Ex-Mossad worker is among four dead when boat hosting a party of spies capsized after being hit by a whirlwind on Lake Maggiore
- Four people drowned after a pleasure boat capsized on Lake Maggiore in Italy
- Two Italian spies and a former Mossad agent were among those who died
A pleasure boat which capsized on an Alpine lake killing four people was hosting a party for Italian and Israeli spies, with a former Mossad agent among the dead, it has been revealed.
The Gooduria, which overturned while sailing on Lake Maggiore in northern Italy at around 7.20pm on Sunday, is thought to have been overloaded.
Some 21 passengers were on board alongside two crew, exceeding the 15-person limit, The Times reports.
Those on board were said to be Italian and Israeli intelligence workers, some of whom were retired.
The 52-foot boat had been chartered for a birthday lunch, with a trip to an island but it was beset with strong winds and hail as it returned to shore.
Fire brigade and scuba divers perform recovery operations of the boat
Carabinieri and fire brigade officers take part in the search and rescue operation in Lake Maggiore
Two members of the Italian AISE national intelligence agency passed away after being plunged into the icy waters of the lake, Tiziana Barnobi, 53, and Claudio Alonzi, 62 — as well as Israeli former Mossad agent Shimoni Erez, 53, who was found dead in the waters by rescuers. The boat captain's wife, Russian-born Anna Bozhkova, 50, was the fourth person who drowned in the tragedy.
In a statement, AISE confirmed Barnobi and Alonzi were “taking part in a convivial meeting organised to celebrate the birthday of one of the group”.
Erez’s body was recovered from the lake, while the other three bodies were found trapped inside the vessel after it sank to the bottom of the lake at a depth of 15metres.
The 19 survivors reportedly swam to shore and were spirited away to nearby hotels to protect their anonymity.
Local resident Franco Lora said: “I heard desperate shouts for help and saw many people swimming in the freezing water.”
Shipyard worker Daniele Piccaluga told the Corriere della Sera newspaper: “I immediately went out in my motorboat but there was no sign of the boat, it had been swallowed by the lake, leaving pieces of wood and seats floating on the surface.”
Emergency services scoured the 41-mile lake for debris from the vessel
Bad weather was cited as the reason for the accident which claimed the four lives
Scuba divers were seen searching for bodies in the water
Claims that the captain of the vessel ignored a warning at 5.30pm for all boats on the lake to return to shore will be examined by a magistrate.
Analysts say the bad weather was caused by a 'downburst' - a heavy downward wind that radiates outwards once it hits the surface during a storm.
The boat sank quickly, taking some of the victims with it, according to reports.
A firefighters' video showed a search and rescue helicopter flying over choppy waters, where chairs and other debris were floating.
According to reports from the Italian newspaper La Repubblica, two were taken to hospital in 'moderately critical' condition, while three were taken in 'not very critical condition'.
A further 15 were treated at the scene and did not require further medical attention, reports have said.
Lake Maggiore, which lies on the south side of the Alps, is the second largest lake in Italy and is a popular tourist destination. The 41-mile lake straddles the border with Switzerland.
An air ambulance circles Lake Maggiore after the boat carrying more than 20 people capsized in a storm
Debris from the 52ft boat was seen floating in the 41-mile lake following the tragedy
Lake Maggiore deaths: why were Italian and Israeli secret service agents on a boat in northern Italy?
Four died after a vessel carrying 21 passengers – all with links to Italian and Israeli intelligence – capsized, and speculation is growing about the nature of the trip
It reads like a pitch for a thriller.
A group of tourists board a boat on a beautiful lake at the foot of the Alps. The boat capsizes in a sudden storm. Four drown as others swim to safety. In the days that follow, as authorities struggle to trace hotel bookings for the passengers, it emerges all were affiliated with the Italian and Israeli secret services.
Five days after Gooduria, a 16-metre houseboat, was swallowed up by Lake Maggiore, there is growing speculation over what its passengers were doing in this corner of northern Italy.
On Thursday, a police source working on the investigation confirmed that eight of the boat’s 21 passengers either currently or formerly served with Italy’s secret service, and 13 had ties with Israel’s.
