Four Brits are among seven people missing from a ship that sunk off the coast of Sicily , with at least one person believed dead. Witnesses say there was a party taking place onboard the Bayesian, which was carrying an English flag at the time, and it was anchored near the port when it was surprised by a sudden onslaught of rough weather. Divers from Italian emergency services are continuing to look for those who have not been accounted for after the Bayesian sunk around 5am this morning off the coast of Porticello, near the capital Palermo.
There were 22 people on board the luxury yach t that is understood to have sunk during a tornado, with weather warnings having been in place and harrowing CCTV footage from the area showing umbrellas and deckchairs blowing around violently. The boat went down in poor sailing conditions about half a mile from the coast and it is reported that the captain, who has been badly shaken by the incident, will be interviewed by police. The vessel was in the port of Porticello and last night set sail despite the rough seas and strong winds.
There were reportedly mainly British people onboard but also a New Zealander, a Sri Lankan citizen, two Anglo-French and an Irishman. Four Brits, a Canadian and two Americans are believed to be lost alongside one crew member, a cook and it is also reported by RAI that divers have now recovered the body of a man who was found in the water by the boat. Survivors were first taken to Porticciolo and a one-year-old baby girl - believed to be a Brit - was moved to the Children's Hospital in Palermo as a precaution along with her child's mother, who suffered superficial injuries.
Five people are now being looked after at an emergency point in Bagheria. Witnesses have said the vessel was still at anchor in front of the port of Porticello when the tornado struck and the storm broke the large sail mast which is believed to have led the boat to capsize. Another boat, also with its anchor down, nearby reportedly came to the rescue.
"That vessel was all lit up," says a man in Porticello. "At around 4:30 in the morning it was gone. A beautiful vessel where there had been a party.
A normal holiday day spent happily at sea turned into a tragedy. The vessel was not far from the port. It would have taken very little to raise the anchor and head for the port.
Evidently they were surprised by the storm that suddenly hit and they were unable to avoid the sinking." The wreck of the Bayesian has been located 49 metres below the surface by divers. The Italian fire service wrote at 10am local time on X: "#Palermo , shipwreck of vessel off the coast of Porticello, 15 people rescued, 7 reported missing: from dawn, divers from the #vigilidelfuoco engaged in the search.
Wreck identified at 50 meters depth, speleo divers arriving." The Bayesian is an elegant 56-meter sailing boat with a gross tonnage of 473 tons, built by the Perini Navi Viareggio shipyard in February 2008, refitted in 2020, and designed for luxury travel. According to Vessel Finder, the boat arrived in Porticello after a stop in Milazzo and a passage in front of Cefalù.
The deck area is 436 square meters and the six cabins occupy an area of 143 square meters. On board, the builder says, it can accommodate the owner and 11 guests in addition to 10 crew members. Bayesian is built with an aluminium hull and superstructure, with teak decks.
Powered by two 965 HP MTU 8-cylinder diesel engines, it cruises at 12 knots and reaches a top speed of 15 knots. The boat has the second tallest mast in the world and the largest aluminium mast at 75 meters. The mayor of Bagheria, Filippo Maria Tripoli, wrote on Facebook : "This morning off the coast of Santa Flavia a foreign boat sunk due to bad weather, 15 people recovered and seven missing.
Already all the police forces and emergency services are operational, our Red Cross volunteers are present and the availability of other civil protection associations of the territory has been asked, alerted by the regional civil protection department.".
