Sicily yacht latest: Britons join search for missing tycoon Mike Lynch and Morgan Stanley’s Jonathan Bloomer

James Catfield, the captain of the yacht who is recovering at the Termini Imerese hospital has spoken to Italian media for the first time.

La Repubblica quotes just one sentence from Mr Catfield: “We didn’t see it coming.”

Tribute has been paid to Jonathan Bloomer, who is believed to be among the missing, from the insurer Hiscox that Mr Bloomer chairs.

Its CEO has confirmed that Bloomer and his wife Judy are among those still missing this morning.

Aki Hussain, Group Chief Executive Officer, Hiscox, said in a statement to The Independent: “We are deeply shocked and saddened by this tragic event. Our thoughts are with all those affected, in particular our Chair, Jonathan Bloomer, and his wife Judy, who are among the missing, and with their family as they await further news from this terrible situation.”

The luxury superyacht is “practically intact” on the seabed despite sinking, Marco Tilotta, a firefighter diver from Palermo, has told Italian newspaper Il Messaggero.

He said in an interview that the £30 million yacht was lying on its side at a depth of 48 metres, but that divers were unable to gain access because of floating furnishings and other debris inside the yacht.

He said: “When we went down to the water around 5:30 a.m., we found a yacht that was practically intact. It is resting on its side on the starboard side. It has no gashes, no signs of impact.’’

The Marine Accident Investigation Branch said four inspectors had been sent to Sicily to conduct a “preliminary assessment,” Reuters reported.

One expert at the scene who declined to be named said an early focus of the investigation would be whether the yacht’s crew had had time to close access hatches into the vessel before the storm struck.

The nearby captain of a Dutch-flagged vessel told the Reuters news agency that when the winds surged, he used the engine to keep his boat upright and avoid a collision with the Bayesian, which had been anchored alongside him.

“We managed to keep the ship in position and after the storm was over, we noticed that the ship behind us was gone,” Karsten Borner told journalists.

The other boat “went flat on the water, and then down”, he added.

He said his crew then found some of the survivors on a life raft - including a baby girl and her mother - and took them on board before the coast guard picked them up.

He added: “I think they are inside, all the missing people.”

One of the survivors, British tourist Charlotte Emsley, told la Republica: “I held her afloat with all my strength, my arms stretched upwards to keep her from drowning.

The daily Il Giornale di Sicilia newspaper reported that the vessel had mostly British passengers on board, but also people from New Zealand, Sri Lanka, Ireland and British-French citizens.

Jonathan Bloomer, chairman of Morgan Stanley International and Chris Morvillo, a lawyer at Clifford Chance who represented Lynch in a long-standing trial in the U.S., were among the missing.

The wives of both men were also unaccounted for, said Salvatore Cocina, head of Civil Protection in Sicily.

Reality star Gemma Collins has revealed that she and her nephew were “lucky to have survived” in a small boat rocked by the same horror storm that capsized Mike Lynch’s yacht off the coast of Sicily.

Mike Lynch, dubbed as Britain’s Bill Gates, is still missing presumed dead alongside his daughter, Hannah, 18, who had just completed her A-levels and was to read English at Oxford.

The Only Way is Essex star reassured her followers that she and 15-year-old nephew Hayden were both fine with an Instagram post featuring her posing on a yacht in the Mediterranean.

She wrote: “Holiday update. My heartfelt condolences to the people and families involved in the tragic disaster at sea in Sicily.”

“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.”

Still missing is Christopher Morvillo, a top lawyer who has worked on high-profile corruption cases, including Mike Lynch’s recent trial.

The lawyer at the US branch of Clifford Chance and his wife Neda have not been seen since the Bayesian foundered off Palermo Monday morning after being caught in bad weather.

He also worked on the criminal investigation surrounding the 2001 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center, as an assistant US attorney for the southern district of New York from 1999 to 2005.

In a tragic final LinkedIn post Mr Morvillo thanked all the legal minds that had helped Mr Lynch win the fraud trial in June after a mammoth 10-year court battle. Signing off, he said: “And, finally, a huge thank you to my patient and incredible wife, Neda Morvillo, and my two strong, brilliant, and beautiful daughters, Sabrina Morvillo and Sophia Morvillo. None of this would have been possible without your love and support. I am so glad to be home. “And they all lived happily ever after….”

Mike Lynch, the 59-year-old entrepreneur, dubbed The UK’s Bill Gates, is still missing and presumed dead along with his daughter, Hannah, 18, after his superyacht capsized off the coast of Italy.

He had invited colleagues aboard the Bayesian to celebrate his victory in a decade-long US fraud trial which ended in June.

Jonathan Bloomer, 70, chairman of Morgan Stanley International, was also missing alongside his wife Anne and two others.

Yesterday divers recovered the body of the yacht’s cook, while 15 people including Lynch’s wife, Angela Bacares, were rescued.

Also missing is Chris Morvillo, an attorney at British law firm Clifford Chance, The Times reported last night.

Ayla Reynold, a New Zealand national working at Clifford Chance, survived the ordeal. Her father Lin Ronald confirmed to the Telegraph she had been invited aboard as thanks for assistance in Mr Lynch’s recent court case.

“I have texted my daughter and she hasn’t given me any updates about missing personnel or saved personnel. She has only said that there are deaths and she and her partner are alive,” he said.