A rescue operation is expected to continue overnight after a luxury yacht sank off the coast of Sicily in Italy.

The boat capsized after a fierce storm on Monday morning while Suffolk tech tycoon Mike Lynch was on board.

Salvatore Cocina, director general of Sicily’s civil protection agency, has confirmed Dr Lynch, his 18-year-old daughter Hannah and the yacht's chef Ricardo Thomas are among the six missing tourists.

He added the rescue operation would continue overnight.

The Italian news site la Reppublica has reported that four of the missing passengers are British and two are American.

Other local media has said 15 people including Mr Lynch’s wife, Angela Bacares, have been rescued.

A body, believed to be that of the vessel’s cook, has been found and police divers are trying to reach the hull of the ship which is resting at a depth of 50 metres.

Mr Lynch, who founded software giant Autonomy in 1996, was made an OBE for services to enterprise in 2006.

In June, he was cleared of conducting a massive fraud relating to an 11 billion dollar (£8.64 billion) sale to US company Hewlett Packard.