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1 Dead, 6 Missing After Luxury Superyacht Sailboat Sinks in Storm off Sicily 

Emergency and rescue services work near the scene where a sailboat sank in the early hours of Monday off the coast of Porticello, near the Sicilian city of Palermo, Italy, August 19, 2024. (Reuters)
Emergency and rescue services work near the scene where a sailboat sank in the early hours of Monday off the coast of Porticello, near the Sicilian city of Palermo, Italy, August 19, 2024. (Reuters)
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1 Dead, 6 Missing After Luxury Superyacht Sailboat Sinks in Storm off Sicily 

Emergency and rescue services work near the scene where a sailboat sank in the early hours of Monday off the coast of Porticello, near the Sicilian city of Palermo, Italy, August 19, 2024. (Reuters)
Emergency and rescue services work near the scene where a sailboat sank in the early hours of Monday off the coast of Porticello, near the Sicilian city of Palermo, Italy, August 19, 2024. (Reuters)

A luxury superyacht sailboat carrying foreign tourists capsized and sank off Sicily in bad weather early Monday. One body was found, six people were missing and 15 people were rescued, authorities said.

The British-flagged, 56-meter (184-foot) “Bayesian” had a crew of 10 people and 12 passengers, representing British, American and Canadian nationalities, the Italian coast guard said.

Fifteen people were rescued initially and taken to shore at Porticello, where eight were in the hospital. One body was found near the wreck, but six others were unaccounted for, said Luca Cari, a spokesperson for the Italian fire rescue service.

A helicopter and rescue boats from the coast guard, carabinieri, fire rescue and civil protection service were at the scene searching for the missing and had located the wreck at a depth of 50 meters (163 feet). The boat capsized around 5 a.m. off the port of Porticello.

Experienced deep-water divers were arriving at the scene to try to enter the hull, he said. Those who hadn't been rescued included one member of the crew and six passengers, the coast guard said.

Local media said a fierce storm, including water spouts, had battered the area overnight but skies were clear and seas calm by Monday morning.

The ANSA news agency said the yacht, built in 2008 by the Italian firm Perini Navi, had been moored off the port at Porticello.

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Private Lunar Lander Blue Ghost Falls Silent on the Moon after a 2-week Mission

Private lunar lander Blue Ghost’s shadow is seen on the moon’s surface after touching down on the moon with a special delivery for NASA, Sunday, March 2, 2025. (NASA/Firefly Aerospace via AP)
Private lunar lander Blue Ghost’s shadow is seen on the moon’s surface after touching down on the moon with a special delivery for NASA, Sunday, March 2, 2025. (NASA/Firefly Aerospace via AP)
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Private Lunar Lander Blue Ghost Falls Silent on the Moon after a 2-week Mission

Private lunar lander Blue Ghost’s shadow is seen on the moon’s surface after touching down on the moon with a special delivery for NASA, Sunday, March 2, 2025. (NASA/Firefly Aerospace via AP)
Private lunar lander Blue Ghost’s shadow is seen on the moon’s surface after touching down on the moon with a special delivery for NASA, Sunday, March 2, 2025. (NASA/Firefly Aerospace via AP)

It’s lights out for the first private lunar lander to pull off a fully successful moon mission.

Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost lander fell silent over the weekend, wrapping up two weeks of science experiments for NASA. The end came as the sun set at the moon, no longer providing energy for the lander’s solar panels.

“Mission is completed,” Firefly CEO Jason Kim said via X late Sunday night. "But the Ghost still lives on in our hearts and minds for the journey it’s taken us on!"

The lander operated five hours into the lunar night as planned before it died Sunday evening. Photos of the lunar sunset and glow will be released on Tuesday, Kim said, The AP reported.

Blue Ghost launched from Cape Canaveral in January as part of NASA’s commercial lunar delivery program. It landed at the moon’s far northeastern edge on March 2. It carried a drill, vacuum and other science and tech instruments for NASA. Firefly confirmed Monday that all 10 experiments worked.

Late last week, Blue Ghost observed a total solar eclipse from the moon — a total lunar eclipse as seen from Earth.

The Texas-based Firefly became the first private company to land on the moon without falling or crashing after a string of failed missions by other companies over the past few years. Only five countries — the United States, Russia, China, India and Japan — have achieved a successful landing.

A Japanese company's lunar lander shared the SpaceX rocket ride, but took an even longer route to get to the moon. That lander from ispace is targeting an early June touchdown.

Another Texas company, Intuitive Machines, ended up sideways in a crater near the moon's south pole earlier this month, dooming the mission. It was the second incomplete mission for Intuitive Machines. Its first lander put the US back on the moon last year for the first time since the Apollo era after a less-than-perfect landing that hampered communications.

Firefly is already working on its next lunar lander and striving for one moon landing a year.