Two of the victims – Claudio Alonzi, 62, and Tiziana Barnobi, 53 – had worked for the Italian intelligence authority. Another was a 50-year-old retired agent with Israel’s Mossad spy agency. The fourth was Anya Bozhkova, originally from Russia who was crewing the boat along with her Italian husband, Claudio Carminati, the boat’s skipper. Carminati is being investigated over the deaths.
Carminati and Bozhkova, who was reportedly unable to swim, ran a company called Love Lake and provided a “boat and breakfast” service on Gooduria, which only had a capacity for 15 passengers.
The group boarded the boat, which was registered in the Netherlands, at the Piccaluga shipyard in Lisanza on Sunday morning for what was reported to have been a birthday celebration.
The police source said the group toured the Borromean islands, an archipelago on the western side of the lake, and stopped off for lunch on Isola Pescatori (Fishermen’s island). The boat capsized in a sudden and violent storm on the lake on Sunday evening, with the survivors either swimming to shore or being pulled to safety by other vessels.
The investigation is only looking into the skipper’s role in the accident and not the background of the agents or why they were in the area.
Reports in the Italian press alleged that the group had met for work reasons, “to exchange information and documents” and that they only stayed on for a couple of days of leisure after the Israelis missed their flights home.
One theory, reported by Corriere della Sera, is that the agents were in Lake Maggiore to spy on Russian oligarchs, who have reportedly been buying villas and hotels in the area, circumventing the EU’s financial sanctions against Russia over its invasion of Ukraine by funnelling money into Italy from Swiss bank accounts. Another theory is that the Israeli agents were monitoring contacts between Iranian firms and Italian ones based in Lombardy’s industrial zone.
The agents who survived the tragedy left the next day. Two business jets were flown from Israel to Milan, according to flight trackers, in order to swiftly return the surviving Israeli guests.
It is unclear where they had been staying as, according to the Italian press, there was no trace of hotel bookings.
Israeli government censors briefly blocked reporting on the identity of the retired Mossad agent who drowned, amid confusion over what had happened and why he was in northern Italy.
Italian news outlets had named him as Erez Shimoni and on Wednesday the Israeli prime minister’s office finally confirmed the deceased had served in the Mossad spy agency but did not name him. Israeli agents often use fake names.
“The Mossad lost a dear friend, a devoted and professional worker who for decades dedicated his life to the security of the State of Israel, even after his retirement,” the office said in a statement. “The Mossad mourns the loss and shares in the family’s sorrow.”
It added that “due to his service in the organisation, it is impossible to elaborate” on his activities.
The incident comes just two months after prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, visited Rome to boost ties with the conservative Meloni administration – the two countries already trade in military hardware.
It is not unusual for ‘retired’ Israeli agents to be called up, and with reports that all of the passengers aboard the doomed boat were intelligence agents, there was speculation in Israel about whether the trip was truly for leisure or possibly part of a low-profile work trip.
Lake Maggiore and its shoreline are divided between the Italian regions of Lombardy and Piedmont, and the Swiss canton of Ticino.
Several companies that produce technology capable of both military and civilian use are located in Lombardy - and Switzerland is considered a transit country for many intelligence members.
While the cover story says the boat ride was an innocent pleasure trip, several major Italian news outlets are reporting that it was a secret work meeting between Italian and Israeli agents.
The cause of all deaths is said to be drowning, although Italian news outlets report that no post-mortem examinations have been carried out.
One other aspect to the mystery is that, according to Italian media, the survivors of the disaster all rushed to leave immediately afterwards.
The Italian press reports that the survivors quickly collected their belongings from their hotel rooms and from the hospital where they had received treatment and left.
There is no paperwork about those who received medical treatment.
The Israelis abandoned their rental cars and on Monday they were flown back home on an Israeli plane that picked them up in Milan.
Their identities have not been disclosed.
The Carabinieri, Italy's military police, are assisting the investigation. They told the BBC it would examine the boat and the weather conditions - but not what the people were doing on board.
“The prosecutor’s office is not investigating the nature of the passengers on the boat, only the captain’s role in the accident,” the prosecutor’s office confirmed.
The boat's Captain, Claudio Carminati, who is now accused of manslaughter, is “a precious and trusted asset of Italian intelligence for all logistics, and therefore his presence was not abnormal,” according to Il Corriere.
Some media outlets suggested that the official claim of a birthday party was covering up an operational meeting between Israeli and Italian intelligence agents.
