Social media smells conspiracy as UK tech billionaire goes missing soon after former business partner gets run over

Mike Lynch, touted as 'UK's Bill Gates', has been reported missing since his luxury superyacht sank off the Italy coast on Monday.

While 15 people survived, one body was found, and six more remained unaccounted for, including Lynch, his daughter, and a non-executive chair of Morgan Stanley International -- Jonathan Bloomer.

Lynch has been part of a US fraud trial involving the $11 billion sale of his data-analysis company Autonomy to Hewlett-Packard. Stephen Chamberlain, former VP of finance at Autonomy, was his co-defendant in the case.

Hours before Lynch's yacht sunk, Chamberlain was killed after being hit by a car while jogging in Cambridgeshire in England.

The freak accidents in quick succession has set tongues wagging on social media.

“Sorry but this is just too weird. It can't possibly be a coincidence that BOTH Mike Lynch and Stephen Chamberlain were killed in freak accidents within a couple of days of each other,” Professor Katherine Schofield said.

Another added, "Sorry but this is just too weird. It can't possibly be a coincidence that BOTH Mike Lynch and Stephen Chamberlain were killed in freak accidents within a couple of days of each other,” Professor Katherine Schofield said."

One user raised doubts, saying "So the minute he gets a Not Guilty verdict, and starts talking about US control over UK government and UK legal processes, Mike Lynch suddenly goes missing,"

Lynch founded Autonomy based on his ground-breaking research in Cambridge back in 1996. He sold it to HP 15 years later for $11 billion. The company, however, in 2012, alleged there was a huge accounting scandal at the business and wrote off $8.8 billion of Autonomy's value.

The missing billionaire was acquitted by a San Francisco jury in June, after a 12-year legal battle. He was celebrating the verdict on the yacht when it sank due to "bad weather".

Experts have been at a loss to explain how a large luxury vessel, presumed to have top-class fittings and safety features, could have sunk within minutes, as recounted by witnesses. Another yacht anchored next to it was unharmed by the tempest.

(With Reuters inputs)