Francesco Sitzia, from Sestu, and Patrizio Saba, from Assemini, arrived in the port of Cagliari at 6:30 pm aboard a Coast Guard patrol boat. They were rescued in the afternoon off the coast of Perd'e Sali after the yacht they were travelling on caught fire and then sank.
“We’re fine” were their only words after setting foot on land, wearing dry clothes that had just been given to them by the military.
The two had a close call. The flames, according to the reconstruction by the Coast Guard, started from the engine compartment of the 18-meter vessel registered to the company of one of the two castaways, which left from Portoscuso and was headed to Capitana. The accident occurred three miles from the coast, in line with the Saras plant.
First the smoke, then the flames. Upon receiving the distress call, the Coast Guard operations center immediately diverted a private vessel that was a short distance away. In the meantime, the CP320 patrol boat left Cagliari. Saba and Sitzia jumped into the sea after putting on their life jackets and were rescued by the civilian pleasure craft.
As the smoke rose into the sky, visible from all over the Gulf, the firefighters also intervened to try to put out the flames, and a Saras tugboat provided support. Saving the yacht, however, was impossible: it sank, destroyed by the flames.
The two castaways were rescued and transferred to Cagliari: on the dock they were able to hug their families.
Enrico Fresu