Breaking news: One dead, six missing after sailing superyacht sinks off Sicily

Italian coastguards have reported that one man has died and six others are missing after a 183ft/56m sailing super yacht sank off the coast of Sicily in the early hours of Monday, 19 August

The yacht Bayesian is a Perini Navi, launched in 2008 under the name Salute, and had 22 people onboard with 10 crew and 12 passengers. Those onboard included British, American and Canadian nationals.

The yacht left the Sicilian port of Milazzo on Wednesday 14 August, and AIS data shows the yacht last transmitted its position off Palermo around 0400 local time.

Italian press are reporting that the yacht was at anchor 300 meters from the Porticello harbour, near Palermo when it was hit by severe and sudden weather, and sank rapidly. It is not clear what caused the sinking, but some eyewitness accounts suggest it may have been suddenly dismasted.

The sudden storm is being reported as tornado-like conditions, or a waterspout.

Those onboard were assisted by other sailing vessels in the harbour, as well as emergency services, and 15 were rescued, including a one-year-old child and their parents.

Six are believed to still be missing, and search and rescue operations are still ongoing with divers on the scene. The yacht is understood to have sunk in around 50 meters of water. One body has been recovered by emergency services.

The yacht is British flagged and managed by Camper and Nicholsons International. It is the last of the 56m Perini Navi series, designed in collaboration with Ron Holland and built of aluminium, with a sloop rig 75m mast.

We’ll update more when we have further information.

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