VIDEO | Yacht capsizes during maiden voyage off Turkey

A new luxury yacht capsized and sank just minutes after it was launched into the water for its scheduled maiden voyage off Turkey's northern coast on Tuesday, September 2.

Video of the mishap shows that the yacht, identified as the 26-metre Dolce Vento, had just been launched stern-first when it began to list heavily to port while some 200 metres off the city of Zonguldak in Eregli District.

The yacht ended up on its side shortly afterwards. The four people who were on board, including the owner and the captain, were then forced to jump into the water.

All four of the yacht's occupants were able to swim safely to shore. No injuries have been reported.

Local authorities have since established a perimeter around the vessel, which settled to a depth of approximately seven metres. Divers have also been deployed to the area to inspect the hull.

An investigation has been launched to determine whether the capsizing was the result of design flaws or stability issues.

Dolce Vento was built at the Zonguldak facilities of shipbuilder Med Yilmaz. According to The New York Post, the yacht had cost around US$940,000.