There were moments of fear experienced by the 81 passengers and four crew members who risked their lives yesterday due to the partial sinking of the motor vessel Audace. Once you set sail from Torpedo boat dock of Grado (at 10.30 am) e headed to Trieste, the vessel began – for reasons yet to be ascertained – to take on water from the bow. The alarm was raised at 11.24am. Interforce rescue was immediate. The marine transport line is operated by Apt.
Still to be resolved, however, is the issue linked to the ownership of the motor vessel which, after the rescue operations, was conducted by tugboats to Port Nogaro where he is under seizure by the judiciary. The hypothesis – still being examined by the investigating bodies – is of a negligent shipwreck.
«The people rescued – are the words of the new mayor, Giuseppe Corbatto – after all the necessary medical checks they returned to their hotel. The travelers rescued were mainly Germans and Austrians. Some of them were staying at the Savoy hotel where they returned, others were hospitalized by the municipal administration at the Astoria hotel.”
Today it seems that the situation has returned to normal. «The emergency machine worked – continues Corbatto – everyone was assisted with care and competence. I hope the service can be activated as soon as possible with a vessel more functional for this type of service». At the moment it has not been possible to receive any comments from the Port Authority of Monfalcone.
«The president of Apt Caterina Belletti and the general director Luca Di Benedetto will quickly formalize a report to the competent judicial authority to have a full understanding of the nature of the accident, taking into account that an initial analysis carried out on the hull does not reveal any tears compatible with submersion”. It is learned fromHandle who disclosed the note issued by the local public transport company. Also collaborating in the rescue effort Sogit of Grado, led by the president Alessandro Marchesan.
«In times of need, Grado, our island, manages to express the best of itself and deploys all its resources – declares the association – we were called for a major emergency, and even today (yesterday, ed.) as already earlier in the Covid period, we were able to appreciate the efforts of many citizens and businesses, from those who provided electricity to those who brought food for rescuers and shipwrecked people, hot tea, drinks and essential basic necessities.
«United to help as best we can, and everything ended in the best way. A heartfelt thank you to everyone” Sogit concluded. The. also intervenes on the matter president of the Region, Massimiliano Fedriga. «It is necessary to intervene immediately to clarify and ascertain whether there is any type of responsibility – these are his words – the competent local public transport company of Gorizia did well in this sense to present a formal complaint to the judicial authority for shed full light on the nature of the accident”.
He also underlined a further priority: “Guaranteeing users a rapid resumption of service, in order to create as little inconvenience as possible for users”. Finally, Fedriga wanted to express thanks, starting from the Port Authority and the commander Luciano Del Prete, to all those who did their utmost in the rescue efforts, demonstrating competence and professionalism. Among these: the fire brigade, the regional civil protection, Sores, Sogit, the Guardia di Finanza and the volunteers.
In response, the regional council arrives at the summit the regional secretary of the Democratic Party, Caterina Conti, asking him to «follow in his institutional role with the competent offices the developments of the technical and judicial investigations concerning the shipwreck of the motor vessel Audace. We share the hope for rapid clarifications, to which the Region itself can also contribute by working so that the ownership of the vessel itself, about which areas of uncertainty appear to remain, is immediately made known. It is important that there is not a mere act of delegation, perhaps to then ignore the results, but real attention on the part of President Fedriga, in the interest of all citizens.”
«Also taking into account the weather and sea conditions, it is clear that a potentially very serious danger, which can hardly be attributed to bad luck, has been avoided. In any case, a precautionary principle would suggest carrying out widespread checks on all maritime services to avoid other risks” concludes the dem.
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