An elderly Englishman, who is the owner of a yacht which was torn off its moorings, has been found dead in the sea after Malta was battered by gale force winds on Thursday.
Police said in a statement that they were informed at around 7pm on Thursday that a yacht had been torn off its moorings and was hitting the Marsaxlokk breakwater as a result of the heavy waves in the area owing to Force 8 winds which battered the island.
Preliminary investigations resulted that an elderly Englishman, aged in his 70s, normally resides on the yacht, and was most probably on the same yacht at the time of the accident. An update published by Police at around 4:15pm confirmed that the victim was the resident of the yacht: the Englishman who was 77-years-old.
The Armed Forces of Malta and the Civil Protection Department were called on site to assist in searches, and on Friday morning at around 6am, the man's body was found floating near Delimara.
Duty Magistrate Leonard Caruana is leading a magisterial inquiry while police investigations are also ongoing.
Photo: Lovin Malta