A serious accident occurred yesterday at around 11.30 am on a busy Croatian route: a catamaran travelling on the regular scheduled service from Split to the island of Vis collided with a sailing boat flying the French flag. At the time of the collision, there were seven passengers and a skipper on board the yacht. The collision took place between the islands of Brač and Šolta. The sailing boat sank as a result of the impact. The force of the collision threw all eight people into the water.
Ship collision claims several lives
Three people died at the scene of the accident, whilst emergency services were still searching for one other person as of today. Initial media reports suggest that the missing person has been found in the sunken wreck.
According to the Croatian media, the fatalities are dnevnik.hr Czech nationals. Four sailors were rescued alive from the Adriatic Sea and are still receiving medical treatment.
The cause of the accident is being investigated
It was initially unclear how the serious boating accident had occurred. The sailing boat was apparently travelling under engine power at the time of the accident. The ferry “Krilo Eclipse” is owned by a private company from Croatia. There were 118 passengers and seven crew members on board. The authorities temporarily suspended ferry services on the route from Split to Vis due to the search operation. Services are scheduled to resume on Monday afternoon.
Leonie Meyer
Editor News & Panorama
