The enormous 246ft-high aluminium mast on Mike Lynch's superyacht the Bayesian could have been what caused the vessel to capsize and sink rapidly, according to an expert.
British tech tycoon Mr Lynch, 59, remains missing alongside his 18-year-old daughter and six other tourists, including four Brits and two Americans after the ship sunk near Sicily.
The billionaire's boat, which had the tallest aluminium mast in the world at 246ft, was anchored off the coast near Palermo when a tornado hit the area just before 5am.
But during the storm the mast broke, causing the ship to sink rapidly after the weight of the mast took the hull beyond the 'down-flooding angle', according to a yacht industry source.
A local fisherman told reporters he saw a waterspout, a form of tornado that occurs over water rather than land, nearby the boat.
Salvo Cocina, head of Sicily's civil protection agency, said the Bayesian passengers 'were in the wrong place at the wrong time.'
The 183ft long yacht was built in 2008 by luxury shipmaker Perini Navi in Viareggio, Tuscany and was previously known as the Salute, meaning 'health' in Italian.
Technical consultant and nautical expert Gino Ciriaci told Italian website Corriere Della Sera even if the mast was made of steel it would not have changed anything.
He said a mast that tall would have exerted a pressure of 'tens of tons' due to the wind and said it is 'normal' that the boat could sink based on its technical characteristics.
The Bayesian is classified as a 'pleasure vessel' due to its length, very tall aluminium mast and being 37ft at its widest point.
Mr Ciriaci, who was a shipyard manager in Rome and is authorized by the Italian Ministry of Industry (Consap) to carry out technical assessments following accidents, said a mast can break in 'particularly extreme conditions'.
He said once the mast has fallen, the boat pitches and rolls with the waves much more vigorously without the mast and sails to dampen its movements.
In the case of the Bayesian he said the whirlwind was so violent that the boat heeled over, tilted and put the edge of the deck under water, and at that point, the water began to enter and the boat sank.
Mr Lynch's 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.
Mrs Bacares told Italian media that both her husband and their daughter Hannah, 18, are missing after the yacht sank.
She told Italian outlet La Repubblica that she and her husband woke up at 4am when the boat tilted. Mrs Bacares said that they were not worried initially, until glass shattered and created confusion.
She sustained abrasions on her feet during the sinking which have reportedly left her unable to walk and sitting in a wheelchair, La Repubblica reports, while she also has bandages elsewhere on her body.
Mr Lynch had invited guests from legal firm Clifford Chance as well as his own company Invoke Capital to celebrate him being acquitted of fraud charges 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 Telegraph reported.
Divers have been desperately searching the wreck 160ft beneath the water for the survivors.
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.
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 Bayesian several awards for its styling when it was first made, taking home the Best Exterior prize at the World Superyacht Awards in 2009, and the Best Interior at the International Superyacht Society Awards in 2008.
It was also a finalist in the World Superyacht Awards' Best Sailing Yacht in the 45m+ size range in 2009.
The Bayesian could hold up to 12 guests in six cabins, one master, three doubles and two twin rooms, as well as 10 crew members.
Both the hull and the superstructure, the part above the main deck, were made from aluminium.
According to KM Yatchbuilders, a Dutch shipmaker, aluminium is three times lighter than steel. On top of this, aluminium alloys do not rust, and yachts made from them are 'easy to repair.'
On top of the sails, the Bayesian was powered by two 8-cylinder 965hp engines made by German manufacturer MTU that are capable of running at 210rpm.
This allowed the vessel to reach a top speed of 15 knots (17mph). This, combined with the 57,000 litre fuel tanks, means it had a range of up to 3,600 nautical miles.
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.
The passengers on board were mainly British, according to reports, while citizens from New Zealand, Sri Lanka, Ireland, Canada, the US and two dual British and French nationals were also said to be on board.
Some of the group are reported to have been colleagues and their family members who were on holiday together in Sicily.
The yacht is owned by Isle of Man-based firm Revtom, according to the BBC, the legal owner of which is Bacares, Mr Lynch's wife.
A member of staff who worked at Mr Lynch's Chelsea home has told The Times that the businessman 'clearly had a lot of pride in the yacht'.
The ship is managed by Camper and Nicholsons International. The company says it is assisting in the search efforts in Palermo.
The firm said in a statement that the boat encountered 'severe weather and subsequently sank'.
The ships managed by Camper and Nicholsons International. The company says it is assisting in the search efforts in Palermo.
