Relatives of an Italian family who died after falling into a volcanic crater have revealed that it was the couple’s young sons who had asked to visit the mountain as an ‘end of holiday’ treat.
Parents Massimiliano Carrer, 45, and Tiziana Zaramella, 42, and their oldest son Lorenzo, 11, are believed to have suffocated after being overcome by the fumes at Solfatara, a dormant crater in Pozzuoli, near Naples. Their youngest son Alessio, aged seven, survived amid reports he was able to scramble to safety.
The couple have been described as a ‘force of nature’, as friends and family have gathered in their hometown of , from Fossalta di Piave, Venice, to try to make sense of the devastating tragedy.
Victims: Tiziana Zaramella (left) and her son Lorenzo (right) have died after falling into a volcanic crater. The steamy volcanic fields at Solfatara are scorching hot only a few inches below the surface and they are understood to have died of asphyxia, possibly because of hot gases
Mr Carrer, an engineer and Ms Zaramella, an airport worker, grew up in the same area and had been together since school, Italian media reports. Their grieving parents live just a few hundred metres from each other.
‘The little ones wanted to see the volcanoes,’ a female relative told Corriere Del Veneto.
‘They had studied it at school, and their parents wanted to give them this gift on the last day.’
The tragedy unfolded on Tuesday, when Lorenzo walked into a prohibited area at Solfatara and stumbled into the 5ft crater. It is believed that the crater gave way under Mr Carrer and Ms Zaramella when they came to his rescue.
Horror: The victims can be seen spread out on the floor and covered in green blankets as men carry coffins towards them after the tragedy
Shocking: The devastating misfortune befell the family as they were enjoying the final day of their holiday before their young sons were due to return to school tomorrow
The tragedy is believed to have unfolded when the boy walked into a prohibited area at Solfatara near Naples in the country’s south west
The steamy volcanic fields at Solfatara are scorching hot only a few inches below the surface and they are understood to have died of asphyxia, possibly because of hot gases.
However, the official cause of death will be determined by an autopsy.
The devastating misfortune befell the family as they were enjoying the final day of their holiday before their young sons were due to return to school on Wednesday.
Fire brigade spokesman Luca Cari said: ‘Either there was a small explosion, or the ground simply gave way from their weight, and they fell into this hole. It was inside a fenced-off area.’
The accident happened at the Bocca Grande (Big Mouth), the largest of the fumaroles in the area, which the ancient Romans called the home of the God of fire. Men can be seen carrying the bodies away in coffins after the tragedy
The Solfatara volcano is one of many volcanic craters in the Campi Flegrei area, 20 12 miles west of Naples, which first opened up to tourists in 1900, according to its website. Pictured: The bodies are carried away by men who brought coffins
An 11-year-old boy and his parents have been killed after falling into a volcanic crater in Italy, it has emerged
The boy’s mother, 42, and father, 45, tried to pull him to safety only for the base of the crater to collapse. They are understood to have fallen 5ft but it is not yet known whether they were killed by the fall or by toxic gas fumes. Three body bags were later pictured at the scene
Eyewitnesses reported arriving at the scene to find a young boy crying and asking for help. Emergency crews descended on the site within minutes.
The seven-year-old boy was said to be in ‘great shock.’ The owner of a bar at the entrance to the volcanic site said he ‘kept asking where his family was.’
Diego Vitagliano said: ‘I saw a child run crying, I did not think I was facing the worst tragedy of my life.
‘I was at the Solfatara for work, along with other visitors we realised that something had happened and we approached the crater – still confessed the witness – I did not imagine what I would see.
‘They pulled out two bodies, then pulled us away. I continue to think about that family and that poor baby crying and asking for help.’
Firefighters and police officers stand by an ambulance on the site where three people were killed after they fell into a crater in a steamy volcanic field in Pozzuoli, near Naples
The family, from Turin in northern Italy, fell 5ft. It is understood that toxic gas fumes at the volcanic site caused their deaths
Eyewitnesses reported arriving at the scene to see the young boy crying and asking for help. Emergency crews descended on the site within minutes
The accident happened at the Bocca Grande (Big Mouth), the largest of the fumaroles in the area, which the ancient Romans called the home of the God of fire
The tragedy unfolded at the Solfatara of Pozzuoli, to the north of Naples (shown) in Italy
THE MUD POOLS AND JETS OF GAS ABOVE ITALY’S SUPERVOLCANO
The Solfatara of Pozzuoli is one of a sprawling constellation of ancient volcanoes that make up the Campi Flegrei supervolcano, an area north of Naples in south western Italy.
The 33 hectare site, which Romans believed was the home of Vulcan, the god of fire, sits in a shallow volcanic crater and has become popular with tourists who flock to see mud pools, sulphurous fumes and emissions of steam.
But the area the family was visiting is also known for a type of quicksand and is prone to crumbling, it has been reported. Solfatara’s crater fields are scorching hot only a few inches below the surface.
It last erupted in 1198 – but more recently the ground around Naples has shown signs that the wider supervolcano range may be preparing to erupt again.
The Solfatara of Pozzuoli is one of a sprawling constellation of ancient volcanoes that make up the Campi Flegrei supervolcano, an area north of Naples in south western Italy
Geologists monitor the area by checking temperatures and chemically analysing gases, determining that the fields had risen by about 30 centimeters (12 inches) over a decade.
The wider Campi Flegrei crater was formed 39,000 years ago in a blast that threw hundreds of cubic kilometres of lava, rock and debris into the air.
It was the largest eruption in Europe in the past 200,000 years, according to scientists.
Campi Flegrei last erupted in 1538, though on a much smaller scale.
However unrest since the 1950s has been causing a build-up of energy in the crust and making the volcano more vulnerable to eruption.
Until now, scientists had thought that the energy needed to stretch the crust was lost after each period of unrest.
The episodes of unrest are caused by the movement of magma around three kilometres below the volcano.
An eruption becomes more likely when the ground has been stretched to its breaking point.
This is because the molten rock can escape to the surface when the ground splits apart.
But it is difficult to pinpoint when an eruption will occur, because even if the ground breaks, it is possible for the magma to stall before reaching the surface.
The Solfatara volcano is one of many volcanic craters in the Campi Flegrei area, 20 12 miles west of Naples, which first opened up to tourists in 1900, according to its website.
Heavy rain in recent days may have also played a role by creating more openings in the volcanic field’s surface.
The accident happened at the Bocca Grande (Big Mouth), the largest of the fumaroles in the area, which the ancient Romans called the home of the God of fire.
The ground at the site emits water vapours of 160 degrees Celsius (320 degrees Fahrenheit) and gases including poisonous hydrogen sulphide, the website said.
The area the family was visiting is also known for a type of quicksand and is prone to crumbling, it has been reported.
Vincenzo Figliolia, the local mayor, said he was ‘upset’ by the tragedy adding: ‘I express my closeness from the community of Pozzuoli to the family of the victims.’