The boat, carrying tourists including British tech tycoon Mike Lynch, sank due to bad weather.
Italian authorities say one person has died and six are missing after a luxury superyacht carrying 22 people sank off the coast of Sicily.
Italian civil defence and authorities said on Monday that the missing included British tech tycoon Mike Lynch, his daughter Hannah Lynch and his lawyers. Lynch’s wife Angela Baccares and 14 others survived.
According to Italian media, strong winds and choppy seas caused by a water tornado caused the 50-metre sailing boat to capsize at around 5am (0900 GMT), and the Italian coast guard and firefighters evacuated 15 people to safety.
A coast guard spokesman told AFP a body had been found about 50 metres below the surface of the wreck, and Italian media reported that the victim was a man, believed to be the yacht’s on-board chef.
There were 12 passengers and 10 crew on board. The Coast Guard said the missing were British, American and Canadian nationals.
Among those rescued was a one-year-old girl and her mother.
Survivor Charlotte Gornski said she briefly held her one-year-old daughter Sofia out of the water, but then managed to hoist her above the waves until a lifeboat inflated and pulled them both to safety, Italian news agency ANSA reported, citing the mother.
“The conditions were terrible. The boat was hit by very strong winds and quickly sank,” she added.
Eight of the 15 people rescued were hospitalized, and all were in stable condition, according to Italian news agency Adchronos.
Water Sprouts
The chartered sailing vessel sank off the coast of Porticello after a water tornado swept through the area overnight, Sicily’s civil defense agency Salvo Cocina said.
According to National Geographic, waterspouts are similar to mini-tornadoes that occur over bodies of water, and the phenomenon is likely occurring as storms and heavy rains have battered Italy in recent days after weeks of extreme heat, causing devastation with flooding and landslides in the north.
“I was at home when the tornado hit,” fisherman Pietro Assiut told the ANSA news agency. “I immediately closed all the windows and then I saw the boat. It had only one mast and was very big. Then I saw it suddenly sinking.”
Another witness quoted by the station said: “The boat was brightly lit. At about 4.30am, the boat was gone. It was a beautiful boat where a party was being held. A normal, fun holiday at sea turned into a tragedy.”
Weeks of extreme heat have battered Italy with storms and heavy rains in recent days, pushing Mediterranean water temperatures to record levels and raising the risk of extreme weather, experts said.
“Sea surface temperatures around Sicily are around 30 degrees Celsius (86 degrees Fahrenheit), nearly three degrees warmer than normal. This creates an enormous source of energy that contributes to these storms,” said meteorologist Luca Mercari.
“We can’t say this is all due to global warming, but we can say it is having a magnifying effect,” he told Reuters.
Italian prosecutors in the nearby town of Termini Imerese have launched an investigation to look into what went wrong.
Meanwhile, fire brigade divers are searching the area around the British-flagged ship, and a helicopter is also helping with rescue efforts, authorities said.
Yacht management company Camper & Nicholsons said in a statement that it was “assisting in the ongoing search” for the missing people.
A Foreign Office spokesman said British authorities were in contact with local authorities and stood ready to provide consular assistance to any British nationals affected.
The ship, named “Bajesian”, was anchored in the port of Porticello and set sail on Sunday evening, the ANSA news agency said.
The ship was built in 2008 by Italian shipyard Perini Navi.