Brit mother, 35, describes incredible rescue after finding her baby alive ‘in the fury of the waves’ off Sicily when tornado hit 180ft superyacht Bayesian – as divers scour wreck 160ft down for missing UK and US tourists and see ‘bodies through portholes’

A British mother who was rescued from the sinking Bayesian superyacht along with her one-year-old child has described the nightmare moment she thought she had lost her baby, and how they miraculously made it to safety.

Harrowing details of this morning’s events are emerging as divers continue their desperate search for six missing tourists in the wreck of the superyacht, 160ft underwater off the coast of Sicily. 

Tragically, the body of a man was found floating alongside the vessel earlier today, with more feared dead as divers reported seeing ‘bodies through the portholes’ of the 180ft yacht.

The luxury vessel was docked off the coast of Porticello, near Palermo, when a freak storm hit the area just before 5am, with witnesses describing how a ‘whirlwind’ hit, wrecking the boat and causing it to rapidly disappear beneath the waves. 

Fifteen of the 22 people on board, including the one-year-old and its parents, were rescued by a nearby vessel, according to the Coast Guard. Incredibly, the child was unharmed. 

Her 35-year-old mother told Italian media: ‘For two seconds I lost my baby in the sea, then I immediately hugged her again amid the fury of the waves.’

‘I held her afloat with all my strength, my arms stretched upwards to keep her from drowning,’ she added. ‘It was all dark. In the water I couldn’t keep my eyes open. I screamed for help but all I could hear around me was the screams of others.’

Incredibly, a group of 15 of the passengers managed to inflate a lifeboat and clamber aboard, before being rescued by a nearby vessel.

The mother, who is in hospital with her baby where she received treatment for a minor shoulder injury, described the ordeal as ‘terrible’, detailing how ‘in a few minutes the boat was hit by a very strong wind and sank shortly after.’

A frantic search is underway at the site of the shipwreck after the Bayesian sank this morning

A local Facebook group shared a picture of the yacht (left) at anchor last night. The vessel has been named as the Bayesian, and is said to sail under a British flag

The search area this morning off the coast of Porticello, Sicily

Divers from the fire service have been supporting search and rescue efforts

Nautical maps show the last known location of the Bayesian just after 2am local time, when it was at anchor

The passengers on board were mainly British, according to reports, while citizens from New Zealand, Sri Lanka, Ireland, Canada, the US and two dual British and French nationals were also said to be on board.

The group are reported to have been tourists on holiday in Sicily, and it is feared that  those missing may have been trapped inside their cabins.

The vessel was still at anchor near the port when the tornado struck, witnesses told Italian news agency ANSA.

With the anchor still down, the storm broke the mast, causing the vessel to lose its balance and capsize, according to reports.

The Italian Coastguard said in a statement that a nearby boat offered assistance to people before emergency services arrived. 

The Sir Robert BP, a Dutch sailing ship which had been anchored by the Bayesian, is believed to have rescued the 15 survivors.

Karsten Borner, the captain of the boat, has described how his vessel was battered by strong gusts, with his team working to stabilise it and manoeuvre it to avoid hitting the Bayesian nearby.

‘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.

Once the storm subsided, Borner said he and his first mate noticed a flare in the water, and made their way towards it.

There they found the lifeboat with those who had escaped inside, according the one-year-old baby. 

The group were staying on the vessel, which has been named as the Bayesian – a luxury yacht which sails under the British flag

The Sir Robert BP, a Dutch sailing ship which had been anchored nearby the Bayesian, is believed to have rescued some of those on board (file image)

A helicopter, coastguard vessels and firefighters have since been deployed to search the scene of the wreck for those who are still missing.

Expert divers have already reached the hull, 49 metres below the water and about half a mile from the coast, according to Italian media.

Nautical maps show the last known location of the Bayesian just after 2am local time, when it was at anchor.

The boat is thought to have arrived in Porticello after a stopping in Milazzo, around 100 miles up the coast towards the Italian mainland.

A local Facebook page shared a picture of the two yachts at anchor last night, just hours before the high winds hit. 

‘That boat was all lit up,’ a man in Porticello told ANSA. ‘At around 4.30 in the morning it was gone.  A beautiful boat where there had been a party. A normal holiday spent happily at sea turned into a tragedy. 

