A one-year-old British girl has been rescued after a luxury yacht capsized off Sicily with one person dead and six people missing. A desperate search operation is underway for the lost people who were on board the Bayesian that went down in bad weather off the coast by Palermo in the early hours of this morning. Witnesses have told of seeing lights on the boat earlier in the night as a party took place.
Fifteen people were rescued from the 55-metre sailing ship but another seven were unaccounted for, according to the mayor of Bagheria Filippo Tripoli, although it was later reported that a man’s body was found by the boat. Four Brits are believed to be missing as well as a Canadian and two Americans, alongside one crew member, a cook. It has emerged that among those helped to safety was a one-year-old British girl called Sophie.
She was remarkably rescued from the waves by a firefighter and taken to the Children's Hospital in Palermo as a precaution, along with her mum who has superficial injuries - she was given chest stitches for a slight graze. Sophie’s father was taken to the Civic Hospital while a further five people were being helped at an emergency centre in Bagheria. "They are all in a good condition ," said the head of the emergencies at the paediatric hospital, Domenico Cipolla: "We managed to get the parents to talk on the phone, with doctors and nurses all emotional especially with the little girl fine, the outlook is fine and we are carrying out tests only as a precaution.
" But there have also been tragic reports of divers seeing "corpses through the portholes" from Salvo Cocina, the head of the Civil Protection of Sicily, speaking to Corriere della Sera . The superyacht, named Bayesian, capsized at around 5am off Palermo and was flying a British flag, according to ship-tracking site Marine Traffic. 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.
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. An eerie photo taken just a few hours before the disaster shows the Bayesian calmly docked in the port.
"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.".
