Two hikers died on Sunday when hit by an avalanche in the Formazza valley, in the Piedmont province of Verbano-Cusio-Ossola. The avalanche broke off around 11.45am in the Toggia lake area, at around 2,200 meters above sea level and near the border with Switzerland. He knocked over Vanessa Gatti, 30 years old, from Saronno, and Roberto Biancon, 53 years old, from Legnano, who were hiking with snowshoes.
Around midday the guardians of the dam of Lake Toggia raised the alarm, after having witnessed the mass of snow detachment: the rescue was complicated by the strong wind and by the fact that the two hikers did not have theirARTVA device, which allows people to be identified by avalanches. Thanks to the intervention of a specialized dog unit, after about an hour of searching, the woman’s body was found in the lake and shortly after that of the man under a snowdrift.