Prosecutors investigate hiker deaths in Italy gorge flood
MILAN — Italy’s environmental minister on Tuesday urged prosecutors to look at both possible criminal responsibility and administrative lapses that may have contributed to the deaths of 10 people swept away by a flash flood as they hiked through a narrow gorge in the southern region of Calabria.
Rescue workers saved 23 people Monday after a torrent some 2 1/2 meters (8 feet) deep filled the narrow Raganello Gorge, which features rock faces as high as 700 metres (2,300 feet,) inside the vast Pollino National Park. Eleven people were hospitalized, including four children who lost either one or both of their parents.
Three people who had been listed as missing were located elsewhere, but officials had not yet called off the search as there may be hikers in the gorge without a guide.
“Italy is tired of crying for the dead. Enough,” environment minister Sergio Costa said during a visit to the scene. “If what happened is the result of negligence, sloppiness or a lack of awareness of the risks, we are facing a serious situation that we need to get to the bottom of.”