A luxurious, award-winning superyacht went up in flames and sank in the Mediterranean, leaving onlookers in disbelief.
The £14 million yacht, named Atina, was anchored near Le Saline Beach in Olbia, Sardinia, Italy, when the incident occurred on Saturday, August 10.
All 16 Turkish tourists on board, including the yacht’s owner, managed to escape the fire by fleeing in the yacht’s tender, according to a report from Luxury Boat News.
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The group was safely rescued by firefighters and coastguards, with no injuries reported.
Serkan Borançılı, one of the co-founders of the popular grocery delivery app Getir, was among the passengers. He had owned the 47-meter-long yacht.
Video footage captured by the Olbia Coast Guard shows the dramatic moment the yacht slowly sank as crews attempted to put out the fire.
It eventually came to rest on the seabed at a depth of about 7 meters.
By Monday, August 12, local media reported that efforts were underway to clean up the area.
Though the yacht had about 50,000 liters of fuel on board, the Olbia Port Authority confirmed that no fuel spills had been detected.
Atina was last purchased in 2021 for over €16 million (£14 million).
The vessel had previously received recognition at the 2009 World Superyacht Awards.
The fire is believed to have started in the yacht’s engine compartment, though the exact cause remains unknown.
Authorities are currently investigating the incident.
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