The captain of the superyacht that tragically sank off the coast of Italy has recently shared a chilling 5-word confession.
In the early hours of Monday morning, the 160-foot luxury boat called the 'Bayesian' was submerged in a violent storm just off the coast of Sicily.
The vessel was carrying 22 people on board - 12 of whom were passengers and 10 crew members - when a small waterspout tornado developed over the area.
Italian media reported the winds snapped the boat's single mast, unbalancing the vessel and causing it to capsize.
Fifteen people were rescued and one child was airlifted to the children’s hospital in Palermo. Eight people were hospitalized in total, according to the mayor’s office and one body was found on the hull of the yacht, the Coast Guard said as per a report by CNN.
The weather forecast had warned of potential strong winds, with storms across the entire southern region of Italy Sunday, the Coast Guard spokesperson added.
Among those unaccounted for are four Britons, two Americans, and one Canadian passenger, according to reports from the Guardian.
The outlet also reported that among those who are missing is British tech entrepreneur Mike Lynch, though his wife, Angela Bacares was rescued.
CBS News reported that Lynch's teenage daughter Hannah is also among those missing, along with Lynch's American lawyer Chris Morvillo, a former assistant district attorney in New York, and his wife Neda. British banker Jonathan Bloomer, chairman of Morgan Stanley International, was also still missing Tuesday.
The captain was also among the survivors, the spokesperson for Italy’s Coast Guard said.
James Catfield was seen waiting outside an emergency room in the Sicilian town of Termini Imerese and sources described him to be "limp" clearly exhausted from the ordeal.
The Mirror reported that the captain admitted: "We didn't see it coming" when referring to the harsh weather conditions they faced.
The captain of a nearby boat also doubled down on this, telling reporters that he turned on his engine to avoid crashing into the Bayesian as fierce gales continued to cause havoc in the area.
“This morning we got this strong gust and we had to start the engine to keep the ship in an angled position,” he told reporters on Monday as per Reuters. “After the storm was over, we noticed that the ship behind us was gone.”
The hunt for the missing continues.
This is a developing story and will be updated accordingly.
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