Yacht where Princess Diana spent last vacation sunk in French Riviera

Seven people were rescued uninjured after the celebrity-favorite yacht previously owned by Princess Diana’s boyfriend, Dodi Al-Fayed, and occupied by the couple shortly before their August 1997 deaths sunk this weekend in the French Riviera.

Cujo, which now rests about 2500 meters beneath the surface, sunk about 18 nautical miles off the coast Saturday due to “a significant water leak,” an officer told The Independent.

The leak followed the vessel’s collision that day with an unidentified object off Beaulieu-sur-Mer, The Independent reports.

“The skipper of the Cujo issued a Mayday,” said the officer, noting the leak was found after those aboard, including the ship’s owner, were rescued and deemed safe.

The leak was found “at the level of the starboard front hull,” said the officer. “Her owner had activated the pumps and kept the engines running, but this didn’t stop the boat sinking.”

Built in 1972, Al-Fayed took ownership of the vessel after it was sold to his cousin, arms dealer Adnan Khashoggi, according to the outlet. Though restored prior to the sinking, the ship was in storage for years following its 1999 decommission, and could often be found off Saint-Tropez, The Independent reports.

In 1997, the yacht was a media fixture thanks to its proximity to the people’s princess — who could also be found that summer on the Sokar yacht owned at the time by Al-Fayed’s father, Mohamed Al-Fayed. Diana and Dodi Al-Fayed died in a late August collision in Paris.