UK Tech Tycoon Known As 'Britain's Bill Gates' Missing After Luxury Yacht Sinks

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British tech entrepreneur Mike Lynch has been confirmed as one of the missing people who were aboard a luxury yacht that sank off the coast of Sicily when it was hit by a freak tornado.

Mike Lynch, often called "Britain's Bill Gates," was one of 22 people aboard the Bayesian, a 160-foot luxury yacht, when the vessel was struck by a freak tornado near Sicily on Monday morning.

So far, 15 people have been rescued by authorities, with one confirmed casualty, leaving two Americans, four Britons and a Canadian still missing. According to the BBC , Lynch's wife, Angela Bacares, was among those rescued and the yacht is linked to her. The British state news service reported that the boat was owned by a company called Revtom, which lists Bacares as its sole legal owner.

The Bayesian, worth around $18 million, has now completely sunk, and the wreck is now over 164 feet below the surface of the sea, according Italian news media.

Lynch is the founder of the British software company Autonomy, earning his reputation as "Britain's Bill Gates" during the late 1990s and early 2000s as a key player in the U.K.'s data and software industry.