He's dead; doctors declared him dead after waiting six hours to complete the examination. She's missing in the Venice lagoon, searched closely by Carabinieri and firefighters.

The tragedy of Sean Michieli and Gabriela Querino, married for three months, began shortly before six yesterday morning, when the small boat they were traveling in collided with a water taxi off the island of Tessera , a short distance from the airport of the Veneto capital. As of early yesterday afternoon, no one had any illusions about the outcome. Investigations to declare the 25-year-old, a fisherman for generations, dead began this afternoon and concluded after 9:00 PM . The search for the 26-year-old of Brazilian origin, who immediately took her husband's passion for the profession, was suspended after sunset.

For several hours yesterday, it was unclear whether either of them were on board. But Michieli's family said the two were almost inseparable on the boat and that they had therefore most likely gone out together yesterday as well, departing from Burano, where they live, in search of bait. And when the firefighters recovered the wreck of the small boat on Saturday evening, the Carabinieri found some evidence that suggested she was on board. So far, however, Querino has not been found .

The Fire Department has deployed regional divers, a helicopter, and several jet skis to support the search. Tomorrow, the divers and helicopter will return to action, as so far this hasn't been enough. The lagoon's waters are muddy, making it difficult to navigate even within a few meters, and the alternating high and low tides further complicate the search .

Last year, a fisherman's boat was found off the coast of Punta Sabbioni, and a fruitless search continued for weeks.

Meanwhile, the Venice Public Prosecutor's Office is investigating the accident . Reconstructing the crash with certainty is not easy, because the only witness is the taxi driver. Before dawn, in the darkness and fog of the lagoon, no one but him saw anything. And obviously, there are no cameras. Therefore, it is difficult to assign blame and responsibility.

Following Michieli's death, the Prosecutor's Office has opened a case against him under Article 589-bis, which governs vehicular homicide and homicide at sea. For the Michieli family, this is a second tragedy unfolding in the same waters where they have earned their living for generations. In 2007, his uncle Endrius, then 19, died in a collision between his small boat and a small fuel barge. The accident occurred a short distance from the Fondamente Nove, opposite the cemetery island of San Michele. A violent downpour, accompanied by gusts of wind, was raging at the time.

Nineteen years later, Sean's heart stopped beating in a hospital bed on the mainland while his wife, who never knew that relative, remains lost in the same waters.

(Unioneonline)

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