One person was declared dead and atleast six people were reported missing after a sailboat measuring 50 meters capsized and sank during the early morning hours on Monday near Sicily. The boat had 22 people on board of which 12 were passengers and the rest were crew members.
The Italian Coast Guard and firefighters managed to rescue 15 people, including a child, after the boat, which was sailing under a British flag, encountered a whirlwind and rough seas at sunrise.
As reported by the news agency Adnkronos, the boat’s passengers included 2 Anglo-French citizens, an Irish national, a New Zealander, and a Sri Lankan, while the remaining passengers were British.
Fire department divers are continuing their search efforts in the vicinity of the sunken vessel, which now rests at a depth of approximately 50 meters, about half a mile from the coast.