Two Italian intelligence agents and one retired Israeli agent were among the four dead when a sudden storm sank a houseboat hired for a pleasure cruise this weekend on a northern Italian lake, authorities said on Tuesday.
The Israeli Foreign Ministry confirmed the death of one Israeli citizen, saying he was a retiree from the Israeli security forces. It did not provide a name or age or give details on what he had done professionally.
A government official overseeing Italy’s secret services, Alfredo Mantovano, has expressed condolences for the deaths of two agents, a man and a woman, who were on board.
The fourth victim was identified as a Russian woman who was part of the two-person crew.
Police on Tuesday said they had no further information of the identities or professions of the 19 other people on board when the boat capsized on Sunday near the town of Lisanza, on the southern end of Lago Maggiore in Lombardy that extends north into Switzerland.
Some survivors managed to swim to shore, while others were picked up by other boats.
Media reports said the boat had travelled to the lake’s islands and stopped for lunch in the Piedmont region.
