A 40-metre motor yacht sank off the Italian coast. As the Coast Guard’s Guardia Costeria announced on Twitter on Monday, the nine people on board have been rescued. Attempts to tow the yacht, which was en route from Gallipoli to Milazzo, to a harbor failed.
The yacht Saga, flying the flag of the Cayman Islands, sank nine nautical miles (about 17 kilometers) off Catanzaro, the capital of the Calabria region, in the Ionian Sea around 1 p.m. Sunday, according to images released by the Crotone Coast Guard on Monday ( see video above).
According to the Italian news agency ANSA, the crew of the saga had called the Crotone Port Authority operations center on Saturday evening and reported that water was entering the stern of the ship. A Romanian patrol boat commissioned by Frontex and a patrol boat from Crotone were deployed.
Attempts to tow the yacht into a harbor fail
A tugboat attempted to tow the saga into Crotone harbour. According to the Coast Guard, the project failed due to stormy weather and the yacht’s already severe incline (pictured below). Because too much water had already penetrated the hull of the ship, the emergency services eventually had to sink the yacht.
Why the luxury yacht, built in 2007, fell into distress is now under investigation, Italian authorities said.
Source: Krone
I’m Wayne Wickman, a professional journalist and author for Today Times Live. My specialty is covering global news and current events, offering readers a unique perspective on the world’s most pressing issues. I’m passionate about storytelling and helping people stay informed on the goings-on of our planet.
