A close friend of missing British tycoon Mike Lynch says he is hoping for “a miracle”.
Mr Lynch and five others remain missing after the superyacht they were on capsized and sank in a tornado off the coast of Sicily. Rescuers fear they are trapped inside the wreck.
The body of the yacht’s chef has been recovered.
Divers have been able to reach the communal areas of the boat, but not the cabins, Italian media reported on Tuesday night.
David Tabizel, who established software company Autonomy with Mr Lynch – the sale of which became the subject of the US fraud case – told Sky News: “I’m just heartbroken for him and his family and I hope there’s a miracle about to occur.”
“If anyone has the resilience to survive this – he does. And I hope he’s found an air pocket,” he said.
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“He has been one of the most influential, intelligent and most honourable human beings I have ever had the honour of knowing.”
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After Mr Lynch sold Autonomy to US computing giant Hewlett-Packard for $11bn (£8.6bn), he was accused of conspiracy and attempted fraud over the sale and an intense, multiyear legal battle in the US ensued.
He was acquitted of multiple fraud charges in June after more than a year under house arrest.
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The rescue team attempting to find those missing from the Bayesian yacht were able to enter the vessel by unhinging a glass window that is 3cm thick.
An engineer who led the salvage operation for the wrecked cruise ship Costa Concordia said that rescue divers looking for survivors have entered a “critical” 24 hours.
Nick Sloane told Sky News that survivors might be trapped in air pockets inside the ship, but that time is running out to save them if that is the case.
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“They’ve got a very small window of time to try to find people stuck inside with hopefully an air pocket, and they could be rescued.
“You’ve got a maximum of two to three days to try to get someone out, so the next 24 hours are critical.
“If the yacht is on its side, it might have more air pockets than if it’s upright. She’s got quite a large keel, and that will deflect and put her on her side, I’m sure.”
Another expert said that while the formation of air pockets is “highly speculative”, there are records of survivors being found this way.
“A sign the rescuers may be looking for is a banging noise at regular intervals: this is common practice on submarines, and was one of the signs the search mission for the Titan submarine was looking for after it went missing last year,” Dr Jean-Baptiste Souppez, senior lecturer in mechanical engineering at Aston University, said.
“But whether air pockets formed on the Bayesian is simply impossible to predict.”
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Divers have run into challenges in their operation, including getting to the wrecked ship and back to the surface of the water again in time.
They also need a clear path into the vessel without debris getting in the way and blocking a potential exit.
Meanwhile, CCTV footage showing the yacht moments before it sank emerged on Tuesday.
The body of the yacht’s chef Recaldo Thomas was found after the yacht sank in difficult weather conditions.
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Mr Lynch’s 18-year-old daughter Hannah also remains missing, along with Jonathan Bloomer, the chairman of investment bank Morgan Stanley International, his wife Judy, who is a psychotherapist, US lawyer Chris Morvillo and his wife Neda Morvillo, a jewellery designer.
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Fifteen other people were rescued from the yacht, including Mr Lynch’s wife Angela Bacares.
Eight of those rescued were transferred to local hospitals and all were in stable condition, local media reported.
