Footage shows the dramatic moment a 130ft (40m) superyacht sank off the coast of southern Italy at the weekend, with the Italian Coast Guard rescuing nine from the vessel.
'My Saga’ was crossing the Gulf of Squillace on Saturday 20 August when disaster hit midway through its journey from Gallipoli to Milazzo, on the island of Sicily.
The Italian Coast Guard – Guardia Costiera of Crotone – confirmed that the yacht started to sink nine miles offshore, with footage showing the boat rapidly sinking into the ocean at a 45-degree angle as waves crash around it.
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Watch the video here:
Even within the space of the short first clip, the luxury superyacht can be seen descending into the water at an alarming rate, with a second, later video showing only the bow of the boat poking out of the sea before it sinks completely.
After getting into trouble, the captain sent out a distress call for help.
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Tweeting a video of the sinking ship on Twitter, Guardia Costiera said in a statement, automatically translated from Italian to English: “In recent days, the Guardia Costiera of Crotone coordinated the rescue operations of passengers and crew of a 40m yacht, which sank 9 miles offshore of Catanzaro Marina.
“Administrative investigation launched to identify the causes.”
Commenting on the post, one social media user wrote in disbelief: “What crazy stuff!!”
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Another added: “How??? Why!??!”
According to Super Yacht Times, My Saga was built in Italy in 2007 under the Monaco Yachting and Technologies brand as ‘Yuko’.
It was flying the Cayman Islands flag when it was travelling to Milazzo at the weekend with an all-Italian crew – all of whom were rescued.
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Local outlet Catanzaro Informa reported that a tug boat arrived at dawn to help My Saga, with the aim of towing the yacht towards Crotone – the only port that would be able to accept the large vessel.
However, the situation grew worse, thanks in part to ‘difficult weather conditions’ and the angle of the boat, and attempts to retrieve My Saga had to be abandoned, leaving it to sink in a ‘very short time’.
The cause behind the issue is not yet known, with an investigation due to be launched by the local maritime office to understand the full circumstances.
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Topics: World News
Jess Hardiman