Italian tugboat sinks in the Adriatic Sea; 5 crew missing

MILAN (AP) — An Italian tugboat with six people aboard capsized and sank in the Adriatic Sea, leaving five crew members missing, Italian authorities said Thursday.

The Coast Guard and other authorities were searching for four Italians and one Tunisian sailor. Authorities said the search was complicated by high winds.

Just the captain survived, rescued from the sea by a Croatian boat that was in the area.

The tugboat, Franco P, alerted port authorities Wednesday night that it was sinking about 50 miles off the coast of the southern Italian city of Bari as it was pulling a pontoon from the Italian ports of Ancona to Dures.

The pontoon, with 11 people on board, remained adrift and was being rescued.

It was not immediately clear what caused the tugboat to capsize.