FAMILY BOILED ALIVE IN VOLCANO
Parents and son, 11, die after they fall into crater with vapours hitting 160C
AN ITALIAN couple have died along with their 11-year-old son after falling into a hole that opened at a bubbling volcano near Naples.
The tragedy unfolded yesterday at the popular Solfatara site, which was surrounded by a fence that was supposed to keep tourists out.
The victims were 45-year-old Massimiliano Carrer, Tiziana Zaramella, 42, and their son Lorenzo. Their sevenyear-old son did not fall into the hole, said national fire brigade spokesman Luca Cari.
Police said the father was trying to save the boy after he had managed to get beyond the wooden perimiter fence. However, during his rescue attempt, both he and his son were reportedly sucked into the hole.
When the mother attempted to save them, she too was sucked into the hole.
Italy’s fire service pulled three bodies from a shallow hole at the Bocca Grande (Big Mouth), the largest of the openings on the volcano.
He added: “Either there was a small explosion, or the ground simply gave way from their weight, and they fell into this hole. It was inside a fenced-off area.”
Firemen on the scene said the victims, who were on holiday from northern Italy, appeared to have died from asphyxia, possibly caused by the hot gasses coming from the ground.
Water vapours that emit from the volcano can reach 160C and contain gases including poisonous hydrogen sulphide.
A witness of the incident said he saw the surviving child crying and asking for help.
Diego Vitagliano said: “I saw a child crying. I did not think I was facing the worst tragedy of my life, I’m a father, too.”
The Solfatara volcano is one of many volcanic craters in the Campi Flegrei region, just west of Naples, which first opened up to tourists in 1900.
The ancient Romans called the Bocca Grande the home of the God of fire.