Firefighters are searching for missing people on the 29th, local time in Italy. (Photo source: Reuters)
It has been confirmed that former and current secret agents in Italy and Israel were among those who were killed in a ship accident that took place in Italy last week.
Four people were killed when a tourist boat capsized on Lake Maggiore in north-west Italy at around 7:20pm local time on the 28th. At the time of the accident, strong winds of 36m per second were known to be blowing in Lake Maggiore as severe weather continued, as a storm warning was issued. The boat involved in the accident was 16 meters long, and it was investigated that 23 people, which exceeded the boarding capacity of 15, were on board at the time of the accident. The boat capsized and all the passengers fell into the water, and 19 people were rescued and 4 people died.
According to the local Italian news agency ANSA, as a result of confirming the identity of the deceased, two out of four were current intelligence agents in Italy and one was a former agent of the Israeli intelligence agency Mossad. Another victim was the captain’s Russian wife. Apart from the captain and his wife, there were 13 Israelis and 8 Italians on board the boat, who the local media reported were mostly secret agents belonging to the Italian and Israeli intelligence agencies.
Foreign media said, “We cannot rule out the possibility that this incident is connected to the Mossad mission in Lombardy.” It has been investigated that the secret agents’ boat meeting was not pre-planned, but it is known that the secret agents of the two countries originally planned to part ways after meeting in Lombardy, northern Italy the day before, exchanging information and documents . However, as the Israeli agents missed their return flight, the waiting period was extended, and a surprise trip was promoted in Lake Maggiore. At the time of the accident, they were found to be having a party on board the ship for a party celebrating their birthday.
The Italian authorities are investigating the details of the accident.
