Four Britons and two Americans are among at least seven people missing after a 180ft yacht sank off the coast of Sicily in the early hours of the morning, Italian media reported.
Fifteen of the 22 people on board, including a one-year-old child and his mother, were rescued by coast guard patrol boats and firefighters.
According to reports, the passengers were mainly British, but there were also citizens of New Zealand, Sri Lanka, Ireland, Canada and the US on board, as well as two people with dual British and French nationality.
It is said that the group consisted of tourists on holiday in Sicily and that the boat was flying the British flag.
The ship is believed to have taken on water after a tornado hit the area off the coast of Porticello, near Palermo, at around 5am.