Robots and drones deployed to find Roccella’s husband in Lake Vico
Carabinieri, firefighters and 118 emergency services personnel attended the scene. Diving teams from the Carabinieri and the fire service are on their way.
Key points
Ever since he dived into Lake Vico on Saturday afternoon and disappeared beneath the water, the search has continued non-stop. Teams of expert divers have been deployed and the most advanced technology has been used in the effort to locate Luigi Cavallari, the husband of the Minister for Family Affairs, Eugenia Roccella.
But there is currently no sign of him. Meanwhile, various comments from trolls are appearing on social media regarding the massive rescue operation that has been launched. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni describes these comments on X as “despicable and inhumane”: “There is a line that should never be crossed, and that is the line of respect due to human suffering,” she says, adding that all this “is also the result of a toxic atmosphere that some have fuelled for far too long”.
Earlier in the morning, the fire brigade searched the stretch of water without success and, given the extremely poor visibility even at a depth of 4 metres, search equipment such as remote-controlled ROVs was deployed; using cameras and sonar systems, these combed the area inch by inch. A team of firefighters is also on its way from Milan with a special underwater drone capable of conducting even more thorough searches.
Later that afternoon, a simulation was also carried out using a tender to recreate the movement of the boat as it was swept away by the current and to pinpoint the exact spot where the 84-year-old man dived in and did not resurface. “This is a particularly complex search given the conditions: visibility is very poor even at the water’s surface, so the deeper you go, the more it decreases, until it is virtually zero,” explained the deputy prefect of Viterbo,
Andrea Nino Caputo, who was present during the operation. “We are doing everything we can,” he assured, “in a complicated situation and in the face of a very sad incident.”
