A newlywed groom has died and his pregnant bride is missing after a nighttime boat collision in Venice.
Sean Michieli, 25, was killed Saturday when the small fishing boat he and his wife were riding in slammed into a water taxi on the lagoon, according to Italian reports. Gabriela Querino, 26, was thrown into the dark waters alongside her husband and has not been seen since.
The couple had been married just three months. Querino, a Brazilian native, had moved to Italy two years ago and was expecting the pair’s first child.
Rescue teams pulled Michieli from the water with grave injuries, but he later died at a hospital. The wreck also sank their small vessel, leaving investigators to piece together what happened from debris and witness accounts.
Venice prosecutors have opened a nautical homicide probe into the crash. Darkness and fog are being examined as possible contributing factors, though no official cause has been determined.
The tragedy carries a cruel echo for the Michieli family. Nine years earlier, Sean’s uncle Endrius died in a separate boating accident, relatives told Italian media.
Gisele Elorriaga, Querino’s mother, has spoken out from Brazil as the search for her daughter stretches on. Rescue efforts have been hampered by muddy lagoon waters and high tides that have complicated dive operations and surface searches.
“I just want my daughter back alive,” she told Globo.
Luca Zaia, president of the Regional Council of Veneto, weighed in on the devastating case. “An immense tragedy for a family that was just beginning to build their future,” he said.
The investigation continues as search teams press on for Querino despite the challenging conditions.