1 Dead, Britons Missing after Yacht Sinks Off Italian Coast

One man has died and six other people are missing after a sailing yacht sank off the coast of Sicily in the early hours of Monday morning, the Italian fire and rescue service has said.

The 56m (183ft) yacht was flying a British flag and Britons are among those missing, Italian media has reported.

The 22 people onboard included 10 crew and 12 passengers – and also included American and Canadian nationals.

Emergency services rescued 15 people including a one-year-old child after the vessel encountered poor weather off the coast of Palermo.

A wreck has been identified at a depth of 50m, the fire brigade said, with divers searching for the missing people.

The body of the man, whose nationality has not yet been identified, was found outside the wreckage.

Eight of those rescued are receiving treatment in hospital, the Italian Coastguard said.

The British Foreign Office said it was aware of the incident and in contact with local authorities.

A statement from the Italian Coastguard said that a nearby boat offered assistance to people before emergency services arrived.

Local media have reported that the sailing yacht is called the Bayesian.

The Bayesian’s publicly available onboard tracker last transmitted near Porticello, just after 04:00 local time – shortly before rescue efforts reportedly began.

The ship is managed by Camper and Nicholsons International. A spokesperson told BBC Verify that they are currently “dealing with a situation onboard one of [their] managed vessels”, but would not confirm which vessel, or any further details.

Source: BBC