Cave divers called in to reach yacht 50m below surface

Search and rescue efforts are ongoing for the missing yacht in Palermo. 

Divers, a motorboat and a helicopter from Catania, one of Sicily’s bigger cities, have been deployed to look for the six missing people above the surface of the sea.

Cave divers are arriving from Napoli, as well as Cagliari and Sassari in Sardinia, to help with the search of the shipwreck, which is now estimated to be about 50m under water, according to the fire service.

‘I saw it sinking with my own eyes’: Fisherman describes moment boat capsized

A fisherman has described seeing the yacht “sinking with my own eyes”.

Speaking to the Italian newspaper Giornale di Sicilia, the witness said he was at home when the tornado hit.

“Then I saw the boat, it had only one mast, it was very big. I saw it suddenly sink,” he said.

The fisherman went on to say that shortly afterwards he went down to the Santa Nicolicchia bay to get a better look at what was happening. 

He added: “The boat was still floating, then all of a sudden it disappeared. I saw it sinking with my own eyes.”

Elsewhere, another fisherman said he “only saw the remains of the boat floating”.

“There were no men in the sea, so we immediately called the harbour master’s office,” he said.

Captain who rescued survivors says yacht sank ‘in minutes’

The captain of a nearby boat that rescued survivors of the yacht disaster has described the moment the storm hit.

The superyacht tipped to its side and sank within “a few minutes”, Karsten Borner told the Italian news outlet Rai.

“It all happened in really little time.” 

The Dutch-flagged vessel’s crew were the first to come to the rescue of those onboard the yacht.

Mr Borner said when the storm hit he turned the engine on to keep control of the vessel and avoid a collision with the Bayesian.

“We managed to keep the ship in position and after the storm was over, we noticed that the ship behind us was gone,” he said.

The boat “went flat on the water, and then down”.

His crew then found some of the survivors on a life raft – including three who were seriously injured, and a British baby girl and her mother – and took them onboard before the coast guard picked them up. 

The mother spoke to the Italian media about her ordeal earlier, saying “For two seconds I lost my daughter in the sea” – you can read more in our post at 11.51am.

‘Prayers at this moment are for the missing’

The mayor of Palermo has been speaking on the rescue operation off the coast of the city.

Roberto Lagalla told the Italian newspaper Giornale di Sicilia: “My prayers at this moment are with those missing in the shipwreck of the sailing boat in Porticello. 

“My closeness goes to the passengers and crew members rescued. 

“I also express my heartfelt thanks to the coastguard, the firefighters and the entire rescue machine that was immediately activated and is still carrying out operations.”