Three friends filmed in final embrace before being swept away by flash floods in Italy

Three young friends, including a couple, were filmed in a heartbreaking final embrace before they were swept away by flash floods in northern Italy.

Patrizia Cormos, 20, her friend Bianca Doros, 23, and her boyfriend Cristian Molnar, 25, had decided to take a stroll along the Natisone River near Udine in the northern Friuli region when the river surged to dangerous levels after days of torrential rain.

The two women and man, all aged in their 20s, were last seen alive on Friday standing thigh deep in the swirling river water on a tiny island they walked to in the middle of the river.

#Italy #flood #friuliveneziagiulia

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[LadyFeverdream]

Imagine seeing this as their sister, brother, mom or dad. Man I hope the families are ok right now. Can’t even imagine.

[geesjehoogeboom]

Absolutely heartbreaking, this brought me to tears. I feel so sorry for their families.

[rxotmfrxotmf]

The water is so strong that it will probably sweep away even large animals. They were standing on a small island in the middle. The moment they step off, they'll be swept away. There's no chance of crossing to the bank without being swept away. And they actually were when the river rose.

[sergeantsilly]

The only force humanity will never control. The force of nature

[davidk]

My heartbreaks for their family and friends.

[sheldonmurphy]

I feel so bad for them. Knowing they were going to die and giving eachother hugs, made my eyes start leaking. 😔

[ajb]

The circumstances remain uncertain. I saw a picture where they stood in the area while the water gushed down. why didn't they move to the river's edge upon noticing the approaching water? Perhaps they were wrongly advised to stay together in the middle of the river. Rest in Peace!

[ChevyisBetter]

They had eachother at the end. Thats more than alot of can ask for. Im sorry for your losses.

[reecom]

"Cross as a group when the water is especially swift or deep. The strongest person should be slightly upstream to break the current for the others. Cross in a line holding onto each other's pack straps, side by side with arms linked, or in a tripod with arms linked..." National Park Service.

[Ytfhurbkjtrvhj]

What a horrid tragedy! The sheer power of that flow is terrifying. Absolutely heartbreaking. Prayers for the victims, their friends, and families 😢🙏

[commonwunder]

To those asking... "why didn't they swim to shore".
Perhaps one to more of them couldn't swim? 
The fire-fighters told them to huddle together... probably because,  
one or more weren't strong swimmers.

[shelleyscloud]

💔😢prayers for their souls and those they left behind

[Robau]

After days of continuous rain, adults go to the river and almost die. Please don’t blame the government.

[gandres_]

Would swimming diagonally given them a better chance of survival??

[cantresist]

It said they were on an island in the river when it began to rise. Also the they were thrown rope to grab onto but they couldnt reach it.

[colekarrh]

Anyone gonna talk about the camera man

[sparklaodicea]

if they called for help and they were told to "stay put", then that's another story

[themouthoftruth]

Ore 13.29: Patrizia fa la prima delle 4 chiamate al 112
Ore 13, 35: i tre ragazzi (su una collinetta di ghiaia circondata dall’acqua) vengono notati da un autista di uno scuolabus sul ponte Romano. Si ferma e chiama i carabinieri
Ore 13, 47: Patrizia fa l'ultima telefonata al 112
Ore 14, 02: il tentativo disperato e vano dei VVFF di recuperare i ragazzi lanciando corde da una gru. Cristian la manca di poco, le ragazze non riescono ad avvicinarsi (e spariscono nella corrente)

Alle ore 14, 02 non era ancora arrivato l'elicottero partito da Campoformido (UD) distante circa 8 minuti di volo, e tanto meno quello partito da Venezia, distante oltre 30 minuti di volo.
Alcune considerazioni fattuali:
•⁠ ⁠I VVFF sono arrivati tempestivamente (certamente prima delle 14.00 quando i ragazzi erano ancora vivi e salvabili) ma con attrezzature inadeguate che non hanno consentito il loro salvataggio
•⁠ ⁠alle richieste di soccorso delle 13, 35 o, meglio, delle 13, 29 AVREBBE DOVUTO PARTIRE IMMEDIATAMENTE e PRIORITARIAMENTE l'elicottero da Campoformido, che sarebbe arrivato al più tardi sulla verticale dei ragazzi entro 12/15 minuti (8 di volo + allerta equipaggio + decollo). Cioè entro le 13, 50 (quando i ragazzi erano ancora vivi e abbracciati) e avrebbero avuto a disposizione circa 10 minuti per sollevarli con le attrezzature di bordo (come si fa in caso di soccorso alpino), e salvarli prima che sparissero nei vortici (ore 14, 02).
•⁠ ⁠La richiesta dell'elicottero da Venezia? Incomprensibile e tragicamente inutile

Morale: I ragazzi impreparati e imprudenti si sono posti in una situazione di pericolo, ma i soccorsi inadeguati e male coordinati ne hanno impedito il salvataggio

[harryarteza]

Why didn't they make a break for the shore? Seems odd.

[marlowemarlowe]

This is terrible but I find it hard to imagine how they could get themselves in such a position. They had safely crossed over to the large gravel island which was quite big. How did they end up surrounded by all that water? Surely it must have taken a few minutes at least. Why didn't they try to get back safely the way they came? Did they just panic and freeze? I've seen a photo of the gravel island and it doesn't seem that far back to banks. Then I wonder if one of them couldn't swim. Maybe they just stayed there in the hope that they would be rescued. This is such an awful thing to have happened.