An Italian tugboat which departed from Ancona and headed for Albania sank in the evening of May 18 off the coast of Puglia, 50 miles from Bari, on the border between Italian and Croatian waters. Four people died, one is still missing: the commander, on the other hand, was recovered alive in the night two hours after the sinking and rushed to the Di Venere hospital in Bari. The condition of the man, who is 63 years old. and he is Sicilian, they are not serious. Another eleven people are on the pontoon adrift that was dragged by the tug and is close to recovery.
The Bari Coast Guard is coordinating the military and civilian vehicles engaged in the research: five merchant ships, as well as several units of the Coast Guard and the Guardia di Finanza. The research also involved aircraft of the Navy, the Air Force and the Croatian Air Force. An Italian Coast Guard Manta plane is currently flying over the area in search of the last missing person. The Croatian authorities informed the Italian authorities of the presence of two confirmed victims, then two other bodies were recovered at sea. Only one, at the moment, the person who is still missing. The crew consisted of four Italians (probably some from Puglia) and a Tunisian, in addition to the commander.
The Coast Guard is coordinated for the moment by the Public Prosecutor of Bari, with the prosecutor on duty Luisiana Di Vittorio and the chief prosecutor Roberto Rossi. The alarm went off yesterday evening: the operations center of the Coast Guard of Rome received a cospas-sarsat alarm signal from which it was learned that an Italian flag tug – the Franco P, engaged in towing a pontoon in the Ancona-Durres section – was sinking 53 miles across the port of Bari, on the border between the Italian and Croatian SAR waters. The rescue machine was immediately activated by sending SAR vehicles and warning messages directed to all the ships in the area in order to direct them to the point of the sinking.
During tonight’s searches, which also took place in the presence of very rough seas, the Croatian flag motor ship Split – which ran into the area – rescued the commander of the tugboat alive from the sea who was then brought to Bari. At the moment the pontoon she is adrift with 11 people on board. Another tug is heading to his rescue. From this night, family members of the tugboat crew are assisted in the Offices of the Maritime Direction.