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  • Two young people saved, but a rescuer is missing at sea: he is a Coast Guard soldier

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28 September 2020The colleagues who worked side by side with him found him. The lifeless body of Aurelio Visalli, a 40-year-old non-commissioned officer of the Coast Guard, drowned during a rescue at sea of ​​two teenagers, was in the waters of the Tono bay in Milazzo. A tragic death on which the public prosecutor of Barcellona Pozzo di Gotto will now have to shed light, which has opened an investigation to understand how the rescue intervention that cost the life of the non-commissioned officer was organized.



The brother-in-law: the searches started too late. And they had no equipment  


"My brother-in-law could have been saved, there are very serious responsibilities for the dynamics with which they forced him to intervene and responsibility for the absolutely delayed and ineffective aid".

The head of the traffic police of Venetico Antonio Crea, brother-in-law of Aurelio Visalli, says so. "I make these strong statements - continues Crea - because initially my brother-in-law and two of his colleagues were forbidden to intervene with the patrol boat because the sea did not allow it, then he was asked to intervene from the ground but how could they do it without equipment, having no life jackets, no life jackets, wetsuits, ropes or anything else? It was madness "." They only had a small life jacket with a string to pull it to the two young men. - he explains - My brother-in-law was an engineer and deputy chief, certainly it wasn't his job.



In the meantime one of the boys managed to get back to shore while the other was waiting clinging to a buoy ".

The man continues: "At this point my brother-in-law and the other two, despite not having the suitable equipment, threw themselves into the sea in their underwear, taking off their uniforms to save him".

"At one point my brother-in-law was hit by the waves and no one saw him again - he adds - Nobody tried to save him, not even his two colleagues because the sea was too strong. And from 1pm to 7pm before the helicopter arrived no one really looked for him. They searched for him with little means, this also because the Milazzo Captaincy was not equipped with a ship that could face the waves and I think this is very serious, just as I do not conceive that rescuers were told to look for him from beach and family members had not been told anything and we had to learn it from the press ".

For the brother-in-law, "there are many obscure points in this story, on how the researches that I repeat began too late, we demand clarity. Furthermore, I do not understand why we do not want to do the autopsy and instead close the story without doing the appropriate investigations - he maintains - Now we have been promised a state funeral but we only want the truth ".



Visalli's body was taken to the council


chamber

of the Municipality of Milazzo

where the

funeral

home was set up.

Family members destroyed by pain.

"My son was an exceptional boy, always smiling and helpful with everyone, first his smile appeared, then him. Affectionate with everyone and very close to the family. I don't know how the children will react", says the father.

Aurelio, adds his brother, "was already a hero when he was alive. I think that every person who wakes up in the morning to do his duty by facing so many sacrifices must be considered a hero".

Colleagues also passed in the classroom, in tears- "He was a person always available and ready to face everyone's daily work problems, sacrificing himself for others. The last sacrifice he made just yesterday to help that boy".   



Dozens of statements by politicians



The Coast Guard dedicated the post on Twitter to the affections of the Petty Officer: "The Commander General and his colleagues all huddle in a feeling of condolence and closeness to his family".



Electoral appointments that provided for the presence of Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio, who will still be present in the town of Mamertina, but only to pay homage to the body of the Port Authority's non-commissioned officer, have been postponed.



"I express my closeness and condolences to the family and to the Coast Guard of the second chief Aurelio Visalli, whose body was found at sea. He died to save the lives of two bathers in difficulty in Milazzo. We remember him and all the people who they put their commitment and their lives at the service of citizens and institutions ".

Thus the defense minister, Lorenzo Guerini, who spoke in Saluzzo (Cuneo) on the occasion of the celebrations for the 100th anniversary of the birth of General Carlo Alberto Dalla Chiesa.



"We felt it was our duty, out of respect for Aurelio and his family, to suspend the visit of Minister Luigi Di Maio, which was scheduled for today in Milazzo".

M5s senator Barbara Floridia writes it on Facebook after the discovery of the body of the non-commissioned officer Aurelio Visalli, who died during the rescue of a fifteen-year-old at sea. 



"The death of the non-commissioned officer of the @guardiacostiera Aurelio Visalli, who sacrificed his own to save a young life, unites the country in deep sorrow. I express my condolences to the family and we all give credit to the courage of a valiant servant of the state."

Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte writes on Twitter.



"I was particularly struck by the tragic death of the second boss, Aurelio Visalli, who fell into the sea during a generous rescue operation of some swimmers. I ask you to let Visalli's family members, so painfully tried, and all the personnel of the Corps reach my sentiments of condolence and solidarity ".

This was written by the President of the Republic, Sergio Mattarella, in a message sent to the general commander of the body of the port authorities, Admiral Giovanni Pettorino.