FRIGHTENING footage has emerged of a waterspout lashing the Italian coast on the same day the Bayesian sank.
The superyacht was ensnared by a “Black Swan” sea twister off Sicily and capsized, leading to tragedy for those on board.
Now vision from the same day has surfaced of tourists running away as a huge waterspout – which acts like a tornado, but over the sea – sends umbrellas flying and sun-loungers sprinting.
Video shows a vortex strike a beach in Italy’s Campania region, north of Sicily, creating chaos for beachgoers.
A mother runs to safety, cradling her child amid anarchy as objects are hurled in all directions.
It wasn’t the only waterspout captured on film, with more video circulating in the wake of the Bayesian disaster.
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A beach in the Basilicata region also showed a twister tear by the sands.
Blue skies ominously fade to darkness as it approaches, before holidaymakers run for their lives.
Luckily it took a different path before simply dissolving away.
Authorities on Sunday warned bad weather was approaching Italy’s southern regions.
They urged sailors to return to ports, while red flags were put up at beaches.
Another waterspout is believed to be the culprit behind the Bayesian sinking.
It capsized and descended to its doom when the wild weather struck Porticello Harbour near Palermo in Sicily at around 5am on Monday.
Marine experts told The Times how the freak waterspout would have caused hefty damage to the £14million boat, causing it to plunge underwater.
Matthew Schanck, chairman of the Maritime Search and Rescue Council, said: “Looking at the extreme weather, if it was a waterspout, which it appears to be, it’s what I would class as like a Black Swan event.
“And if the waterspout ends up dumping a load of that water on board the vessel, that’s going to cause significant damage.”
Fifteen people managed to escape the sinking as they clung onto lifeboats, but others weren’t as fortunate.
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Five bodies have since been found, including tech tycoon Mike Lynch and daughter Hannah as well as yacht chef Ricardo Thomas.
Officials said bodies they were trapped by mattresses inside a cabin, La Repubblica reports.
A further pair of missing passengers were then discovered but are yet to be recovered from the sunken vessel, sources say.
The search has been made difficult by depth, with the wreck sitting on the seabead 50 metres below the surface.
Powerful water pressure at levels that deep has restricted divers to short 12-minute intervals scouring the debris.
Among the survivors is Mike Lynch’s wife Angela Baceras, 57, who reportedly remained in a “state of shock” on Wednesday in a hotel near the site of the sinking.
South African hostesses Leah Randall, 20, and Katja Chicken, 22, were also staying at a Sicily hotel alongside fellow survivors.
Leah’s mum Heidi told Sky News she was “beyond relieved” to hear her “daughter’s life was spared by the grace of God”.=
What is a waterspout?
A waterspout is a whirlwind of air and water mist, according to the National Ocean Service.
The waterspout behind the Bayesian sinking is categorised as a “tornadic” waterspout.
These act in the same way as land tornadoes, causing paths of destruction.
They can form during severe thunderstorms with high winds, strong hail and dangerous lightning.