Dutch sea captain rescues 15 after yacht sinks during sudden storm in Italy; One killed

The Dutch captain of a sailing ship led the rescue of 15 people who managed to escape a sinking yacht off the coast of Porticello in Italy early Monday morning. At least one crew member was killed, and six passengers were missing after the 56-meter luxury yacht Bayesian listed and sank during a sudden storm. One Dutch man, a crew member, was among those rescued.

Somewhere between 3:45 a.m. and 4:45 a.m., severe weather rocked the British-flagged vessel, which was carrying 12 passengers and 10 crew members. Of the group of people rescued, nine were crew members and six were passengers. Eight of those rescued were hospitalized on Monday. The person who was found dead by the site of the accident near Palermo, Sicily, was identified as the ship's cook.

Karsten Börner was the captain of the large, Dutch-flagged sailing ship Sir Robert Baden Powell at the time of the incident. His 42-meter vessel was anchored near the Bayesian when the storm hit. He described a "very strong" hurricane-like gust, which forced him to fire up his engine to maintain his ship's position, while avoiding the yacht close to them. A local fisherman said it may have been caused by a waterspout, a funnel cloud that develops over water, as opposed to a tornado, which forms over land.

Börner and his crew shined a light on the Bayesian, and could see that it was tilting severely. "The other ship went flat on the water, then down," he described. "After the storm was over, we noticed the ship behind us was gone. And then, we saw a red flare. So my first mate and I went to the position, and we found this life raft drifting with 15 people inside," he told media outlets of the incident.

"It was a big disaster." The Bayesian was about a kilometer off the Italian coast at a depth of 50 meters. Three of the occupants of the raft were seriously wounded, Börner said, though none of the survivors remained in serious condition by the end of the afternoon.

British citizen Charlotte Golunski told La Repubblica that she held her baby, Sophia, above the surface with all her might. She said, "My arms stretched upwards to keep her from drowning." The 35-year-old woman and one-year-old child were among those rescued by Börner's crew, along with her partner, 35-year-old James Emsilie.

The Bayesian is owned by British tech billionaire Mike Lynch, who was listed among those missing, and his wife, 57-year-old Angela Bacares. She was among those rescued. The British citizens were joined by their compatriots, Ayla Ronald, 46, and Matthew Fletcher, 41, according to Giornale di Sicilia.

Others rescued included the Bayesian's French captain, Matthew Griffith, 22, an Irish woman named Sasha Murray, 29, and 51-year-old New Zealand man James Calfield. A citizen of Myanmar, Myin Htun Kyaw, 39, was also rescued.

The names of the five other people rescued were not released. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the Netherlands said that one of them is from the Netherlands. It was not clear if that person was among those hospitalized, according to RTL Nieuws.

"For him and a loved one, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is offering consular assistance," a spokesperson for the ministry told ANP.

#Palermo, naufragio imbarcazione a Porticello: recuperato dai #sommozzatori dei #vigilidelfuoco il corpo senza vita di un uomo, all’esterno del relitto. Proseguono le operazioni di ricerca con il coordinamento in mare della @guardiacostiera [#19agosto 11:30] pic.twitter.com/Y2m9o5ohCe

— Vigili del Fuoco (@vigilidelfuoco) August 19, 2024