Sunken ship, secret agents and more questions

Everyone probably knows someone who finds a way to celebrate their birthday with their circle of friends every year. They’re not satisfied with a simple cake or an ordinary pub crawl, so they throw a multi-day birthday party, invite an army of guests that would put a wedding to shame, or rent an extraordinary venue.

Well, such a person can celebrate his birthday on an island in Italy, Lake Maggiore. However, the party took a tragic end after the boat carrying the guests capsized in a storm, leaving four dead and several hospitalized. This was the first news published a few days ago.

But since then And that changedOn the ship were employees of secret services of various countries.

Three of the dead are believed to be intelligence agents, and several of the guests are said to be agents. One can only guess what kind of birthday it is, half of the world has secret services.

Overloaded ship + bad weather = tragedy

Lake Maggiore is on the southern side of the Alps, shared by Italy and Switzerland, and is a favorite among tourists. This is where 53-year-old Claudio Carminati and his Russian-born wife earn their living by taking visitors here.

Carminati Named Kothuria His ship reportedly took the celebratory party ashore from the port of Sesto Calende on Sunday night as part of a birthday excursion. Although the Couture can officially hold only 15 people, there were about 20 guests on board in addition to the crew. According to Italian authorities, the vessel, which is about 16 meters long, was overloaded and the weather worsened it.

A sudden wind storm put an end to the pleasant journey.

Bad weather has been in the area recently, and the Italian Meteorological Agency has issued a thunderstorm warning. The storm that hit Lombardy on Sunday was so strong that it also caused severe delays at the region’s airport. The boat overturned between the towns of Sesto Calende and Arona after locals reported a small tornado on the lake.

The BBC Everyone was able to jump into the water, but According to Italian documents Many people were trapped in the ship. Many guests managed to swim ashore or were picked up by neighboring boats. But the rescue team rescued 19 people from the water. The To La Stampa According to local sailors who need to be resuscitated. The shipwreck is now 15 meters below the surface of the water.

Who were on board?

The passengers on board were mainly Israeli and Italian nationals According to Sky Italia Britons can also travel by ship. Although the authorities have not confirmed this, the British Foreign Office has indicated that it is in contact with the Italian authorities and is ready to provide assistance.

The following is known about the four deaths: one of them is the 50-year-old Russian wife of the ship’s owner, Anja Boskova, and Deputy Among the dead were 53-year-old Italian intelligence agents Tizziana Barnobi and 62-year-old Claudio Alonzi, and 60-year-old Simoni Erez, a retired Israeli intelligence member.

“Even after retirement, the Mossad has lost a dear, dedicated and professional friend who devoted his life to Israel’s security for decades” – A notification from the office saidIt also mentioned that their job title cannot be mentioned due to its confidential nature.

According to media reports, at least two dozen guests, including Israeli officials and guests, were taken to various hospitals after the ship sank – He told the deputy An Israeli official spoke on condition of anonymity. He spoke of the fact that nearly ten current or former Israeli intelligence officers were flown to Israeli hospitals by two private planes.

According to flight tracking sites, a flight took off from Tel Aviv on Monday morning, arrived at Milan Airport and soon returned to Ben-Gurion Airport. By repatriation, according to reports They didn’t even expect it, Israeli participants of the party return the rental cars they used during the trip. Israel’s foreign ministry said it was working with diplomats to bring Erez’s body home.

At least five Italian nationals on the boat were taken to local hospitals before being transferred to other facilities by government officials, who did not release their names to protect their identities. Based on this, it is not excluded that they could be agents of Italian intelligence or some kind of officials.

Of the twenty guests, the nationality of two has yet to be revealed, or information indicating their occupation.

A friendly meeting next to the military training center

Unsurprisingly, due to the unusual composition of guests at the birthday party, speculation began as to whether the attraction was really personal. According to the Italian press, the present agents met several times during their work, so they became friends, and for this reason they celebrated their birthdays together on board.

“It was a normal social event where business and personal life were mixed. What happened is tragic for Italy and Israel,” he said Deputy Its source.

However, the daily Corriere della Sera reported that the meeting may have been a working meeting for intelligence officers, and other Italian documents suggested that the agents on board were not just celebrating.

The La Stampa It is also known that 19 of those on board were Israeli and Italian agents still in service or retired. “It was an opportunity to exchange information between the agents of the two countries,” the Italian newspaper said.

And, Vice Mayor Sesto Callende said, so did Boskova, who died in the accident. Linked to the Russian Secret Service – Although this has not been confirmed by any official body, it could be a rumour. However, the speculation about Bozskova clearly shows how easy it is to launch in the direction of conspiracy theories based on the information that has come to light so far.

Another interesting coincidence is that the day before the tragedy, Celebrated on 27 May 100th Anniversary of the Leonardo Training Academy in Sesto Calende. According to officials investigating the case, the company may have come to Italy for the occasion — not to mention, the anniversary of the Academy could also be the cause of the birthday.

Because of what happened, criminal proceedings were initiated against the ship’s captain, thanks to which some additional information has already come out. Some of the victims say, according to police officers at the scene They said, that is “members of the Israeli government”. But during the investigation, Secret Service agents may choose not to say anything about why they were on board. For now, investigators are only interested in determining whether Kothuria traveled under safe conditions and whether the captain could have avoided the disaster – authorities are still not interested in why the dead intelligence officers and others were there.