One man has died and six other people are missing after a sailing yacht sank off the coast of Sicily in the early hours of Monday morning, the Italian fire and rescue service has said.
The ill-fated luxury yacht that sank off the coast of Sicily this morning was carrying 22 people in total – 12 guests and 10 crew.
So far, one body has been recovered, that of the boat’s chef, the Italian coast guard confirmed.
Four Britons and two Americans are still missing, the coast guard reported earlier.
The remaining 15 people who were on board the yacht have been rescued.
British businessman Mike Lynch, who remains unaccounted for, was travelling with his daughter Hannah, who is also missing, Sicily’s head of civil protection agency confirmed.
Lynch’s wife Angela Bacares is among the survivors.
Another British woman, Charlotte Golunski, has told reporters that she kept her baby alive by holding her up above the water until the pair were rescued.
Clifford Chance lawyer Ayla Ronald was also rescued after the yacht sank, the BBC has learned. According to the law firm’s website, she was part of Mike Lynch’s legal team in the case brought by Hewlett-Packard (HP).
The 56-metre-long luxury sailboat is reported to have sunk near Palermo, after a tornado hit the area. At least 15 have been rescued by coastguards.
Six people are still reported missing, while at least one person has died.
A further 15 passengers were rescued by coastguards.
One of the survivors is reportedly an English one-year-old girl who was taken to Palermo’s paediatric hospital, local media reports. She is in a stable condition.
The passengers on board the British-flagged boat were mainly from the UK, as well as one citizen of New Zealand, one of Sri Lanka, one Irish national and two passengers with dual British-French citizenship.
Some of the people on board the vessel were reportedly Canadian and American nationals.
The ill-fated luxury yacht that sank off the coast of Sicily this morning was carrying 22 people in total – 12 guests and 10 crew.
So far, one body has been recovered, that of the boat’s chef, the Italian coast guard confirmed.
Four Britons and two Americans are still missing, the coast guard reported earlier.
The remaining 15 people who were on board the yacht have been rescued.
British businessman Mike Lynch, who remains unaccounted for, was travelling with his daughter Hannah, who is also missing, Sicily’s head of civil protection agency confirmed.
Lynch’s wife Angela Bacares is among the survivors.
Another British woman, Charlotte Golunski, has told reporters that she kept her baby alive by holding her up above the water until the pair were rescued.
Clifford Chance lawyer Ayla Ronald was also rescued after the yacht sank, the BBC has learned. According to the law firm’s website, she was part of Mike Lynch’s legal team in the case brought by Hewlett-Packard (HP).
UK Foreign Office Comment Recently Released
The UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office has recently released this statement:
“We are in contact with the local authorities following an incident in Sicily, and stand ready to provide consular support to British nationals affected.”
UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office spokesperson
News Source: BBC News
