Baby miraculously survives after being swept out of her mom's arms during a storm at sea

A mother's love for her child has few parallels in the world and it has the power to pull off miracles. There have been several instances when parents surpass all boundaries to ensure the well-being of their children, and that's what Charlotte Golunski from London did, when she was vacationing off the coast of Sicily. According to PEOPLE, Golunski was on board a luxury superyacht that capsized during a violent storm, but the brave mother was able to save her young daughter from getting swept away into the depths of the sea.

When Golunski and her partner boarded the yacht, Bayesian, they did not expect the weather to turn rough. After the yacht was hit by high waves, Golunski lost her grip on her 1-year-old daughter, Sophie, who was almost swept into the water. The news outlet revealed how another wave washed Sophie back "like a miracle" and Golunski was able to catch hold of her once again. In an interview to an Italian newspaper La Repubblica, the mother revealed that she "lost her daughter for about two seconds due to the intensity of the sea" but was fortunately able to retrieve her.

"I held her afloat with all my strength, my arms stretched upwards to keep her from drowning,” Golunski told the newspaper. "It was all dark. In the water, I couldn't keep my eyes open. I screamed for help but all I could hear around me was the screams of others." The Italian coast guard gave a statement to PEOPLE and revealed that the 56-meter yacht sank near Porticello at 5 a.m. on August 19, 2024, after a storm hit the region.

According to the Associated Press, Golunski and her child were safely rescued in a lifeboat and Salvo Cocina, an official with Sicily's civil protection agency told Sky News that the baby's father, James Emsley, also survived the incident. Golunski and Sophie were admitted to a hospital in Palermo, as reported by The Guardian. “The baby is doing well. The mother is also in good condition, albeit with some minor abrasions. The father will also be discharged from the hospital soon," Domenico Cipolla, a doctor at the hospital, told the outlet.

Even though Golunski was able to save her baby, many other passengers on board were not fortunate enough to escape the wrath of nature. BBC News reported that Golunski's colleague Mike Lynch, a British tech entrepreneur, his 18-year-old daughter Hannah, and many others were missing after the yacht sank. However, Lynch's wife Angela Bacares was one of the 15 people who were rescued.

Reuters revealed that a "man's body was found after the sinking and it was later identified as the yacht’s chef." "That boat was all lit up," a man in Porticello, who witnessed the yacht's disaster, told a local newspaper, Giornale di Sicilia. "At about 4:30 in the morning it was gone. A beautiful boat where there had been a party. A normal day of vacation spent happily at sea turned into a tragedy.” But at the end of the day, a mother's selfless actions resulted in getting her baby back to safety.