The ship carrying tourists, including British tech giant Mike Lynch, sank due to severe weather conditions.
One person has died and six others are missing after a luxury yacht carrying 22 people sank off the coast of Sicily, according to Italian authorities.
Among the missing were British businessman Mike Lynch, his daughter Hannah Lynch, his lawyer and four others, civil protection and Italian authorities said on Monday. Lynch’s wife, Angela Baccaris, and 14 others survived.
Italian coast guard and firefighters rescued 15 people on Monday after a 50-metre sailboat capsized around 5 a.m. (0300 GMT) due to strong winds and rough waters caused by a waterspout, Italian media reported.
A coast guard spokesman told AFP that a body had been found in the wreckage of the ship at a depth of about 50 metres. Italian media reported that the victim was a man who worked as a cook on board the yacht.
The coast guard said the boat was carrying 12 passengers and 10 crew members, adding that the missing were of British, American and Canadian nationalities.
Among those rescued was a one-year-old girl, along with her mother.
One of the survivors, identified as Charlotte Golonski, was quoted by the Italian news agency ANSA as saying that she temporarily lost control of her one-year-old daughter Sophia in the water, but then managed to lift her above the waves until the lifeboat inflated and they were both pulled to safety.
“It was horrific. The boat was hit by strong winds and sank shortly after,” she added.
Eight of the 15 people rescued were taken to hospital, all in stable condition, the Italian news agency Adnkronos reported.
Water buds
The chartered sailboat sank off Porticello when a storm hit the area overnight, said Salvo Cocina of Sicily’s civil protection agency.
According to National Geographic, the waterspout looks more like a mini tornado over a body of water. It’s likely the result of storms and heavy rains that have hit Italy in recent days — with flooding and landslides causing damage in the north — following weeks of extreme heat.
“I was at home when the hurricane hit, I immediately closed all the windows, then I saw the boat, it had only one mast, it was very big, and I saw it suddenly sink,” fisherman Pietro Asciuto told the Italian news agency.
“The boat was fully lit. At around 4:30 a.m., it was gone. It was a beautiful boat where there was a party. A normal holiday day at sea turned into a tragedy,” the agency quoted another witness as saying.
Storms and heavy rain have swept across Italy in recent days after weeks of scorching heat that has pushed Mediterranean temperatures to record levels, increasing the risk of extreme weather, experts say.
“The sea surface temperature around Sicily was around 30 degrees Celsius (86 Fahrenheit), which is about 3 degrees above normal. This creates a huge source of energy that contributes to these storms,” said meteorologist Luca Mercalli.
“We can’t say it’s all due to global warming but we can say it has an amplifying effect,” he told Reuters.
Italian prosecutors in the nearby city of Termini Imerese have opened an investigation into the incident.
Meanwhile, fire department divers continue to search areas around the boat, which was flying a British flag. Authorities said helicopters were also helping in the rescue efforts.
The yacht’s manager, Camper & Nicholsons, said in a statement that it was “assisting in the ongoing search” for the missing people.
A British Foreign Office spokesman said British officials were in contact with local authorities and stood ready to provide consular support to their affected nationals.
The Italian news agency ANSA said the boat, named “Bagisian”, was anchored in the port of Porticello and set sail on Sunday evening.
The ship was built by Italian shipbuilder Perini Navi in 2008.
