Three members of a British family have died in a tragic car accident on holiday in Italy. Antonino Marsala, 40, his wife Raffaella Marsala, 32, and their son Lorenzo, 15, were involved in a road collision in Piedmont, in the north west of the country.
The family were living in Bedford but are originally from Calamonaci, in the Italian province of Agrigento. They were believed to be visiting relatives to celebrate a traditional Italian festival commemorating their patron San Vincenzo Ferre.
Antonino was known to many in the British town as an MOT tester and Raffaella, who used to work at the Toby Carvery. According to Italian reports, the accident occurred on the Ivrea-Santhià link road that connects the A4 Turin-Milan motorway with the A5 Turin-Aosta, on the border between the provinces of Biella and Turin.
Two cars were involved in the crash, a Toyota Yaris and a Fiat Panda, which ended up on the side of the road. The Marsala family, who were travelling in the Fiat Panda towards Santhià, all died upon impact, local reports say.
Four people travelling in the Toyota Yaris were all seriously injured and transported by helicopter to a hospital in Novara. Investigations are ongoing in Italy into the official cause of the accident.
Foreign sources state the Mayor of Calamonaci, Pino Spinelli, published a message of condolence on social media. He stated the three “were returning from England to Sicily, for a period of vacation, to meet their relatives again and on the occasion of the forthcoming feast of San Vincenzo Ferreri".
He wrote: "I am very saddened by what has happened. The Marsala family had lived in England for some time, but in Calamonaci they still had many relatives, family and friends.
"From what I learned, they had decided to return to Calamonaci, in these days, precisely to attend the traditional festival dedicated to our patron, San Vincenzo Ferreri, which we are preparing to live after three years of pandemic and restrictions that have not allowed us."
He added: "I extend my heartfelt condolences to this family destroyed by pain in this moment of terrible anguish. In my name and in the name of the municipal administration of Calamonaci that I preside, we are united with them with prayer and with the solidarity of human and fraternal closeness.
"Misfortunes like this are astonishing and should never happen. May the Lord welcome them into his arms."
