Sesto Calende (Varese), 28 May 2023 – A sailboat overturned in the waters between Lisanza, near Sesto Calende, on the Lombard shore, e Little sleeperon the Piedmont side. Around 19.30 a boat that it had been chartered in the afternoon from a group of 25 people (23 tourists and two crew members) capsized due to a violent storm in the area. Recovery operations for people who ended up in the water are underway.
Twenty of them have already been rescued, but the toll at midnight is two dead and two missing, (as specified by the Areu), a man and a woman. Firefighters divers have located the wreck at a depth of sixteen meters, where it is assumed there may be other bodies, embedded in the wreck. The divers participate in the searches together with the “Drago 150” helicopter of the Fire Brigade. The alarm was raised by a boat that noticed the survivors in the water. Firefighters from Aquatic Rescue are on sitethe air rescuers of the Lombardy flight department and the divers unit of Milan. The searches continue despite the dark and will continue even in the night.
Fourteen of the survivors had swum to Piccaluga. Five of them were recovered by the fire brigade. of the passengers, 15 were examined and discharged without prognosis, 3 were hospitalised in hospital in Angera in green code, one in Gallarate and one in Varese, both in yellow code.
The people on board belonged to a group of foreign tourists who had rented the vehicle for a party. According to the first reconstructions, the boat would have capsized due to bad weather. To notice the castaways would have been the occupants of another vessel who raised the alarm. An air ambulance, 3 medical vehicles, 2 Areu maxi emergency coordination vehicles, 10 ambulances, vehicles from the Fire Brigade, Coast Guard and Carabinieri attended.
In the evening also spoke the president of the Lombardy Region, Attilio Fontana: “A whirlwind caused a very serious accident on Lake Maggiore: a 16-metre sailboat rented by tourists capsized. The firefighters of the Milan divers unit are at work on the spot together with the coast guard, the helicopter rescue service and the ambulances of Areu. Unfortunately there is news of some missing people. I am following with apprehension the updates of the rescue teams on the spot which I thank”.