Aged 20 to 25, two girls and a boy were swept away in an exceptionally rapid flood on Friday May 31, in the small village of Premariacco, in the north-east of Italy. The search continued this Sunday to find them.
The images are heartbreaking. Three young people, clinging to each other in a raging river, try not to sink. After torrential rains passed through Italy, floods occurred in the village of Premariacco, in the Udine region, in the northeast of the country. While the young people, two girls and a boy aged 20 to 25, had come to see their parents for the weekend, they found themselves trapped by the waters of the Natisone on Friday May 31. According to testimonies, the three friends decided to stop on the bank of the river. But in a few minutes the pool they were overlooking filled with water and they did not have time to cross it, carried away by the current which had suddenly become impetuous.
Firefighters, dispatched to the scene to save them, tried to recover them with ropes thrown from a crane, but the victims were unable to catch them. Carried away by the current, they are still missing this Sunday. Rescuers are continuing the search with 40 specialist divers, drones, topographers, caving teams and a helicopter. Many Civil Protection volunteers have also been deployed along the river. The cell phone from which the young people called for help was found in a handbag, discovered by divers in a Natisone gorge, about a kilometer from where the victims were submerged.
“Infinite sadness”
“Since the first light of dawn, rescuers have been crisscrossing the Premariacco gorges. These are decisive hours”, underlined Saturday the mayor of the village, Michele De Sabata. Annoyed by the theories according to which the victims were unconscious, the elected official wishes to recall the facts: “The young people approached the shore dry and with the sun. A few minutes later, they were surprised and surrounded by water. If they knew the river, they could have escaped. Unfortunately, not knowing the location, they lost the few seconds during which the water gained speed.he explained, sharing his “infinite sadness” on Facebook.
In fact, the flood was exceptionally rapid. While the waters seemed calm when the three young people arrived nearby, the flow of the river increased from 20 m³/second at 11:30 a.m. to 135 m³ at 1 p.m., according to the Italian daily La Stampa. At 3 p.m., it reached 250 m³.
This Sunday, the weather conditions and the water level allow divers to continue the search in better conditions, “although the currents are still dangerous, even for the most experienced divers”specifies Michele De Sabata.
A yellow alert was issued across the region due to heavy rain and the risk of flooding, while damage was seen in other areas of Friuli Venezia Giulia and Veneto. The President of the Chamber of Deputies, Lorenzo Font, sent his thoughts to the missing young people and their families.
