Italian media reported that six people are missing and one person has died after a luxury boat was hit by a whirlwind off the coast Palermo in Sicily.

The Italian coast guard and fire brigade had said earlier that divers were searching for missing people, but did not confirm immediately that a body was found. The coast guard reported that the 56-metre (184-ft), luxury sailboat with 22 people aboard sank when it was struck by a violent thunderstorm at sunrise.

The missing crew member was British and six passengers of American, Canadian and British nationality were also listed.

Local media reported that eight of the rescued people, including an infant, were taken to hospitals in stable condition.

The yacht was named the "Bayesian" by the coast guard. It was built in 2008 by Italian shipbuilder Perini.

According to specialist online yacht sites, the luxury ship is made of aluminium and has a maximum speed up to 15 knots. It can accommodate 12 guests with a crew of 10 or more.

According to the vessel tracking app Vesselfinder, the boat left Milazzo in Sicily on August 14 and was last located east of Palermo Sunday night with a navigational status of "at Anchor". Reporting by Giulia Segriti, Sachin Ravikumar, London; editing by Alvise Armillini, Giles Elgood, and Crispin Balmer

(source: Reuters)