SICILY — One man has died and six other people are missing after a luxury yacht sank off the coast of Sicily in the early hours of Monday morning.

The 56m (183ft) vessel was carrying 22 people - 10 crew and 12 passengers - including British, American and Canadian nationals.

Emergency services rescued 15 people, including a one-year-old British girl.

Local media reported that the yacht, sailing under the name Bayesian, sank after encountering a heavy storm overnight that caused waterspouts, or rotating columns of air, to appear over the sea.

Witnesses told Italian news agency Ansa that the Bayesian’s anchor was down when the storm struck, causing the mast to break and the ship to lose its balance and sink.

A waterspout is similar to a tornado and can form over oceans, seas or large lakes.

Divers have identified a wreckage 50m below the water's surface and are searching for those missing.

The body of one man has been found outside of the wreckage. His nationality has not been confirmed.

Fifteen people managed to get to safety after the storm hit.

In the initial aftermath, a nearby Dutch-flagged vessel rescued survivors from the waves, tending to them until emergency services arrived.

Captain Karsten Borner said after the storm had passed, the crew noticed that the yacht that had been behind them had disappeared.

"We saw a red flare, so my first mate and I went to the position, and we found this life raft drifting," he told Reuters.

That lift rafter was carrying 15 survivors, three of whom were "heavily injured", he said. — BBC