United Kingdom, Poskini.com — A British mother who cradled her baby daughter in the waves when the cruise ship sank near Sicily was sleeping on deck when the storm hit, an Italian doctor said.
Charlotte Golanski was among 22 passengers aboard the Bayesian when the tornado struck Monday morning. One person died and six people are still missing.
Golunski, 35, survived along with 14 other people and told Italian newspaper La Repubblica that he and his daughter Sofia were 'holding our daughter together with all their strength'
In a conversation with Sky News correspondent Ashna Hurinag, head of pediatric care at the Di Cristina Palermo Children's Hospital, Golunski said he was not with his partner when the storm hit.
"she was sleeping with her child on the deck while her husband was on the other side of the ship and felt the vibration of the ship,'' said Dr. Domenico Cipolla.
"It got dark quickly and within minutes he was in the water. The man said he tried to hold the child but couldn't reach him for three seconds.
"Then he managed to catch it in the water,".
Mr Golanski was rescued with only a few bruises, but is still missing, along with his partner and the child's father.
"I feel very sad" for those who are still missing, said James Emsley
Emsley was treated at another hospital, and when they were reunited, they `hugged and comforted' each other, but `wept' those left behind.
"The little girl was crying, very confused and looking around,"
"The mother is very sad and worried, especially her husband who is in another hospital," Dr. Cipolla added, adding that the baby was not injured.
"He wanted to know if everything was OK and asked about the missing people, because no one knew what happened to them," he said
"She was crying. She was very upset and kept asking us about her husband and other people," he said as quoted by Sky News.
The cramped conditions of the cruise ship meant that the divers had no time to swim as the search entered a 'critical' 24 hour period of only 10 minutes per session.
The situation became more complicated when the ship's cook, Canadian Antiguan Recardo Tomas, was pronounced dead.
