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VERONA I just did my job, I was thinking only about that, and about regret not having saved a life. Five hours in the icy waters of the Adige, with the force of the flood that was constantly dragging him downstream. Carried by the current for sixteen kilometers, between the deafening noise of the waves and the deepest darkness of the night, surrounded only by forests and few lights with which to orient oneself: those of some isolated house, those of the lighting system of the dams .
It has crossed two, that of Pestrino, which in Verona has a bad reputation: in this barrier, the corpses of those who end up in the water on the territory of the city are often found. Then Zevio’s, followed by dangerous rapids. To the companions who rescued him, at 2.15 am, he said those words. They couldn’t believe he was unharmed and asked him how he was doing and if he had realized what had happened.
The story of Danilo Marino, 39, firefighter Originally from Formia, in service in Verona, it’s amazing. On Sunday night he risked his life for a ransom, almost managing to bring the 24-year-old boy to shore who had decided, shortly before, to end it all. Until the branch they were clinging to gave way under the power of the water and they were both seen disappearing into the distance. He was saved, also thanks to his training: he had enough clarity to cut the jumpsuit, part of the equipment with which firefighters dive into water, more versatile than wetsuits but more easily filled with liquids. In this way he lightened it and managed to always keep his head on the surface.
The desperate rescue attempt It began at 9:30 p.m., when a Red Cross doctor, on duty at the Roman Theater for one of the few shows of the summer season, noticed that in the nearby Ponte Pietra there was a child leaning against the parapet. I don’t want to live anymore, he repeated shouting. And with these words he threw himself.
It was two policemen who first tried to rescue him. A little lower, they clung to a branch, trying to lead it back to shore. Meanwhile, a team of firefighters also arrived. Among them was Danilo: he went down to the river, approached the boy, led him to that landing. It seemed done. But the branch broke and both the young man, both the diver and one of the two policemen, were carried away by the current. The policeman managed to escape to safety a few hundred meters later. Not the diver and the boy. There is still no trace of the young man, a Moldovan citizen. They searched for him all day yesterday, with the help of drones and helicopters. To complicate matters, a second alarm, which arrived around 11:30 pm: someone called the police saying that they saw a second person end up in the Adige, right on the section where, at that moment, Danilo or the child could be. Another firefighting team intervened with the rubber boats, but the searches were unsuccessful.
Danilo has been identified, however, still a few kilometers later, near the bridge that crosses Zevio, a town southeast of the capital. L managed to anchor, allowing his colleagues to retrieve it. He was admitted to the Borgo Trento municipal hospital in hypothermia: yesterday morning his body temperature did not exceed 34 degrees. Then resignation and sober words to colleagues. In the morning he was able to hug his two children and his wife, Nadia. I am very proud of him – says his life partner – luckily I found out only after seeing him safe and sound. Relief, but also bitterness for the lack of rescue, even in command of Verona, for more than a week engaged in the front of bad weather, between floods and tornadoes. But yesterday was the worst night.
September 1, 2020 (change September 1, 2020 | 10:50 am)
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