreneur Mike Lynch is missing after a superyacht sank off the coast of Sicily during a violent storm.

The British-flagged Bayesian, a 56-metre sailboat, was carrying 22 people and was anchored just off shore near the port of Porticello when it was hit by a tornado in the early hours, the Italian coastguard said in a statement.

Continue reading...

‘It’s a proper jungle’: Rome’s rat and snake infestation blamed on waste problems

Posted on by

Pest control expert says warmer winters help creatures such as oriental hornets, snakes and rats thrive in the city

A Rome zoologist says the Italian capital has become “a proper jungle” amid a surge in the presence of snakes, oriental hornets, seagulls and rats owing to a combination of high temperatures and the city’s persistent problem with rubbish.

Andrea Lunerti, who is well known in Rome for capturing dangerous animals, said he had been inundated with calls this summer, especially about snake sightings.

Continue reading...

Hunter Biden sought US government help for Ukrainian company Burisma

Posted on by

Biden wrote to then US ambassador to Rome on behalf of the energy firm while his father was vice-president

Hunter Biden lobbied the US government for help in securing a lucrative energy contract in Italy while his father Joe Biden was vice-president, newly released documents show.

A tranche of previously undisclosed documents now made public under a Freedom of Information Act (Foia) request reveals that the president’s son wrote to the then US ambassador to Rome, John Phillips, in 2016 seeking assistance on behalf of the Ukrainian energy company, Burisma, of which he was a board member.

Continue reading...

‘Vulgar racism’: outrage after mural of Italian volleyball star is vandalised

Posted on by

Defacing of Rome artwork celebrating Olympic champion Paola Egonu widely condemned across political spectrum

A mural celebrating the Italian Olympic volleyball champion Paola Egonu has become the target of “vulgar racism” after the athlete’s skin in the image was spray-painted pink.

The mural by the street artist Laika was defaced within a day of being unveiled on a wall close to the headquarters of the Italian Olympic committee (Coni) in Rome.

Continue reading...

French customs officers thwart €1.3m sale of fake Leonardo da Vinci painting

Posted on by

Spanish police make arrest after being notified that export licence had expired and work was found to be a copy

Spanish police have arrested a man whose alleged plan to sell a fake Leonardo da Vinci painting in Italy for €1.3m was thwarted when the work caught the eye of French customs officers.

Although the man had an export licence for the work, which was purported to be a Leonardo portrait of the Italian aristocrat and military commander Gian Giacomo Trivulzio, the licence had expired, prompting customs officers at the Modane border post to contact Spanish police.

Continue reading...

Neighbours turn on each other in Portofino air-con crackdown

Posted on by

Some residents of wealthy Italian village reportedly passing on photos to police who are hunting illegal units

It is baking hot in Portofino, but the atmosphere has turned decidedly chilly among residents of the exclusive Italian coastal village since a crackdown was imposed on air-conditioning units.

With a year-round population of just 379, Portofino has emerged as Italy’s wealthiest municipality and is well known for being a magnet for the rich and famous.

Continue reading...

Venice cuts size of tourist parties to 25 to reduce impact on city

Posted on by

Tourists face fines of €25-500 if they fail to comply with measures, which also ban the use of loudspeakers

Venice will limit the size of tourist parties to 25 people from Thursday in the latest attempt to reduce the impact of crowds on the lagoon city.

Local authorities will also ban the use of loudspeakers by tourist guides in measures aimed at “protecting the peace of residents” and ensuring pedestrians can move around more freely.

Continue reading...