Spies drown in Lake Maggiori

[AW111]

So there was a boat capsized on Lake Maggiori (Swiss alps) a week ago.

BBC said:

Four people tragically drowned on the picturesque and popular lake south of the Swiss Alps.

One was a former agent from Israel's spy agency Mossad, two were Italian intelligence officers and the fourth victim was a Russian woman.

According to the public prosecutor, 13 of those on board were Italian agents and eight were Israeli agents. Only the captain, Claudio Carminati, and his Russian wife did not work in intelligence.

The survivors quickly collected their belongings from their hotel rooms and from the hospital where they had received treatment and left.

The Israelis abandoned their rental cars and on Monday they were flown back home on an Israeli plane that picked them up in Milan.

Any guesses as to what they were meeting about?

[ecsrobin]

Lake Maggiore boat accident: Questions remain over spy deaths https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-65788462

[Wills2]

All very strange who knew that when 20 spies want to get together, they all jump on a pleasure boat and head out into the middle of a lake.

[dvs_dave]

Indeed, and not only that, but they severely overloaded the boat too, which is most likely the primary cause of the accident. 23 people on a boat with a rated capacity of 15. Obvious accident waiting to happen.

I think it was likely just a social event gone wrong for people that were friends through work. The fact that line of work happened to be intelligence services is a random coincidence. Spy’s generally aren’t James Bond/Jason Borne types immune from unfortunate accidents. But it certainly adds some intrigue, even though it’s probably irrelevant.

….or maybe they are, and that’s why only 4 of the 23 onboard actually died.

[AW111]

dvs_dave said:

Indeed, and not only that, but they severely overloaded the boat too, which is most likely the primary cause of the accident. 23 people on a boat with a rated capacity of 15. Obvious accident waiting to happen.

I think it was likely just a social event gone wrong for people that were friends through work. The fact that line of work happened to be intelligence services is a random coincidence. Spy’s generally aren’t James Bond/Jason Borne types immune from unfortunate accidents. But it certainly adds some intrigue, even though it’s probably irrelevant.

….or maybe they are, and that’s why only 4 of the 23 onboard actually died.

You're probably right, but the Israelis abandoning their hire cars and bolting for home like rabbits is an interesting touch.

[Zarco]

It is intriguing.

ecsrobin said:

Lake Maggiore boat accident: Questions remain over spy deaths https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-65788462

This article mentions the technology and military industry on the Italian side of the lake, and that Switzerland (on the other side) is considered a transit country to get there for intelligence ops. Perhaps it was just a sneaky way of getting back to Switzerland?