Six people are still missing after a luxury superyacht sailboat capsized and sank off Sicily in bad weather early Monday. One body was found, six people were missing and 15 people were rescued, authorities said. The British-flagged, 184-foot "Bayesian" had a crew of 10 people and 12 passengers the Italian Coast Guard said.
Among the seven people who were initially believed missing, were four British nationals and two Americans, Italian media reports. The passengers were tourists on vacation in Sicily, and were mainly British, according to reports. The passengers also included citizens from New Zealand, Sri Lanka, Ireland and two dual British and French nationals were also on board.
Reports suggest the boat capsized around 5.a.m.
after taking on water off the port of Porticello, a fishing village in Sicily, after severe weather hit the area Fifteen people were rescued by another ship and taken to shore at Porticello including a one-year-old British girl and her mother. The Dutch-flagged sailing vessel Sir Robert BP has been credited with the rescue. Eight people were taken to hospital including the girl who was taken to Children's Hospital of Palermo for tests as a precaution.
Domenico Cipolla, the head of the emergency room at the pediatric hospital where the girl was taken with her mother, the family was in good condition. He said: "We managed to get the parents to talk on the phone, with doctors and nurses all moved, also because the little girl is fine, the parameters are good and we are carrying out tests only out of caution." A helicopter and rescue boats from the Coast Guard, carabinieri, fire rescue and civil protection service attended the scene searching for the missing people.
The wreck was located at a depth of 163 feet. One body was found near the wreck, but six others were unaccounted for, said Luca Cari, a spokesperson for the Italian fire rescue service. Experienced deep-water divers have arrived at the scene to try to enter the hull, he said.
Local media said a fierce storm battered the area overnight, but seas were calm by Monday morning. Filippo Tripoli, the mayor of Porticello, posted on social media this morning saying that Red Cross volunteers are aiding in the search for the missing people. He said: "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.
".
