One person is dead and six are missing after a superyacht carrying mostly British passengers was caught in a tornado and sank off the coast of Sicily, according to reports in Italy.
A one-year-old English girl is among 15 people who were rescued after the 56-meter (183ft) sailboat went under the water, Italian daily newspaper Corriere Della Sera reports.
The girl reportedly arrived at a children’s hospital with her mother who was given chest stitches for a slight graze.
The mother later described how she briefly lost the girl in the water before they boarded a lifeboat together.
It came before divers saw “corpses through the portholes” of the wreck as they recovered the body of a man next to it at a depth of around 50 metres (163ft) this morning, Salvo Cocina, the head of the Civil Protection of Sicily, said.
Follow live updates: People missing after superyacht sinks
The British-flagged superyacht, named Bayesian, was anchored off the coast of Porticello in Palermo on the Italian island when it capsized at around 5am local time, according to ship-tracking site Marine Traffic.
Local media said waterspouts, essentially tornadoes which form over water, were seen as strong winds battered the area overnight.
The boat which sank off the coast of Palermo. Pic: BAIA Santa Nicolicchia.
The vessel, described as one of the largest superyachts in the world, had a crew of 10 people and 12 passengers from Britain, America and Canada, the Italian coast guard said.
Italian news outlets have reported that most of those on board were British, and claim the other people on the boat were from New Zealand, Sri Lanka and Ireland. British-French citizens were also among the 22 people on the superyacht, according to reports.
The nationality of the man whose body was recovered has not yet been reported.
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One dead after yacht capsizes in tornado
The port in Palermo after the storm
Emergency workers at the scene. Pic: Reuters
‘I saw it sinking with my own eyes’
The 35-year-old mother who survived the ordeal with her baby girl has told Italian media how she managed to board a lifeboat with 10 other people as the boat capsized.
Speaking to the Giornale Di Sicilia newspaper, she said: “For two seconds I lost my baby in the sea, then I immediately hugged her again amid the fury of the waves.
“I held her tightly, close to me, while the sea was stormy. Many were screaming. Luckily the lifeboat inflated and 11 of us managed to get on board.”
Pietro Asciutto, a fisherman from Porticello who witnessed the storm, told Giornale di Sicilia: “I was at home when the tornado hit. I immediately closed all the windows. Then I saw the boat, it had only one mast, it was very big. I saw it suddenly sink.”
He added: “I think the whirlwind came from Porticello… shortly afterwards I went down to Santa Nicolicchia Bay to get a better look at what was happening.
“The boat was still floating, then all of a sudden it disappeared. I saw it sinking with my own eyes.”
Fabio Cefalu, another local fisherman, called rescue services after spotting the wrecked boat off Porticello.
He said: “Around 3.55am we witnessed the whirlwind. After a quarter of an hour we saw a flare 500 meters away from the dock.
“Around 4:35am we went out to sea for the rescue, however, we only saw the remains of the boat floating. There were no men in the sea. So we immediately called the harbor master’s office.”
Damaged caused by the storm
Mr Cari said a helicopter and rescue boats from the coast guard and fire rescue service were at the scene searching for the missing.
Speaking earlier, Filippo Tripoli, the mayor of Bagheria in Sicily, said: “This morning, off the coast of Santa Flavia, a foreign boat sank due to bad weather, 15 people recovered and seven missing.
“Already all the police forces and emergency services are operational and our Red Cross volunteers are present.”
A spokesman for the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) said: “We are in contact with the local authorities following an incident in Sicily, and stand ready to provide consular support to British nationals affected.”
William Turner is a seasoned U.K. correspondent with a deep understanding of domestic affairs. With a passion for British politics and culture, he provides insightful analysis and comprehensive coverage of events within the United Kingdom.
