Search continues for young man swept away by flash flood in Italy
Divers, drones, and helicopters were searching on Monday for a young man who was swept away by flash flooding in a river in northern Italy, a day after the bodies of his two female companions were found.
The three friends became trapped on a gravel bar in the middle of the Natisone River in the north eastern region of Friuli Venezia Giulia when the river level suddenly began to rise.
Video footage showed them clutching each other as they desperately tried to withstand the force of the water. Minutes later they were swept away.
The bodies of Patrizia Cormos, 20, and her friend Bianca Doros, 23, were found on Sunday at locations between 700 metres and one kilometre downstream of where they disappeared.
Rescuers are searching for Cristian Molnar, 25, the boyfriend of Ms Doros.
The three friends had decided to take a walk along the banks of the Natisone River last Friday.
They ventured out onto a tiny gravel island but the level of the river suddenly began to rise as a result of torrential rain.
The mayor of the local town suggested that they could have saved themselves had they waded back to the riverbank immediately rather than staying put and trying to withstand the floodwaters.
“They had the chance to escape and save themselves,” said Michele De Sabata, the mayor of the town of Premariacco.
He said he knew the river well – as a child, he would play there but whenever the normally clear water started to turn muddy, locals would immediately get out of the water, knowing that floodwater from the mountains was on its way.
“The water had surrounded them, but it was still low. Maybe they decided not to move so as not to get their clothes and shoes wet. Unfortunately, the river was then flowing at tremendous speed. There was a fire service rescuer just seven metres away from them, but he was unable to do anything,” Mr De Sabata told Corriere della Sera newspaper.
Rescuers saw the three young people swept away in front of their eyes. A rescue helicopter was on its way but arrived just a minute too late.
“Sadly, the helicopter arrived a minute after the kids disappeared,” the mayor said.
Video from the scene showed the trio hugging each other as flood waters swirled around them.
“We threw them a rope, but they were literally swallowed up by the flood waters in front of our eyes. We watched them disappear,” said Giorgio Basile, a fire service chief in the nearby city of Udine.
