LAST UPDATE | 19 Aug
ITALIAN AUTHORITIES HAVE said that an Irish citizen is among 22 people onboard a British registered sailing boat which sank off Sicily this morning.
The sailboat, the Bayesian, was sailing in bad weather off the port of Porticello in the early hours of this morning when it capsized.
The Department of Foreign Affairs has confirmed that it is providing consular assistance to the Irish person involved.
“The Department of Foreign Affairs is aware of the incident and is providing consular assistance. As with all consular cases, the Department does not comment on the details of any specific case,” the department said in a statement.
Italian firefighters on the island said that fifteen people were rescued from the sea and seven others are missing following the sinking of the 56-metre yacht.
“This morning around 5:00 am (4am Irish time), following a violent storm, a 56-metre yacht called Bayesian, flying the British flag, sand near Porticello,” the Italian coast guard said in a statement.
A body, believed to be that of the vessel’s chef, has been found and 15 people were rescued, according to local media.
Four Britons and two Americans were missing.
British technology tycoon Mike Lynch is among the six tourists missing, sources have said. Lynch’s parents are originally from Ireland.
A spokesperson for Lynch said there was no comment.
The boat had 22 people aboard, including 10 crew members. Eight of those rescued were hospitalised.
Rescuers backed by helicopter were searching the waters near where the yacht rested on the seafloor some 50 metres below the surface.
Initial reports from some Italian media reports said that a waterspout, which roughly resembles a mini-tornado over a body of water, may have struck the vessel.
A sailboat believed to be carrying foreign tourists – including some from the UK – has capsized and sunk off the coast of Sicily in bad weather.
Luca Cari, a spokesman for the Italian fire rescue service, fifteen people were rescued from the 49-metre sailboat – but another seven were unaccounted for.
He said a helicopter and rescue boats from the coast guard and fire rescue service were at the scene searching for the missing, and divers had located the wreck at a depth of 50 metres.
Local media said a fierce storm, including water spouts, battered the area overnight.
The daily Il Giornale de Sicilia reported the sailboat was flying a British flag and had mostly British passengers on board, but also people form New Zealand, Sri Lanka, Ireland and British-French citizens.
The Ansa news agency said the boat, which it said was named Bayesian, had been moored in the port at Porticello and had set sail on Sunday evening.
A statement has been requested from the Department of Foreign Affairs.
One of the survivors, a British tourist named Charlotte, told la Reppublica she held her one-year-old daughter, Sofia, to stop her from drowning.
She said: “I held her afloat with all my strength, my arms stretched upwards to keep her from drowning.
“It was all dark. In the water I couldn’t keep my eyes open. I screamed for help but all I could hear around me was the screams of others.”
Charlotte and Sofia are being treated in hospital, as is Charlotte’s husband, James.
Karsten Borner, captain of a nearby boat, told journalists those missing included the Bayesian’s owner and a child, news agency Reuters reported.
He said his crew took on board some survivors who were on a life raft, including three who were seriously injured.
With reporting from PA and AFP.
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