Carabinieri and fire brigade officers take part in the search and rescue operation in Lake Maggiore after a tourist boat capsized near Lisanza on Sunday evening. EPA
Carabinieri and fire brigade officers take part in the search and rescue operation in Lake Maggiore after a tourist boat capsized near Lisanza on Sunday evening. EPA
Carabinieri and fire brigade officers take part in the search and rescue operation in Lake Maggiore after a tourist boat capsized near Lisanza on Sunday evening. EPA
Carabinieri and fire brigade officers take part in the search and rescue operation in Lake Maggiore after a tourist boat capsized near Lisanza on Sunday evening. EPA

Lake Maggiore: Four dead and one missing after tourist boat capsizes in Italy


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Two Italian intelligence agents and a former member of the Israeli security forces died when a boat carrying tourists overturned in strong winds on Lake Maggiore in northern Italy.

A Russian woman was also reportedly killed when the boat, carrying more than 20 passengers, capsized on Sunday evening near Lisanza, at the southern end of the lake in northern Italy, after the weather suddenly turned stormy.

One person is still missing, officials said on Monday.

“The bodies of four people have been recovered,” fire brigade spokesman Luca Cari said.

The victims included a middle-aged Israeli man, a Russian woman and an Italian man and woman.

A rescue operation involving divers, boats and a helicopter is continuing.

News agency Ansa reported that the 16-metre boat overturned after a sudden whirlwind developed into a “small hurricane”.

Attilio Fontana, president of the Lombardy region, said that the “very serious incident” was due to bad weather.

Around 20 survivors were rescued by passing boats or swam to shore.

The passengers on the vessel included British, Italian and Israeli citizens who were reportedly on the boat for a birthday celebration.

Footage shared by local firefighters showed pieces of debris floating in the lake as a helicopter flew overhead.

The wreck was found by divers at a depth of 16 metres.

Divers during a search and rescue operation in Lake Maggiore. EPA
Divers during a search and rescue operation in Lake Maggiore. EPA

The whirlwind was part of a storm system that hit the northern region of Lombardy on Sunday evening, causing delays at Malpensa airport.

Lake Maggiore, which is on the south side of the Alps, is the second-largest lake in Italy and a popular tourist destination.

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Some of Darwish's last words

"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008

His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.

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4.30pm Jebel Jais – Maiden (PA) Dh60,000 (Turf) 1,000m; Winner: MM Al Balqaa, Bernardo Pinheiro (jockey), Qaiss Aboud (trainer)

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Updated: May 30, 2023, 4:22 AM`