Tragedy due to bad weather in the evening on Lake Maggiore for a group of about twenty foreigners gathered for a birthday party. A boat, a house-boat, was surprised by a violent storm that then became a whirlwind that made it overturn and sink.
ANSA.it
A house-boat overturns on Lake Maggiore, four victims - Italy
Twenty people were rescued, none is serious (ANSA)
Four people died, twenty were rescued and no serious injuries. Relief efforts were slowed down by heavy rain and darkness. The drama occurred on the stretch of water between Sesto Calende (Varese) and Arona (Novara) at Lisanza (which is a town of Sesto Calende) around 19 pm.
The victims are two men and two women. They are a Russian citizen, an Israeli, an Italian and an Italian. Among them is the skipper's partner. This is confirmed by the Public Prosecutor's Office of Busto Arsizio. One of the bodies was found in the wreck of the boat, about fifteen meters deep.
The boat 'shook' and then capsized and went to the bottom. All the occupants ended up in the water, about twenty of whom were rescued by boats or arrived by swimming to shore. According to Areu, there were 24 passengers and crew on top of the boat. A helicopter rescue, 3 medical vehicles, 2 Areu maxi emergency coordination vehicles, 10 ambulances, the fire brigade, the Coast Guard and the carabinieri arrived on site as quickly as possible.
3 people in green code were transported to hospital in Angera (Varese) and 2 in yellow code in Gallarate (Varese) and Varese. Another 15 were rescued and assisted on the spot. The boat was 16 meters long, a private boat that provides accompanying services for tourists on the lake. There were a couple of crew members on board. The group was surprised by the violent bad weather that hit the Verbano. The passengers found themselves in the icy waters of Lake Maggiore: some were rescued by other boats, others managed to reach land by swimming.
