Italy: Two intelligence agents and an Israeli were killed in a shipwreck on Lake Maggiore

Four people, including two Italian intelligence agents and an Israeli citizen, were killed when a tourist boat capsized in strong winds on Lake Maggiore in northern Italy.

The 16-metre-long boat capsized on the banks of Lisanza at the southern end of the lake on Sunday evening as the weather suddenly turned stormy.

“The bodies of four people have been recovered,” fire department spokesman Luca Cari told AFP.

Two of the victims are Italians with ties to the country’s intelligence.

“During the evening of May 28, after a sea accident caused by a violent tornado, Mr. Claudio Alonzi, 62 years old (…) and Mrs. Tiziana Barnobi, 53 years old, lost two of their people, who , were in the area to attend a pleasant meeting organized on the occasion of the birthday of one of the participants,” said an official press release from the Italian security services.

Israel’s Foreign Ministry says one of the dead is an Israeli national in his ’50s and local online news site Varese News says the fourth victim is a Russian national.

The president of the Lombardy region, Attilio Fontana, condemned the “very serious incident” caused by the “tornado” on Sunday evening.

Italian media reported that about 20 surviving passengers were pulled out of the water by other boats or were able to swim.

According to this press information, the boat was carrying both Italian and foreign tourists and was taking one of the victims with it.

Video filmed by firefighters showed a search helicopter hovering over thick water as chairs and other debris floated around.

Lake Maggiore, located in the Southern Alps, is the second largest lake in Italy and a popular tourist destination.