The 28 May boat disaster on Lake Maggiore has elements of a spy novel.
On the picturesque and well-known lake south of the Swiss Alps, four people tragically drowned.
Four victims were identified: a former Mossad agent from Israel, two Italian intelligence officers, and a Russian woman.
They were among the 23 passengers who boarded the small boat as it sailed across the lake.
For the survivors and the families of the deceased, it is without a doubt a traumatic experience, but a number of case-related facts have led to speculation about what actually happened.
Lombardy, Piedmont, and the canton of Ticino, both in Switzerland, border Lake Maggiore and its shoreline.
Switzerland is regarded as a transit country for many intelligence personnel, and Lombardy is home to a number of companies that produce technology suitable for both military and civilian applications.
Additionally, some of the passengers, of both nationalities, owned apartments and homes there.
According to the newspaper il Corriere della Sera, the region provides some freedom of movement for the governments of Italy and Israel.
While some reports claim that the boat ride was merely a fun excursion, several important Italian news outlets are reporting that it was actually a covert meeting of Italian and Israeli agents.
Carlo Nocerino, the public prosecutor, has been tasked with investigating the accident because of the intense interest in it. According to him, eight Israeli agents and 13 Italian agents were on board. Claudio Carminati, the captain, and his Russian wife were the only ones who did not work in intelligence.
A birthday celebration for one of the passengers was planned for the cruise. The 15-meter-long boat was a wise choice because its name, "Good...uria," is a wordplay that means "pleasure.".
However, a violent storm with wind gusts over 70 km/h (43 mph) suddenly struck this boat.
The incident was described by Mr. Carminati as "an apocalypse descended upon us in the space of thirty seconds," according to the Italian newspaper il Corriere della Sera. "The boat flipped over right away, and we were submerged. " .
No inclement weather was predicted, Mr. Carminati informed the investigators. Even after the scheduled return time, the boat was still in the lake.
He is currently being looked into for potential charges of causing a shipwreck and culpable homicide.
His wife, Anna Bozhkova, was a 50-year-old Russian woman living in Italy on a residence permit.
Tiziana Barnobi, 53, and Claudio Alonzi, 62, both members of the Italian secret service, were the other victims.
Simoni Erez, a 50-year-old Israeli man, also passed away. He had worked for Mossad in the past. Even though Israeli media outlets refused to report it, his name was made public in Italian media.
The other boat passengers either managed to swim to shore or were rescued from the water by other boats that were nearby or sent to help.
Although Italian news organizations claim that no post-mortem investigations have been done, drowning is the primary cause of all fatalities.
The fact that, according to Italian media, the survivors of the catastrophe appeared to rush to leave right away after it occurred is another aspect of the mystery.
According to the Italian media, the survivors quickly gathered their belongings from their hotel rooms and the hospital where they had been treated, packed up, and left.
Regarding those who received medical attention, there is no paperwork.
After giving up their rental cars, the Israelis were picked up in Milan and flown back home on an Israeli aircraft on Monday.
However, Mr. Nocerino, the public prosecutor, told the BBC that it was customary to only release the names of the victims and not the survivors.
The Israeli man's death was an ex-Mossad agent, the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed on Wednesday.
The Mossad lost a close friend and a professional who had spent decades contributing to the security of the State of Israel, according to a statement from the agency.
It went on to say, "Given his service with the agency, it is not possible to elaborate on his identity.
It has not yet been brought ashore to bring the incidental vessel. According to Mr. Nocerino, this prevents the investigation from starting properly.
"Right now, it's tangled at the lake's bottom, and retrieving it could take two or three days. ".
There were eight more passengers on the boat than the maximum of 15, Mr. Nocerino continued.
According to reports, the captain found it more difficult to maneuver the boat in bad weather due to the crowding.
Magistrates are looking into why there were more people on board than were allowed as well as whether the boat should have even been sailing on the lake given the poor weather conditions.
According to Mr. Nocerino, the investigation would look at whether security precautions were followed, as well as the vessel's upkeep, certification, and insurance.
Naturally, speculation will probably continue because there is still so much unknown about the story.
The Carabinieri, the military police of Italy, are helping with the investigation. They claimed to the BBC that they would look at the boat and the weather, but not what the passengers were doing.
