One dead and six missing after luxury sailboat sinks in Sicily, Italy

One person is dead and six others are missing following the wreck of a sailboat off the coastal town of Porticello in Sicily, Italy. Two of the casualties are Americans.

The Bayesian, a British-flagged luxury yacht, sank around 5 a.m. following a storm, the Italian coast guard said. On board were 22 passengers, including 10 crew members.

"One body was found in the wreck (the wrecked part of the vessel)," a coast guard spokesman told AFP, who also detailed that it was 50 meters deep. In a social media post, the Italian rescue service confirmed that it had managed to recover the body:

Fifteen people were rescued, eight of them had to be taken to a hospital, including a child, according to local media.

Although not yet identified, among the casualties - including the dead and missing - are four Britons and one Canadian, in addition to the two Americans.

One of the missing is the well-known English businessman Mike Lynch, founder of the software company Autonomy Corporation, the head of the regional Civil Defence confirmed to AFP. According to other accounts, Lynch's wife, Angela Bacares, was reportedly rescued.

The search continues by air and sea. In addition, Italian authorities have opened an investigation.