Gemma Collins says she and her teenage nephew are “lucky to be alive” after getting caught up in the terrifying storm that hit Sicily on Monday.
UK tech tycoon Mike Lynch - who is worth an estimated £852m and has been referred to as the “Bill Gates of Britain” - is still missing along with his 18-year-old daughter Hannah after his luxury superyacht capsized near Porticello in the early hours of August 19.
Six people, understood to be four Britons and two Americans, remain unaccounted for while 15 passengers were rescued by a nearby ship including a British mother and her one-year-old daughter. One body has been recovered.
Officials say the luxury vessel, the Bayesian, was hit by a freak “tornado” before sinking 160ft to the bottom of the sea bed.
Former The Only Way Is Essex star Collins, 43, has now shared how she had been left “shaken” after she and 15-year-old Hayden - who had been onboard another luxury ship - were left stranded at sea for four hours.
Taking to Instagram afterwards, Collins posted an image of her posing on a yacht in the Mediterranean and reassured her 2.2m followers that they were okay.
She wrote: “Holiday update. My heartfelt condolences to the people and families involved in the tragic disaster at sea in Sicily.”
“I was very lucky me and my nephew to have survived the storm at sea. I am shaken and returning to the UK tomorrow, god was on our side today. We was stuck for 4 hours can you imagine what was going through my mind. Thank you @bluediamondcruise for getting us back safely.”
The Essex-native also also shared a video from the boat, in which she and the crew were shown departing the port in sunny weather, with the caption “it started amazing.”
Another clip showed them back at dock celebrating their survival in the pouring rain, and ended with a photo of Collins, her relative and the crew, embracing while wrapped in blankets.
“We made it back but very shaken,” Gemma wrote across the image.
