Clash at sea, two miles off Capo Figari, late yesterday evening. The collision involved the ferry Sharden of Tirrenia and a fishing vessel of Golfo Aranci, the Alemax II.
Following the accident, the boat sank: the captain, Mario Langiu, 28, was brought to safety and is hospitalized: his conditions are not serious. A 41-year-old Senegalese seafarer is missing: searches are underway, which have yielded no results since yesterday evening.
The ship, which had departed from Olbia, arrived in the port of Livorno this morning.
The report to the Olbia Coast Guard arrived shortly after 11pm: a passenger of the Sharden reported having witnessed the clash with other people. Coast Guard vehicles and a tugboat arrived at the scene.
The patrol boat sighted a signal fire and confirmed the presence of a sailboat which had recovered the captain of the fishing vessel from the sea.
The man said that his boat had sunk following the impact and that the sailor, with him on board, was missing. It appears that at the time of the accident he was in the bow making coffee. The hypothesis - currently not confirmed - is that he was dragged to the bottom with the fishing boat.
The searches, still ongoing, with three Coast Guard vessels, a tug, a fishing boat and an Air Force helicopter began immediately.
The concern of the community, while the patrol boats are at sea, was expressed by the mayor of Golfo Aranci Mario Mulas : «Unfortunately, this is not the first time that accidents have occurred in our waters», he says, «we know that the seafarer is the father of three children ». Mario Langiu instead "is the son of an expert commander, connoisseur of the sea".
