Man dies while four Britons and child reportedly among missing after boat hits whirlwind off Palermo
One person was killed and five or six people were missing on Monday after a sailing yacht carrying 22 people sank during a violent storm off the coast of Sicily, Italian officials said.according to the New York Times .A waterspout is similar to a tornado and can form over oceans, seas, or large lakes
Carrying 22 people
The 56m (183ft) vessel was carrying 22 people – 10 crew and 12 passengers – including British, American and Canadian nationals.
Strong winds
The yacht sank after a storm “with strong winds” struck around 5 a.m., according to Luciano Pischedda, the Italian Coast Guard official overseeing the rescue operations. The vessel had been anchored about half a mile off Porticello, about 12 miles east of the Sicilian capital of Palermo.
Not spoken to investigators.
Coast guard officials were told by crew members that there had been 12 passengers and a crew of 10 onboard. The authorities have yet to determine what caused the yacht to sink.
“This will be ascertained later,” Mr. Pischedda said, adding that several crew members were in the hospital and had not spoken to investigators.
Bayesian
Local media reported that the yacht, sailing under the name Bayesian, sank after encountering a heavy storm overnight that caused waterspouts, or rotating columns of air, to appear over the sea.
BAYESIAN (IMO: 9503392) is a Sailing Vessel and is sailing under the flag of United Kingdom. Her length overall (LOA) is 55.9 meters and her width is 11.52 meters
Red flare
Captain Karsten Borner said after the storm had passed, the crew noticed that the yacht that had been behind them had disappeared.
“We saw a red flare, so my first mate and I went to the position, and we found this life raft drifting,” he told Reuters.
“Heavily injured”
That lift rafter was carrying 15 survivors, three of whom were “heavily injured”, he said.
Footage from the wreckage site showed helicopters circling over several coastguard vessels as divers wearing bright orange descended into the water.
