Moment unlucky tourists sink their rental boat in front of huge crowd

A group of hapless holidaymakers accidentally sank their hired boat, providing a spectacle for onlookers.

Paola Lavanzini, 29, was enjoying a trip to Menorca, Spain, in July with four mates when they noticed a boat starting to sink. The small vessel, rented by a group of tourists on the island, began to list in the water in the town of Cala en Forcat.

Over the next half an hour, it continued to take on water and sink until it disappeared beneath the waves. The sinking comes following reports that Queen Camilla takes holidays on a Tory donor's luxury £30million superyacht.

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While no one was hurt in the calamitous scene, it drew a crowd of spectators from the beach and the hotel opposite. Paola, a marketing and events specialist from Zurich, Switzerland, said: "We were watching moment by moment. From the moment it started sinking to when it went down - that took about 30 minutes.

"I don't know if it was someone from a nearby hotel or the beach that rented it. After it sank, people came with a bigger boat to attach to the small boat and pull it back out. We were impressed by how many people crowded to watch.

"People were even putting on snorkelling masks to go down and look at the sunken boat. They did manage to pull it out in the end."

While being on a sinking boat is quite a clear one, there are plenty of other ways in which a holiday can go wrong.

Recently two elderly woman slammed holiday giant Jet2 after a shocking airport mix-up saw them put on the wrong plane — and only realised it mid-air when the captain said they were landing in the wrong place.

Linda Trestrail, 69, and Wendy Russell, 71, thought they were flying off to sunny Majorca for a relaxing break. But after five separate ticket checks — including one onboard — the pair were stunned when the pilot announced they’d be touching down in Menorca instead.

The pensioners, who both suffer from mobility issues and had booked special assistance, branded it a “catalogue of disasters” and accused Jet2 of treating them worse than luggage.

Linda fumed: “You get compensation if your bags go missing — but they lost us, not the bl**dy baggage!”

The pals, who both use wheelchairs, were given help through security at Bristol Airport, shown to the gate, and even directed into their seats by cabin crew before the horror realisation mid-flight.

“I burst into tears,” said Linda. “I turned to Wendy and said, ‘He said Menorca — not Majorca!’ The flight attendant laughed when I told her. That’s when the chaos started.”