The Corriere della Sera daily newspaper reported Tuesday that the gathering was a working meeting of intelligence agents. The newspaper said the Israelis had not initially planned to board the boat but did so after a meeting they were participating in went longer than expected and they missed their flight home.
"It was an opportunity to exchange information between agents of the two countries,” La Stampa reported.
Ten other Israelis were reportedly on the cruise and were said to have been quickly flown back to Israel on a private jet known to be used by Israeli authorities. Flight tracking sites showed the plane set off from Tel Aviv on Monday morning, arrive at Milan airport and soon set off back to Ben Gurion Airport. They reportedly did not wait to return the rented cars they were using during their trip.
Il Corriere reported that the group had had several “meetings in (the northern Italian region of) Lombardy to exchange intelligence and documents.”
The retired Mossad agent was buried at the military cemetery in Ashkelon.
Though Israeli officials have not released the man’s name, Italian media reports identified him as 50-year-old Erez Shimoni.
Senior Mossad officials, including the head of the spy agency, David Barnea, were at the funeral.
“He was a man of values, a true friend, a dedicated and loyal person,” Barnea said at the funeral.
“You worked in secret throughout your adult life — even after your death we will not be able to tell publicly about your many significant and beneficial actions for the people of Israel. To all of us,” he said and praised him as specializing in “pioneering fields and methods of operation.”
Barnea said he became acquainted with the agent through their many years of service together in the Mossad, describing him as “a professional of the highest level, with a pleasant demeanor, loving people, kind-hearted, calm and quiet” with an ever-present dimpled smile.
“He was a man of the people, there were always old and young, foreigners and Israelis around him, and he knew how to speak to everyone in their language, literally, and in a calm and respectful manner,” Barnea said.
He noted that he was an avid sailor.
“The magic of the water attracted him. It is heartbreaking when you think that he actually met his death in stormy waters.”
Former Mossad agent Mishka Ben-David told the Kan public broadcaster that one possible reason why Israel has not officially named the man is that he likely was using an alias abroad and that Erez Shimoni is not his real name. Ben-David also cast his doubts on the official claim that the boat was hosting a birthday party.
“The Mossad lost a dear friend, a devoted and professional worker who for decades dedicated his life to the security of the State of Israel, even after his retirement,” the spy agency said in a statement. “The Mossad mourns the loss and shares in the family’s sorrow.”
Italian media reported Wednesday that the Mossad has asked for clarifications from Italian authorities about how the accident happened.
The Corriere della Sera daily newspaper reported Tuesday that the gathering was a working meeting of intelligence agents. The newspaper said the Israelis had not initially planned to board the boat but did so after a meeting they were participating in went longer than expected and they missed their flight home.
The boat was reportedly just 100 meters from the shore when it went down. Survivors where reportedly either picked up by other watercraft or swam ashore.
Ten other Israelis were reportedly on the cruise and were said to have been quickly flown back to Israel on a private jet known to be used by Israeli authorities. Flight tracking sites showed the plane set off from Tel Aviv on Monday morning, arrive at Milan airport and soon set off back to Ben Gurion Airport. They reportedly did not wait to return the rented cars they were using during their trip.
Italian investigators have reportedly said they believe the ship capsized in an accident caused by the sudden change in weather, rather than foul play
The Israeli Mossad agent who drowned in northern Italy alongside two other Italian intelligence officers was in the region as part of an operation against Iranian activity, Israeli Channel 12 News reported.
According to the report, the boat full of Israeli and Italian intelligence agents was actually a dinner celebrating the mission's success, ending in a tragic motorboat accident which saw Erez Shimoni – the cover name given to the deceased – die while trying to save other drowning passengers.
Shimoni was working in the area as part of an operation targeting Iranian non-conventional weapons capabilities, Channel 12 News reported.
Due to the background of the victims, Italian media claimed that the capsize was an accident, rather than a deliberate attack or act of sabotage.
The Italian media outlet La Republica reports that the recent meeting between Israeli and Italian intelligence officials was intended to track unconventional weapons in hostile Middle East countries.
The New York Times quoted a senior security official as saying that, contrary to the original report of the incident, the meeting was "neither a birthday party nor a vacation. Without going into details, it was related to his work, and it is very sad we lost such a man." TheNew York Times further reported that the victim was responsible for connecting Israel to other intelligence services around the world.
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