A chartered houseboat on Lake Maggiore near Italy sank Sunday, killing four of the 24 occupants. All 21 passengers were affiliated with Israeli or Italian intelligence and defense teams.
The passengers were on the boat, the Goduria, to celebrate a birthday. A violent storm and winds, along with a waterspout, capsized the vessel at around 7 p.m. local time.
Some of the revelers managed to swim ashore, while others were rescued by other boats. Among the survivors, five were hospitalized, none with serious injury. The four victims who drowned were Israeli national Erez Shimoni, Italians Tiziana Barnobi and Claudio Alonzi, and Russian national Anya Bozhkova, wife of the boat’s captain, who survived.
Shimoni was confirmed Wednesday to be a former Mossad agent, while Barnobi and Alonzi were working members of the Italian secret service.
The skipper, Claudio Carminati, is being investigated for his role in the accident; officials want to discern if the Goduria had too many people aboard. Mr. Carminati and Bozhkova lived on and helped crew the boat.
“I was hoping it wasn’t really them, but unfortunately that’s the case. They lived on board, it was their home,” an unnamed acquaintance of the couple who arrived at the scene told Italy’s ANSA news agency, as translated by Google.
Israel did not publicly mention Shimoni’s identity.
“The Mossad lost a dear friend, a devoted and professional member who dedicated his life to the security of the State of Israel for decades. Given his service with the agency, it is not possible to elaborate on his identity,” the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement.
• Brad Matthews can be reached at bmatthews@washingtontimes.com.
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