The New York Times (NYT), an American daily newspaper, reported on the 1st that it became known that a large number of former and current secret agents of the Italian and Israeli intelligence agencies were on board a boat that recently capsized in lake in the Italian tourist destination, questions were elaborated about the purpose of the ‘spy meeting on board’ (local time).
When the news came that a tourist boat carrying 21 passengers and two crew capsized in a storm on Lake Maggiore, a scenic spot in northern Italy on the evening of the 28th of last month, and four people were killing, the event was simply regarded as one. disaster for tourists.
However, suspicions grew when it became known that 13 of the passengers were former and current agents of the Israeli intelligence agency Mossad and eight were Italian intelligence agents. Two of the four killed belonged to Italian intelligence, one was a former Mossad agent and the other was the wife of the boat’s captain.
The local media reported that the secret agents of the two countries exchanged information in northern Lombardy the day before the accident, and that the Israeli agents were on a tour of Lake Maggiore due to the delayed return schedule, and the accident occurred due to bad weather.
However, there is much speculation as to whether the purpose of their boats as a group in rough weather was actually tourism. It is noted that it may not be a coincidence that the boat captain spoke fluent Bulgarian and that the deceased woman was Russian.
The Italian daily Corriere della Sera suggested the possibility that intelligence agents from both countries were searching the lake area to investigate Russian oligarchs (new conglomerates) who had invested near the lake.
Recently, trends such as real estate investment by oligarchs have increased significantly.
The irrational attitude of the authorities of both countries, who try to deal quickly with the accident and hide related information as much as possible, also raises doubts.
Italian intelligence authorities confirmed that two of the dead were local agents, but refused to elaborate, except that agents from both countries had a meeting to celebrate the birthday of a party member.
The surviving passengers disappeared as if they were kidnapped from the lake in just a few hours, and no one had ID when they were investigated by the local police regarding the accident. According to Italian prosecutors who are investigating the accident, they said that the boat capsized and they lost all their belongings.
They were also trying to deceive themselves. Italian survivors said they belonged to the prime minister’s office, while Israeli survivors said they were part of a government delegation, prosecutors said.
In Israel, it was only on the 31st of last month, three days after the accident, that the deceased from Israel was a former Mossad agent.
In a statement issued the same day, the Mossad did not identify the deceased, but said it had “lost a friend, a dedicated and professional agent who served Israel’s security for decades even after retirement.” The funeral of the former Mossad agent was held in Ashqelon, Israel on the 31st.
According to a former high-ranking defense ministry official who asked not to be named, the dead ex-Mossad agent belonged to a section in charge of secret liaison with foreign intelligence agencies and continued to serve as a cover even on after retirement
Italian prosecutors say they are only investigating the circumstances of the accident which caused the boat to capsize and sink, not what the occupants were doing at the time.
Prosecutor Carlo Nocherino said, however, that should the boat be salvaged, the boat and all the items in it are open to confiscation.
Whatever the purpose of the accommodation, the secret agents of both countries did not seem to have anticipated the sudden change in weather.
On the day of the accident, the weather was sunny even during the day. A storm warning was issued in the afternoon, but there were no forecasts that the weather would deteriorate quickly, with wind gusts reaching 60 km/h.
The NYT said the strong underdraft would have blown stronger winds where the crashed boat was located.
