ITALY: A PE teacher drowned last week after pulling pupils to safety when a sailing boat capsized. Cinzia Marampon, 42, was one of three Milan secondary teachers accompanying a group of pupils on a school trip to the island of Elba. The accident, which may have been caused by a sudden gust of wind, occurred minutes after leaving port with eight pupils on bard a nine-metre yacht. Ms Marampon, a good swimmer and an experienced sailor, was able to free several pupils trapped beneath the overturned boat before succumbing to the waves. Coastguards found all eight pupils and the boat’s captain clinging to the hull in a state of shock. Ms Marampon’s body was found shortly afterwards.
David Newbold