Friends and colleagues pay tribute as Lynch confirmed dead in Sicily yacht disaster

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.

- Jamie Grierson, Matthew Weaver, Lorenzo Tondo

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

Lynch's body was retrieved from the wreck yesterday, Massimo Mariani, an interior ministry official, told Reuters after being briefed by the emergency services. Agence France-Presse also reported that Lynch's body had been recovered, citing a coastguard official. His wife, Angela Bacares, was rescued on Monday, while his 18-year-old daughter, Hannah, is still unaccounted for. Mariani said her body may be inside the wreck or she could have been tossed into the sea as the boat sank.

A spokesperson for the Italian fire brigade said it could take days for the last missing person to be found, given the difficulties facing the divers on a wreck 50m (165ft) below the surface.

The bodies of four people were recovered from the wreck on Wednesday. The body of the yacht's chef, Recaldo Thomas, was found on Monday, shortly after the vessel sank.