Doctor who treated toddler rescued from sinking yacht says it is a 'miracle' she was saved
'It's a miracle': Dr Domenico Cipolla treated Charlotte Golunski and her daughter after they were rescued after the superyacht Bayesian sunk in bad weather on Monday
The doctor who treated a one-year-old girl and her parents after they were rescued from a sunken yacht in Sicily has told ITV News it is a “miracle” the child was not injured.
Six people are still missing after the Bayesian sunk just off the coast of Porticello in the early hours of Monday morning.
Fifteen people were rescued. One body has been recovered, thought to be that of the on board chef.
Dr Domenico Cipolla treated Charlotte Golunski and her daughter at the Di Cristina Children’s Hospital in Palermo, which is a 45-minute journey from where the incident happened in the early hours of Monday morning.
He told ITV News: “The little girl was brought Monday morning, around eight o'clock, and luckily she didn't have any scratches at all. No problems, no injuries.
"The mother who was accompanying the little girl had injuries to her shoulder, her back, something to her foot, her finger. Small injuries. Some were stitched up, others were just treated.
"We did all the tests, blood tests, ultrasounds, a control CT scan because there was a bruise on the chest.”
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He said that the child’s father, James, was then transferred to the paediatric unit in Palermo so that the family could recover together.
“They cried a lot, especially because the father was in another hospital in our city. Then we put them in communication, and then with a cell phone that we lent to the mother in video call," Dr Cipolla explained.
"We had him come here to this hospital, we gathered the whole family in one room, more comfortable to be able to manage them together and support them together. The psychologist was always next to them, because they were above all very upset about what had happened.
“We brought them pizzas and croissants, we tried to make them stay in a familiar environment. They were crying talking about the people they’d lost. We supported and comforted them for those two days that they were with us.”
He described the moment Charlotte Golunski explained to him what had happened: “The mother reported that when everything happened in a couple of minutes she found herself in the water and for a moment she lost the little girl.
"Then he recovered her for only two seconds and held her up until she reached the lifeboat. And then, let's say helped by the others, she climbed onto the lifeboat.
"For a few seconds the little girl was about to be abandoned in the sea, so it was truly a miracle.”
He added that the family thanked them as they left the hospital on Tuesday afternoon and they are now recovering together in a local hotel as they await more information about the six people missing from the vessel.
“They certainly suffered a lot and suffer for the loss of the other travel companions,“ he said.
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