‘The boat was not far from the port. It took very little to raise the anchor and head for the port. Evidently they were surprised by the storm that suddenly hit and they were unable to avoid sinking.’ 

Divers are scouring the wreckage of the superyacht, which is 160ft underwater off the coast of Sicily

Emergency response teams are seen at the harbour near where the boat sank this morning

Emergency and rescue services work near the scene where a sailboat sank in the early hours of Monday, off the coast of Porticello

A helicopter, coastguard vessels and firefighters have been deployed to search the scene

Fabio Cefalù, a fisherman who spotted the shipwrecked boat off the coast, said he called for help at 4.30 this morning.

‘At about 3.55 we saw the whirlwind. After a quarter of an hour we saw a rocket 500 metres away from the dock,’ he told Corriere.

‘At about 4.35 we went out to sea to provide assistance, but we only saw the remains of the boat floating. There were no men in the sea. So we immediately called the port authority.’

The vessel can accommodate 12 passengers and 10 crewmembers.

The only crewmember among the missing is said to be the cook, with those still unaccounted for including four British, two American and one Canadian citizen, RAI reports. The nationality of the deceased man is not known.

Coast guards patrol boats and firefighters brought those who were rescued to shore, and the survivors will be interviewed by authorities in the coming hours. 

Among the survivors is the boat’s captain, who reportedly managed to save himself and is said to be very upset by the incident.

The baby who was rescued is reported to be a one-year-old English girl. 

She was pulled from the sea by a firefighter, Corriere reports, before being rushed to the Children’s Hospital of Palermo.

She arrived there with her mother and both are said to be fine. The woman received treatment for a shoulder injury while the child was unharmed, only undergoing tests as a precaution.

The baby’s father was taken to a separate Palermo hospital, The Times reports. 

Seven others who were rescued are receiving treatment at hospitals in Palermo and Bagheria, the Italian Coastguard said. 

None of them are thought to be in a serious condition, and the five others who were rescued did not require treatment.

All those who were not injured are expected to speak to the Coast Guard today as they seek to understand what happened.

The ship they were staying on is managed by Camper and Nicholsons International. The company says it is assisting in the search efforts in Palermo.

The firm, which does not own the yacht, said in a statement that the boat encountered ‘severe weather and subsequently sank’.

‘Our priority is assisting with the ongoing search and providing all necessary support to the rescued passengers and crew,’ a spokesperson said.

A spokesperson told the BBC that they are currently ‘dealing with a situation onboard one of [their] managed vessels’, but would not give any further details. 

The 180ft yacht has a gross tonnage of 473 tons, and was built by the Perini Navi Viareggio shipyard in February 2008 before being refitted in 2020.

The deck area is 436 square metres and the six cabins occupy an area of ​​143 square metres.

It comprises of an aluminum hull, and is powered by two large engines, allowing it to cruise at 12 knots and reach a maximum speed of 15 knots. 

The boat has the second tallest mast in the world and the largest aluminum mast of 75 metres.

Sicily is currently under a weather warning for wind, with video showing strong gusts battering the coast this morning.

CCTV footage from around 4am this morning shows a torrent of wind and rain slamming into Santa Nicolicchia – an area of Porticello where Bayesian was anchored.

Video posted by Vigili del Fuoco shows the rescue operation on a stretch of sea near Palermo

Search and rescue teams are still scouring the scene, with six people missing and one confirmed dead

The high winds throw umbrellas, plant pots, tables and chairs flying within seconds of hitting, with the local restaurant who shared the footage saying: ‘In a moment the hurricane took everything away!’

The owners of Baia Santa Nicolicchia said they were able to open later in the morning once the storm had passed, but added: ‘We have no memory of anything like this in our area.’

Shadow Foreign Minister for Europe, Alicia Kearns, wrote on X: ‘Desperately sorry to hear of the capsizing of the Bayesian – a heartbreaking incident.

‘My thoughts are with all the families of those lost at sea, and those recovering following the rescue operation, I’m sure the foreign office will be providing consular support to British Nationals and their families.’

The Foreign Office said in a statement: ‘We are in contact with the local authorities following an incident in Sicily, and stand ready to provide consular support to British nationals affected.’