Italy mourns three young men who were swept away by the flowing waters of the Liberation River

The pictures are heartbreaking. Three young men, clinging to each other in a raging river, trying not to drown. After heavy rains fell in Italy, floods occurred in the village of Primariaco in the Udine region, northeast of the country. While the young people, two girls and a boy aged between 20 and 25, were coming to see their parents for the weekend, they found themselves trapped in the waters of the Natison River on Friday, May 31. According to testimonies, the three friends decided to stop on the river bank. But in a few minutes the pond over which they were overlooking was filled with water and they had no time to cross it, as they were carried away by the suddenly rapid current.

Firefighters, who were sent to the scene to rescue them, tried to extract them with ropes thrown from a crane, but the victims were unable to catch them. They were swept away by the current, and were still missing this Sunday. Rescuers are continuing the search with 40 specialized divers, drones, topographers, caving teams and a helicopter. Many civil protection volunteers were also deployed along the river. The cell phone on which the youths asked for help was found in a handbag, discovered by divers in Natison Sound, about a kilometer from where the victims drowned.

“Sadness is infinite”

“Since the first light, rescuers have been crossing the Primariako Strait. These are the crucial hours.”The mayor of the village, Michele de Sabata, confirmed on Saturday. Troubled by theories that the victims were unconscious, the elected official wants to state the facts: “The young men approached the shore dry and with the sun. After a few minutes, they were surprised and surrounded by the water. If they had known the river, they would have run away. Unfortunately, due to their lack of knowledge of the location, they missed the few seconds during which the water's speed increased.He explained as he shared it “Sadness is infinite” in Facebook.

In fact, the flood was exceptionally fast. While the water appeared calm when the three young men arrived nearby, the river's flow rose from 20 cubic meters per second at 11:30 a.m. to 135 cubic meters at 1 p.m., according to the Russia Today website. Italian newspaper La Stampa. At three o'clock in the afternoon, it reached 250 cubic meters.

Today, Sunday, weather conditions and water levels allow divers to continue searching in better conditions. “Although the currents are still dangerous, even for the most experienced divers.”Defines Michel 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. Speaker of the House of Representatives, Lorenzo Font, sent his condolences to the missing youth and their families.