Two young people swallowed by the Brenta were playing football on the river bank

Two boys were swallowed up this afternoon by the waters of the Brenta river, in San Martino di Lupari, in the Padua area .

They were playing football on a small beach along the river when the ball ended up in the water, witnesses say. One of them would have dived to recover the ball and would have disappeared into the water, the second would have jumped in to save him but within a very short time he too was dragged by the current, which was quite strong at that point.

Searches by fire brigade divers are underway, but so far they have been unsuccessful.

Al Mattino di Padova a resident of the area said: «It was around 5.30pm when I noticed a person who dived into the Brenta to go and retrieve a ball. He seemed quite calm, but then I realized that he was looking for a person who had disappeared into the river a few moments before. Suddenly, after a few strokes to try to reach the bank, he disappeared before my eyes, swallowed up by the river."

(Unioneonline/L)