Boat sinks off Sicily in Italy, reportedly leaving 2 Americans among 6 people missing
Rome — Six people, including two U.S. nationals, were believed to be missing Monday after a sailboat sank off the coast of the southern Italian island of Sicily during a violent storm. The 184-foot Bayesian had been anchored about half a mile off the port of Porticello, near Palermo, with 22 people on board — 10 crew members and 12 passengers.
The vessel sank at about 5 a.m. local time (11 p.m. Eastern, Sunday) after being hit by a possible waterspout spawned by the storm. Italian media said the winds snapped the boat’s mast, unbalancing the vessel causing it to capsize.
Fifteen of those on board were able to get out of the boat and were rescued by a Dutch-flagged vessel that was anchored in the immediate vicinity. They were brought ashore by Italian Coast Guard and firefighters.
Reuters
One body — an unidentified male — was recovered, but six people remained missing, the Coast Guards said, including Americans, British and Canadian nationals. Italian media said there were two U.S. nationals among those missing, but CBS News was unable to immediately reach the Coast Guard to confirm that number.
died attempting to reach Sicily and smaller Italian islands in the region. Sicily sits only about 100 miles from the east coast of Tunisia in north Africa, and the Mediterranean crossing has been a frequent site of both nautical rescues and disasters as smugglers routinely send small boats overloaded with desperate people into the sea.
Source: cbsnews.com