Around 5 AM on Monday morning, a tornado struck a British-flagged superyacht where it was anchored off the coast of Sicily.
Notably, that superyacht was carrying 22 passengers, some of which have been in the thick of recent news cycles.
The superyacht, named the Bayesian, sunk after being crushed in the storm and dumped the passengers into the water. In the time that has passed, 15 of the passengers have been rescued. Tragically, 1 body was recovered of a deceased passenger. According to the NY Post, search efforts continue for the remaining 6 passengers.
Ayla Ronald was one of the survivors of the tragedy. She was a senior associate at Clifford Chance, a law firm. She was joined on the yacht by her partner Matthew Fletcher, as they celebrated the acquittal of tech tycoon Mike Lynch in what was called "one of Silicon Valley's biggest-ever fraud cases."
Ayla's father, Lin Ronald, told the Telegraph that his daughter texted him confirming her survival, and also, that there were deaths. Lin said he had not heard anything more from his daughter regarding the incident, or who had died. "I have texted my daughter and she hasn't given me any updates about missing personnel or saved personnel," he said. "She has only said to me that there are deaths, and she and her partner are alive."
Tornado Crushes Superyacht off Coast of Sicily
Ayla's phone was reportedly the only one with a battery, and she used it to communicate with first responders. Ayla, who was born in Christchurch, New Zealand, confirmed via text that her partner had survived the tragedy as well.
Sadly, Ayla's law firm did confirm that one of the partners in the firm was missing. Christopher Morvillo was on the yacht and has yet to have been found during search efforts. Moreover, Morvillo's wife Neda was on the boat with him and is also missing. Likewise, the aforementioned Lynch himself is missing after the storm, along with his 18-year-old daughter. While search efforts continue, the outlook for all the missing grows more bleak by the hour they remain unidentified.
The deceased body which was recovered is believed to be that of the ship's chef, Thomas Recaldo. Jonathan Bloomer, a chairman at Morgan Stanley International, is also amongst the missing, as well as his wife Judy.
Monday's storm off the coast was certainly a tragedy, and the individuals involved have made it quite a story.
