A British mother, who claims she held her baby daughter above the waves as their yacht sank near Sicily, was sleeping on deck when the storm hit, an Italian doctor has reported.
Charlotte Golunski, 35, was among 22 people aboard the yacht Bayesian when a tornado struck on Monday morning. The disaster left one person dead and six others still missing. Ms. Golunski survived, along with 14 others, and told the Italian newspaper La Repubblica that she kept her daughter Sofia “afloat with all [her] strength.”
Dr. Domenico Cipolla, the head of pediatric care at the Di Cristina Children’s Hospital in Palermo, spoke to Sky News about the ordeal. He explained that Ms. Golunski was away from her partner when the storm hit.
“She said she was sleeping with the child on deck while her husband was in another part of the boat. She felt the ship’s oscillations,” Dr. Cipolla stated.
“In an instant, it was dark, and within minutes she found herself in the water. She tried to hold onto the child but lost her grip for three seconds before catching her again in the water.”
Ms. Golunski was rescued with only minor bruises, along with her partner and father of her child, James Emsley. Despite surviving, Ms. Golunski was deeply saddened by those still missing.
Mr. Emsley was treated at a different hospital, and when reunited, the couple “hugged and comforted each other” but “cried” for those who remained unaccounted for. Dr. Cipolla described the scene, noting, “The little girl was crying and very disoriented. She looked around, and her mother was very sad and worried, especially for her husband who was in another hospital.”
Dr. Cipolla added that the baby was unhurt but that Ms. Golunski was desperate to know the fate of the missing. “She wanted to know if everything was OK and asked about the missing people because nobody knew what had happened to them. She kept asking us about her husband and the others,” he said.
As the search operation enters a “critical” 24-hour period, divers are facing challenges. They have just 10 minutes per dive due to the yacht’s narrow interior, complicating the rescue efforts.
Meanwhile, it has been confirmed that the ship’s chef, Canadian-Antiguan Recaldo Thomas, was the one who lost his life in the tragedy.
