Door left open thought to be cause of sinking of luxury £16m superyacht off Greek island

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Andrew Feinberg

White House Correspondent

Footage has emerged of the moment a £16 million luxury Italian superyacht sunk off the coast of a Greek island.

The 47-metre yacht was spotted lurching to one side when sailing near Paliokaravo Bay, Kefalonia, which is west of the Greek mainland.

Five tourists and five crew members were successfully evacuated from the vessel as it ran aground in Evretis Bay where it then anchored, according to local outlet Gazetta.

One of the crew members reportedly left a side door open allowing an influx of water when the weather in the area “turned”, Greek website Protothema reported.

The crew did not notice the open door until it was too late and the vessel, called Ethos, had started sinking.

Safety systems were activated effectively and the crew of Ethos - which was flying the flag of Malta - disembarked without any injury.

A private boat at the scene helped to tug the yacht as two harbour guards oversaw the operation, with a professional diver expected to inspect the underside of the boat.

Earlier this year the boat underwent renovation after being purchased for $16 million by its new owner, who received the yacht in September last year.

Ethos was built in 2014 by Admiral and can host up to 12 guests and nine crew members onboard its steel and aluminium structure.

Renters can enjoy stays with a gym, jacuzzi, steam room and jetskis onboard the yacht - but will have to fork out a huge £180,000 to do so for a week.

The upper deck boasts a master suite, a vast dining area, Turkish bath and a Sauter piano - but the luxury vessel will be out of action for the foreseeable future as work gets underway to pump the water out of the boat.

It comes just days after a yacht turned on its side entirely off Chesapeake Bay in the US state of Maryland, with five people on board as the 122-foot boat turned on its side.

The yacht sunk in just five minutes with passengers having to be rescued from the water after they abandoned ship on Saturday. No casualties were reported.