A dramatic road accident that occurred this morning on the Pollino provincial road, which connects Marina di Grosseto to the Maremma capital, caused the death of two Air Force soldiers and the transfer of four others. The accident occurred near an Air Force military base.
The victims are Lieutenant Riccardo Latino, a 29-year-old originally from Matino, and First Marshal Francesco Antonio Guglielmucci, from Matera. Both belonged to the 36th Fighter Wing of Gioia del Colle and were in Tuscany for training activities.
According to initial reconstructions, the accident occurred shortly after 8 in the morning. Lieutenant Latino was traveling alone, while Guglielmucci and three other soldiers were on board a second car proceeding in the opposite direction. For reasons yet to be clarified, the two vehicles collided head-on.
Numerous emergency vehicles intervened at the site of the accident, including 118 ambulances, firefighters and personnel from the fourth wing from the nearby base to support the rescue operations. The injured were transported to the hospitals of Siena and Grosseto: three in code red, one of which is in very serious conditions.
Lieutenant Riccardo Latino obtained his pilot’s license in September 2022, receiving the turreted eagle in a ceremony in Lecce in the presence of the President of the Republic, Sergio Mattarella. The vocation for flying was a family tradition, with his father a non-commissioned officer serving in Galatina.
Due to the tragic accident, the ceremony for the awarding of 51 pilot licenses and the Gold Medal of Aeronautical Merit to the 61st Wing, scheduled for tomorrow in Galatina, has been cancelled, as has the brass band concert of the schools command of the Third Region aerial.
The Ministry of Defense issued a note expressing shock and closeness to the families of the victims: “The Defense and Minister Guido Crosetto, deeply saddened by the news of the tragic road accident which occurred this morning near the Grosseto Military Airport, express their heartfelt condolences to the families of Lieutenant Riccardo Latino and First Marshal Francesco Antonio Guglielmucci of the Air Force”.
