4 dead after Italian tourist boat capsizes following violent storm on Lake Maggiore
Authorities said 19 people managed to swim to the shore following a sudden storm with strong winds, which sank the boat.
4 dead after Italian tourist boat capsizes following sudden whirlwind
Firefighters were called to Lake Maggiore in Sesto Calende, Italy, on Sunday after a tourist boat overturned and sunk. The bodies of four people were recovered during the night.
VARESE, Italy – Four people were killed Sunday after the tourist boat they were traveling in capsized and sank in the second-largest lake in Italy.
Vigili del Fuoco, Italy’s national firefighters, said they recovered the fourth victim's body about 8 a.m. local time Monday from Lake Maggiore near Sesto Calende, in the province of Varese in northern Italy.
Divers and a helicopter were used in the search and rescue operation. Now that those operations are complete, recovery of the 52.5-foot long vessel begins, firefighters said.
DEADLY FLOODING IN ITALY SWALLOWS STREETS, FIELDS AND HOMES
Vigili del Fuoco, Italy’s national firefighters, said they recovered the fourth victim's body about 8 a.m. local time Monday from Lake Maggiore near Sesto Calende, in the province of Varese in northern Italy.
(Vigili del Fuoco)
Authorities said 19 people managed to swim to the shore following a sudden storm with strong winds, which sank the boat.
Among those dead were two Italians who worked for the intelligence service, according to Reuters. They have been identified as Claudio Alonzi, 62, and Tiziana Barnobi, 53.
Alfredo Mantovano, the senior government official tasked with overseeing Italy's secret services, expressed his sympathy to families of the victims, the news agency reports.
A pensioner who was formerly a member of the Israeli security forces and the Russian wife of the boat captain also died in the accident, Israel's foreign ministry and local media told Reuters.
DRONE VIDEO CAPTURES DEVASTATING SCALE OF DAMAGE ACROSS NORTHERN ITALY FROM DEADLY FLOODING
Authorities said 19 people managed to swim to the shore following a sudden storm with strong winds, which sank the boat.
(Vigili del Fuoco)
The deadly weather event follows a series of recent disasters like flash flooding and landslides in the country.
Floodwaters have been slow to retreat in northern Italy after two rounds of heavy rains this month resulted in the deaths of more than a dozen people. Heavy rain pounded the region in the first days of May. The 11.6 inches of rain fell on drought-ravaged soil.