'For Two Seconds, I Lost My Baby in the Sea'

Survivor recounts frantic moments after sinking of superyacht off the coast of Italy
By Newser Editors,  Newser Staff
Posted Aug 19, 2024 12:11 PM CDT
'For Two Seconds, I Lost My Baby in the Sea'
Emergency services at the scene of the search for a missing boat, in Porticello Santa Flavia, Italy, Monday, Aug. 19, 2024.   (Alberto Lo Bianco /LaPresse via AP)

As the search goes on for six people missing after a superyacht sank off the coast of Sicily, one of the 15 survivors is recounting her harrowing tale. Britain's Charlotte Golunski, 36, says she was aboard the Bayesian with her husband, James, and her 1-year-old daughter, Sofia, when she was awakened overnight by "thunder, lightning, and waves that made our boat dance," per the BBC and the Standard. All three were thrown into the water. "For two seconds I lost my daughter in the sea, then quickly hugged her amid the fury of the waves," she was quoted as telling La Repubblica newspaper of Italy.

Golunski held Sofia "afloat with all my strength, my arms stretched upwards to keep her from drowning." She added: "It was all dark. In the water I couldn't keep my eyes open. I screamed for help but all I could hear around me was the screams of others." It was at that point a lifeboat inflated, and the family of three scrambled aboard with others. Golunski was treated for a minor shoulder injury at a hospital after being rescued, per the Express. Her husband and child were not injured. Earlier, one person's body was recovered from the sea. (More superyachts stories.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X