Gemma Collins has said she is ‘very lucky to have survived’ after getting caught up in the terrifying storm that hit Sicily on Monday.
British tech tycoon Mike Lynch and his 18-year-old daughter Hannah are still missing after his luxury superyacht capsized near Porticello.
Six people, understood to be four Britons and two Americans, remain unaccounted for while 15 passengers were rescued by a nearby ship including a British mother and her one-year-old daughter. One body has been recovered.
Gemma, 43, and her nephew Hayden, 15, who were onboard another luxury ship, were left shaken after being stranded at sea for four hours.
In an update shared to Instagram, she wrote: ‘Holiday update. My heartfelt condolences to the people involved in the tragic disaster at sea in Sicily.’
![Gemma Collins’ Lucky Escape from Sinking Yacht in Sicily Gemma Collins’ Lucky Escape from Sinking Yacht in Sicily](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/08/20/01/88705297-13759515-Gemma_Collins_has_said_she_is_very_lucky_to_have_survived_after_-a-44_1724114452915.jpg)
Gemma Collins has said she is ‘very lucky to have survived’ after getting caught up in the terrifying storm that hit Sicily on Monday
Gemma continued: ‘I was very lucky me and my nephew to have survived the storm at sea.’
‘I am shaken and returning to the uk tomorrow god was on our side today we was stuck for 4 hours can you imagine what was going through my mind. Thank you @bluediamondcruise for getting us back safely.’
British tech tycoon Mike’s sailboat was docked off the coast of Porticello, near Palermo, when a tornado hit the area just before 5am, wrecking the boat and causing it to rapidly disappear beneath the waves.
His wife Angela Bacares, 57, was among the fifteen people who were rescued from the 180ft yacht, which she is reported to have owned and had been carrying ten crewmembers, the owner and 11 guests.
A British mother, named as Charlotte Golunski, and her one-year-old baby were also reported to be among those rescued by a nearby sailboat.
The 35-year-old has described how she momentarily lost her daughter in the ‘fury of the waves’, before finding her and managing to get them both to safety.
Meanwhile six of the passengers – who include British and American citizens – still remain unaccounted for, with divers desperately searching the wreck 160ft beneath the water.
Tragically, the body of a man – believed to be a Canadian national who was working as the boat’s chef – was found floating alongside the vessel earlier today.
![Gemma Collins' Lucky Escape from Sinking Yacht in Sicily 3 British tech tycoon Mike Lynch (pictured in 2019) and his 18-year-old daughter Hannah are still missing after his luxury superyacht capsized near Porticello](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/08/20/01/88680859-13759515-British_tech_tycoon_Mike_Lynch_is_understood_to_be_among_the_Bri-a-45_1724114614675.jpg)
British tech tycoon Mike Lynch (pictured in 2019) and his 18-year-old daughter Hannah are still missing after his luxury superyacht capsized near Porticello
![Gemma Collins' Lucky Escape from Sinking Yacht in Sicily 5 Gemma, 43, and her nephew Hayden, 15, who were onboard another luxury ship, were left shaken after being stranded at sea for four hours](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/08/20/01/88705293-13759515-Gemma_43_and_her_nephew_Hayden_15_who_were_onboard_another_luxur-m-48_1724114661546.jpg)
Gemma, 43, and her nephew Hayden, 15, who were onboard another luxury ship, were left shaken after being stranded at sea for four hours
![Gemma Collins' Lucky Escape from Sinking Yacht in Sicily 7 In an update, she wrote: 'My heartfelt condolences to the people involved in the tragic disaster at sea in Sicily. 'I was very lucky me and my nephew to have survived the storm at sea'](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/08/20/01/88705291-13759515-In_an_update_she_wrote_My_heartfelt_condolences_to_the_people_in-a-50_1724114844755.jpg)
In an update, she wrote: ‘My heartfelt condolences to the people involved in the tragic disaster at sea in Sicily. ‘I was very lucky me and my nephew to have survived the storm at sea’
There are fears that those who are still missing became trapped in their cabins, with divers earlier reporting that they saw ‘bodies through the portholes’ of the yacht, according to Italian media.
The tragedy comes just weeks after Mr Lynch was acquitted of criminal charges by a jury in San Francisco in June, vindicating the entrepreneur after a 12-year legal battle over the $11bn sale of his firm, Autonomy, to Hewlett-Packard in 2011.
The 59-year-old, who was a billionaire at the height of his wealth, has previously been dubbed Britain’s Bill Gates after he made his fortune thanks to his company.
Its software drew on the Bayesian mathematical theory after which the yacht was named.