Luxury yacht sinks off southern province

MERSİN

A 12-meter luxury yacht has collided with rocks and sank during a storm after its engine stalled off the western province of Mersin, as two individuals on board have managed to escape by transferring to an inflatable boat.

The luxury yacht, which was brought from the U.S., experienced engine failure near the entrance to the port in the Erdemli district. Caught in the storm, the vessel veered into the rocks, leading the captain and a companion to use the boat onboard to make a timely escape. The yacht sustained damage and eventually sank.

Within the scope of the efforts initiated by security forces and fishermen to reach the sunken yacht, a diver attached a rope to the submerged vessel, and with the assistance of a fishing boat, they managed to pull it to safety. After approximately five hours of work, the luxury yacht was successfully brought ashore and lifted out of the water using a crane.

Yalçın Sakın, one of the fishermen involved in the rescue operation, explained, "The sailing yacht, which had come close to the entrance of the yacht harbor, experienced an engine failure. When the engine stopped, the storm and wind caused it to collide with the rocks. The yacht's hull was damaged. The security teams requested a boat from us, and we dispatched one of our vessels. We covered around 10 kilometers in about five hours.”