Yacht crew thrown overboard, yacht stolen

12:33 AM Sun 21 Jun 2009 GMT

'Posillipo in the Bay of Naples - unlikely scene for a hijacking' .

The chic Posilippo district in the Bay of Naples was the unlikely scene of a 'pirate' attack this week. An armed gang stole a yacht in the Bay of Naples Thursday night after ramming the vessel and throwing its occupants overboard, police said.

It was the first such act of piracy on record, they said.

Local businessman Antonio Fortunato leased the 13-metre (38-ft) pleasure boat and went on a cruise off the coast of Posilippo with a companion.

The pair were enjoying the balmy evening when they were rammed by three men in a dinghy.

Two of the 'pirates' robbed Fortunato and his companion and pushed them into the sea before heading off while their accomplice roared off in the dinghy, police said.

The Naples Port Police led by Admiral Domenico Picone is now combing the coasts of Campania, Lazio and Calabria for the stolen yacht.

The pair were rescued by members of a local rowing club. 'They'd been in the water for about an hour,' said Guglielmo Cannone of the Posillipo rowing club.

'When we found them they were still in shock,' he told ANSA.

'As a man of the sea, I can safely say that I've never seen anything like it in these parts'.

by ANSA