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1 dead and 6 missing after a 180-foot luxury yacht carrying 22 passengers sinks off Sicily in a tornado
A 180-foot yacht sank after getting caught in a tornado in Sicily, Italy leaving one person dead and 6 others missing.
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A180-foot yacht sunk due to it being swept up in a tornado in Sicily, Italy
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6 people are missing and 1 has been reported dead in the incident
TRIGGER WARNING: This article conatisn references to death.
A sailing yacht carrying 22 people sank during a strong storm off the coast of Sicily on Monday, leaving at least one person dead and six others missing—including a British software mogul, according to Italian officials.
With 10 crew members and 12 passengers on board, the 184-foot Bayesian was anchored approximately half a mile off the port of Porticello, which is close to Palermo.
On Sunday, at approximately 5 a.m. local time (11 p.m. Eastern), the ship sank after being struck by what may have been a waterspout caused by the storm. The boat capsized due to unbalance caused by the snapped single mast, as reported by Italian media.
According to eyewitnesses, the yacht was anchored when it was hit by a waterspout, or tornado, above the water and lost its balance and began sinking, according to Sicilian news agency Ansa.
Four Coast Guard vessels, a Coast Guard helicopter, and a dive squad from the national Fire Brigade were among those involved in the ongoing search operation that lasted into Monday. Italian media reported that when Fire Brigade divers arrived at the yacht, they discovered victims wedged inside a few of the cabins.
Four Americans, two British, and one man with dual citizenship from Canada and Antigua were among the deceased and missing. One of the missing is British software tycoon Mike Lynch, who was acquitted of fraud charges in the US in June.
Despite the fact that the yacht was a privately owned recreational vessel, the waters surrounding the island had taken numerous life in the past ten years. Many migrants have lost their lives while trying to get to Sicily and other nearby Italian islands.
Sicily is only roughly 100 miles from the east coast of North Africa's Tunisia. Smugglers frequently send small boats into the Mediterranean that are overflowing with desperate people, and this has resulted in both maritime rescues and tragedies.
