The lifeless body of one of two missing climbers from Romagna has been located following a helicopter search by the CNSAS in the Gran Sasso area. While the identity of the recovered body has yet to be confirmed, authorities have identified the missing individuals as Cristian Gualdi and Luca Perazzini, both from Sant’Arcangelo di Romagna. Search and rescue teams, including canine units, are actively working to find the second climber.
A renewed effort to locate the climbers began this morning after several days of adverse weather conditions. A team of 15 members from the alpine and speleological rescue service set out for a visual reconnaissance to aid in the recovery of the two men, aged 48 and 42. The search area has been narrowed to a 150-meter radius from the last known location where the climbers made a distress call on December 22, reporting lost equipment, including gloves and boots. Search efforts are utilizing tracking dogs, three helicopters, and a “Recco” antenna, previously employed in 2021 to locate four missing hikers on Monte Velino in the Sirente Regional Park.
Rescuers held onto the hope that the climbers might have found shelter during the recent storms, even though they were known to be separated by at least 20 meters. “Today we have better weather conditions,” explained Daniele Perilli, president of the alpine and speleological rescue service, regarding the ongoing search for the two men, who slipped into a ravine while descending from the Direttissima route on Corno Grande. On Thursday, despite significant avalanche risks and poor weather, four financial police rescuers managed to reach the Vallone dell’Inferno, the location of the last call for help from the two Romagnoli, but no signs of the missing climbers were found on the surface.
