Milan, Jan. 2 (LaPresse) – Is there a final count of missing Italians in Crans-Montana? “Not yet, and precisely for this reason—because of the extreme sensitivity of this terrible tragedy and privacy laws—it is necessary to be extremely cautious. I can only say that, fortunately, as hours passed, many of the people initially believed missing were later found in hospitals, so the latest available count is six Italians missing and thirteen hospitalized injured,” said the Italian ambassador to Switzerland, Gian Lorenzo Cornado, in an interview with la Repubblica.
When asked if all the Italian families had been informed, he replied: “Yes, and they themselves helped us update the lists of the missing and injured. The Swiss authorities informed all the relatives of the hospitalized individuals: there are 112 in total, 107 of whom have been identified. Among them, thirteen injured are Italians. Five still remain unidentified, so the list of missing people could still change. It was precisely the families who had contacted the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to search for their loved ones who informed us that they had been found, allowing us to update the lists. The Swiss authorities did not provide the names of the injured, and to identify the 47 bodies found, unfortunately, they are unrecognizable.”
Will it take days? “I’m afraid so. Many are severely burned, and unfortunately, under these conditions, it will not be easy to identify them. We are setting up a small crisis unit in the country to assist the arriving families and will provide full support to face days that will understandably be very difficult. I will meet them together with Minister Tajani, who will be here today and will also meet the Swiss authorities,” Cornado concluded.
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