A tragic incident has shaken the community of Riva del Garda: the bodies of Hanna Shabratska, 56 years old, and her son Oleksiy, 19 years old, were found after they went missing in the waters of Lake Garda. The family, originally from Ukraine but living in Trentino for about two years, had sought refuge in Italy following the outbreak of war.
On Tuesday, October 16, the mother and son were in Riva del Garda to spend a day at the lake. Surveillance cameras captured them entering the water, but there was no sign of their return to the beach. The alarm was raised by the woman’s partner, Mauro Mariotti, who was concerned about their failure to come back.
The search operations began immediately that evening. The divers from the permanent fire brigade of Trento intervened the following day, assisted by the Coast Guard and the State Police. In the afternoon, the sad confirmation came: the divers located the bodies at a depth of 18 meters near the area between Punta Lido and Spiaggia dei Sabbioni.
The news has deeply affected the local community where Hanna and Oleksiy had been living for about two years in the Costa di Vallarsa hamlet. The mayor of the Municipality of Vallarsa, Luca Costa, expressed his condolences, stating, “They had been in our community for a couple of years. Very educated and decent people. I greeted the lady just the day before yesterday. It seemed impossible to me when they told me that they couldn’t find her anymore.”
Hanna Shabratska was born in 1972, while her son Oleksiy was born in 2005. The family had settled in Trentino after fleeing the Ukrainian conflict. The woman’s partner promptly notified the authorities when he did not see his loved ones return after what seemed like a peaceful day at the lake.
Italian Version
