Overview

• Recovery operations concluded on May 3, nearly 70 hours after the search began and over 50 hours since the bodies were first located.
• Nico Civitella and Emanuele Capone died on April 30 during a hiking excursion in the Avello river gorge, where high water flow and rugged terrain complicated rescue efforts.
• Specialized teams from the National Alpine Rescue Corps and Veneto Fire Brigade employed drones, digital mapping, and high-angle descent techniques to secure the remains.
• The bodies were transferred to the Chieti Civil Hospital morgue, with autopsies and a judicial investigation ongoing to determine the precise cause of death.
• Authorities are digitally mapping the operation and exploring helicopter hoist clearings for potential future rescue interventions in the challenging gorge terrain.