A man is dead and six people are missing after a luxury yacht sank off the coast of Sicily in the early hours of Monday morning.
The 56 m (183 ft) vessel was carrying 22 people, including 10 crew members and 12 passengers, including British, American and Canadian citizens.
Emergency services rescued 15 people, including a one-year-old British girl.
Local media reported that the yacht named “Bayes” sank after encountering a storm at night, causing a waterspout or rotating air column to appear at sea.
White FabioWitnesses told Italy’s ANSA news agency that the Bayes’ anchor had fallen when the storm hit, causing the mast to break and the ship to lose balance and sink.
Waterspouts are similar to tornadoes and can form over oceans or large lakes.
Divers have discovered a piece of wreckage 50m below the surface and are searching for the missing persons.
A man’s body was found outside the wreckage. His nationality has not been confirmed.
After the storm hit, 15 people managed to escape safely.
After the accident, a nearby Dutch-flagged vessel rescued survivors from the waves and cared for them until emergency services arrived.
Captain Carsten Bonner said that after the storm passed, the crew noticed that the yacht behind them had disappeared.
“We saw the red flare, so my first officer and I went to that location and we found the life raft drifting,” he told Reuters.
He said the elevator rafters carried 15 survivors, three of whom were “seriously injured.”
White FabioA local fisherman told Reuters he saw someone being rescued by an inflatable boat sent by another yacht.
The captain of a local trawler said he saw debris floating in the sea, including mats on the deck.
Video from the wreckage scene showed helicopters hovering over several Coast Guard vessels and divers wearing bright orange suits diving into the water.
Italian newspaper Corriere Della Serra quoted hospital officials as saying a one-year-old British girl was brought to shore by a firefighter who handed her over to authorities and took her to hospital.
The young girl underwent tests but is said to be in good condition.
The Italian Coast Guard said eight of those rescued were receiving treatment in hospital.
ReutersThe western half of the Mediterranean has experienced severe storms since the middle of last week.
The north coast of Sicily experienced a series of severe weather from Sunday night into Monday morning.
BBC weather forecaster Matt Taylor said: “A waterspout is a tornado that occurs over water rather than on land.
“They can form at the base of cumulonimbus/thunderclouds during severe storms.
“Turbulence, along with winds in slightly different directions around the cloud, causes the base of the cloud to rotate and form vents.
“Like tornadoes, they bring powerful winds, but instead of kicking up dust and debris, they create water mist around a rotating column of air.”
The British Foreign Office said it was aware of the matter and had contacted local authorities.
Bayesian is managed by Camper and Nicholsons International.
A spokesman told BBC Verify: “Our priority is to assist with the ongoing search and provide all necessary support to the rescued passengers and crew.”
