The captain of the superyacht that capsized off the coast of Sicily has said he had no idea a tornado was coming toward the boat, according to reports in Italy. The 56-meter (184-ft) British-flagged Bayesian luxury yacht was struck by the tornado at dawn on Monday morning and sank to 160ft off the coast of Palermo with 22 people on board, including 10 crew and 12 tourists. "We didn't see it coming," the captain said, according to the Italian newspaper .
He was speaking from a hospital and limping due to an injury to his calf, the paper reported. One person died and six others are missing, , and Morgan Stanley boss Jonathan Bloomer and his wife. Bloomer is the international bank chairman of the global financial services firm Morgan Stanley.
Two Americans, four Britons, and a Canadian were initially unaccounted for following the tragedy, which occurred between 4:30 a.m. and 5 a.
m. local time, according to Italian media reports. Early Tuesday morning rescue teams and divers returned to the site after a first search Monday ended unsuccessfully.
Fire rescue crews reported that divers were unable to access the below-deck cabins because they were blocked by debris that had shifted during the violent storm. "Access was limited to the bridge, due to the difficulty represented by the presence of furnishings obstructing the divers' passage," the fire crews said in a statement. The search was made particularly difficult because the ship was resting on the seabed at a depth of 160ft, whic.