A luxury superyacht capsized off the coast of Sicily after a tornado hit the vessel early Monday morning, killing one passenger and leaving six others missing — including two Americans, officials said.
The 160-foot luxury sailboat with 22 people aboard sank off the port of Porticello when it was hit by a violent storm at sunrise, the Italian Coast Guard said.
One body was found near the capsized ship, but six others were missing Monday morning.
Among the missing were four Britons, two Americans and one Canadian passenger, the Guardian reported.
Fifteen people were rescued from the wreck. Eight of those saved, including a one-year-old child, were taken to local hospitals. All were in stable condition, Italian media reported.
The captain is among the survivors, an Italian Coast Guard spokesperson told CNN.
A helicopter and rescue boats from the Coast Guard, carabinieri, fire rescue and civil protection service were at the scene early Monday searching for those who had not been accounted for, according to the Australian Associated Press.
The massive yacht called the “Bayesian,” flies under the British flag and can reach a maximum speed of 15 knots.
Twelve of its passengers were guests while 10 were crew.
The boat left the Sicilian port of Milazzo on Aug. 14 and was last tracked east of Palermo Sunday evening, according to vessel tracking app Vesselfinder.
With Post wires.
