Three friends hug before being swept away by floods in Italy

Patrizia Cormos, Cristian Molnar and Bianca Doros

“We threw them a rope, but they were literally swallowed up by the floodwaters before our eyes. We saw them disappear,” said Giorgio Basile, the head of the Udine provincial fire department.

On Sunday, two bodies, believed to be Cormos and Doros, a Romanian woman who was reportedly visiting family, were found about 1 km from where they were last seen. As the search continues for Mr. Molnar, who is also Romanian, prosecutors have opened an investigation into the tragedy.

One of the women called police at around 1.35pm on Friday and firefighters quickly arrived on the scene. scene. One firefighter urged them to stay together from a nearby bridge as emergency personnel tried to throw them a rope, but all three were swept away by the fast-moving current.

Firefighters and other emergency services have been using drones, boats and divers since Friday to comb the river for any sign of the missing people. One of the women was reportedly found with a handbag containing the mobile phone they used to call emergency services.

«The main element is not so much the rain, but the force of the river, a very strong current,» Mr Basile said. «There are gorges, there is a backwash, and even for experts it is particularly treacherous.»

«I told her not to go»

Ms Kormos was a student at the Academy of Fine Arts in Udine and asked her mother if she could join friends on the trip on Friday after finishing an exam.

Three friends went to Premariacco beach nearby. Udine and went down to the river. Ms Doros, who was studying economics in Bucharest, had arrived in Udine a few days earlier to visit her parents, and her boyfriend, who was also Romanian, had come from Austria to see them.

The victims' families made no public comments late on Sunday, but Ms Cormos' mother was quoted in the Italian daily Corriere della Sera before her daughter's body was found.

«I told her, that no. to go because she was tired,” her mother reportedly said in tears. «But she said, 'We're just going to hang out for a bit and take some photos.' Come on, mom, don't be angry.”

Michele De Sabata, mayor of the nearby town of Premariacco, expressed his sympathy on behalf of the community.

“They found themselves in an unpredictable situation. Those who live in Premariacco know the river and how conditions can change quickly. The three children arrived when it was sunny. They couldn't know what was going to happen. It only took a few minutes.”

Severe flooding has caused widespread chaos across northern Italy over the past two weeks, including in Milan, Varese and Cremona. In mid-May, severe storms hit the Friuli and Veneto regions. Rain is forecast again this week in northern Italy.