He saw mother and daughter, aged 44 and 9, in difficulty in front of the beach of Santa Severa, near the Castle, and did not hesitate to dive in to go and save them in the waves with a force three sea. Gianfranco Ricci, sixty years old from Cerveteri, succeeded in his intent but then drowned in front of the eyes of other swimmers and rescuers. A gesture of great courage unfortunately ended in tragedy at 11 on Saturday morning on a stretch of free beach, with no assistance service for bathers. The carabinieri of the Civitavecchia company are now investigating the case, who intervened on the spot with those of the Santa Severa station, even if at the moment there are no other people responsible for what happened.
It all happened within minutes. At that moment on the coast, in the nearby bathing establishments, wave the yellow flag, an intermediate level of safety before the red which prohibits swimming. Perhaps also for this reason, mother and daughter, residing in Civita Castellana, in the province of Viterbo, have decided to go swimming with other people. But they immediately found themselves in difficulty both due to the rough sea and the strong current that pushed them off the coast. At that point Ricci, together with another swimmer, decided to dive in to rush to their aid. A few strokes and the 60-year-old immediately reached the girl, securing her to a floating buoy while awaiting the arrival of other rescuers. Then he did the same with her mother managing to bring her to safety. But at that point, perhaps exhausted by fatigue, he disappeared under the water. The alarm went off immediately.
The carabinieri intervened on the spot, as well as the coast guard together with the lifeguards of the nearby establishments. Another swimmer was rescued while Ricci was identified after about half an hour in the water. He was unconscious, in desperate condition. The Ares 118 doctors stabilized him and entrusted him to the ambulance colleagues who took off for the Gemelli polyclinic in Rome. Unfortunately, however, the hero of Santa Severa died during the flight. The body was entrusted to family members. On the other hand, the conditions of the mother and daughter and also of the third bather rescued are good.
2023-07-01 17:03:32
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