The search for British technology tycoon Mike Lynch and his teenage daughter has resumed on Tuesday after a luxury yacht sank in a tornado off the coast of Sicily.
Mr Lynch and his daughter Hannah, 18, are among six tourists missing after the yacht, named Bayesian, was battered during intense storms off the coast of Palermo in the early hours of Monday.
Morgan Stanley International bank chairman Jonathan Bloomer and his wife, and Clifford Chance lawyer Chris Morvillo and his wife are also confirmed among the missing, the head of Sicily's Civil Protection said.
Captain of the yacht, James Catfield, spoke to Italian news outlet La Repubblica from hospital on Tuesday morning when he said of the storm: “We didn't see it coming.”
The 56m Bayesian was carrying 22 people including Brits, Americans, and Canadians when it sank. Fifteen people were rescued, including a mother and her one-year-old daughter.
Survivors said the trip had been organised by Lynch for his work colleagues.
Divers have warned that they are only able to search the wreckage for 10 minutes at a time.
The Italian coastguard also believes the six missing people may still be inside the sunken superyacht.
Spokesperson Vincenzo Zagarola, of the Italian Coastguard, has told the PA news agency this is the working theory of officials, because the Bayesian is believed to have sunk quickly, and those unaccounted for have not yet been found despite search and rescue efforts by sea and air.
"We think they are still inside the boat, that is our very hard idea,” said Mr Zagarola.
"Our search and rescue activity by sea and air has gone on for around 36 hours.
"Of course, we do not exclude that they are not inside the boat, but we know the boat sank quickly.
"We suppose that the six people missing may not have had time to get out of the boat."
But what caused the incident?
What is a waterspout?
The incident is said to have been caused by a waterspout. A waterspout is defined as a whirling column of air, water and mist, that forms when cumulus clouds grow rapidly, reports the Daily Mail. They can rise hundreds of feet in the air and have also been referred to as tornadoes on the water.
There are largely two categories of waterspout – fair-weather waterspouts, and tornadic waterspouts.
Tornadic waterspouts are tornadoes that form over water or move from land to water, and they share the same characteristics as a land tornado. They are associated with severe thunderstorms and are often accompanied by high winds and seas, large hail, and frequent lightning.
Fair-weather waterspouts usually form along the dark, flat base of a line of developing cumulus clouds, reports National Ocean Services.
While tornadic waterspouts are generally associated with thunderstorms, fair-weather waterspouts generally aren’t. By the time its water funnel is visible, fair-weather waterspouts are near maturity.
They usually form in light wind conditions, meaning they don’t move much.
If waterspouts move onshore, tornado warnings are issued, as some can cause significant damage and injuries. Fair-weather waterspouts usually dissipate rapidly when they make landfall, reports the National Ocean Service.
