A sailboat believed to be carrying foreign tourists capsized and sank off Sicily in bad weather early on Monday and seven people were missing, authorities said.
Fifteen people were rescued from the 49-metre (160-foot) sailboat, but seven others were unaccounted for, said Luca Cari, a spokesperson for the Italian fire rescue service.
He said a helicopter and rescue boats from the coast guard and fire rescue service were at the scene searching for the missing, and divers had located the wreck at a depth of 50 metres.
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The boat capsized about 5am (1pm AEST) off the port of Porticello.
Local media said a fierce storm, including water spouts, battered the area overnight.
The newspaper Il Giornale de Sicilia reported that the sailboat was flying a British flag and had mostly British passengers on board but also New Zealand, Sri Lanka, Ireland and British-French citizens.
The ANSA news agency said the boat was named Bajesian and had been moored in the port at Porticello and set sail on Sunday evening.
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