So much fear for Stefania Craxi and her husband Marco Bassetti, rescued off the coast of the island of Elba by the Coast Guard after a violent fire broke out on the yacht on board which the couple and the captain of the vessel were.
According to what was reported by the authorities, the alarm was raised around 12.00 yesterday, Thursday 13 June. The 64-year-old Forza Italia parliamentarian and her husband, the 66-year-old entrepreneur Marco Bassetti, were on the 22-metre yacht “La Corsa”, and were headed towards Marina di Campo on the island of Elba after having been to Giglio.
The trip on the Tyrrhenian Sea risked turning into a tragedy when the motorized pleasure boat suffered a breakdown approximately 9-10 miles from the south-eastern coast of Elba. The commander was the first to notice the smoke coming out of the engine compartment. After having promptly contacted the Coast Guard of Porto Ferraio to launch the SOS, the three on board the yacht set to work in an attempt, which later proved in vain, to tame the flames. Even the fire extinguishers proved useless, so Stefania Craxi, her husband and the captain decided to abandon the vehicle and lower a life raft into the sea to await the arrival of help.
Around 1.30 pm a Sar CP 892 patrol boat arrived: after having loaded the three on board, still in a clear and understandable state of shock due to what had happened, the rescuers proceeded to transfer them to Marina di Campo so that they could immediately undergo a medical check-up. The yacht sank a few hours after the rescue.
A Navy ship and a Sarzana Coast Guard helicopter also arrived at the site of the accident: the authorities immediately began investigations to trace the causes of the fire. For the moment the most plausible hypothesis remains that of a failure in the motor.
“Rescue operation for the Coast Guard of Portoferraio, which rescued 3 passengers on board a 22 meter boat, which sank due to a fire while sailing from the island of Giglio to Elba”Yes
reads in an official note. “The naval and air vehicles, promptly intervened and coordinated by the Livorno Coast Guard, also verified the absence of pollution in the area”concludes the statement.
