More is known about the identities of the four people who died in the capsizing of a tourist boat on Lake Maggiore in northern Italy. Two of the victims are Italians from the country's intelligence, while a third is an Israeli citizen. The fourth person would be Russian.
"During the evening of 28 May, following a nautical accident caused by a violent downspout, Mr. Claudio Alonzi, 62 years old (...) and Ms. Tiziana Barnobi, 53, lost their lives. These two people, belonging to the intelligence, were in the region to participate in a friendly meeting organized on the occasion of the birthday of one of the participants, "says the Italian security services.
According to the Israeli Foreign Ministry, one of the dead is an Israeli citizen in his "fifties" and, according to local online news site Varese News, the fourth victim is a Russian citizen.
About twenty survivors
The 16-meter-long boat overturned Sunday night off Lisanza, at the southern end of the lake, as the weather suddenly turned stormy. The president of the Lombardy region, Attilio Fontana, had deplored Sunday evening a "very serious incident" caused by a "whirlwind".
The boat was carrying both Italian and foreign tourists and sank quickly, taking one of the victims with it, according to press reports. About two dozen surviving passengers were pulled out of the water by other boats or were able to swim to shore, Italian media reported.
Video filmed by firefighters showed a search helicopter flying over rough waters where chairs and other debris floated.
