A woman has described how she hugged her one-year-old daughter in the waves after the luxury yacht they were on sank off the coast of Sicily. Fifteen people have so far been rescued from the 55m Bayesian which sank in the early hours of this morning during a storm close to the capital Palermo, but one person has died and six others remain missing. The nationality of the deceased man has not been revealed but it is understood that four Brits were believed to be missing as well as a Canadian and two Americans, alongside one crew member, a cook.
Amidst the tragedy has emerged the miraculous survival of a one-year-old British girl called Sophie, whom her mum Charlotte reportedly lost for a moment in the water before hugging her closely. Image: PA) PA) "For two seconds I lost my baby in the sea, then I immediately hugged her again amid the fury of the waves," Charlotte said, according to local outlet Giornale di Sicilia. "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." Sophie was 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.
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