Albenga, the memory of the tragic accident of the "Annamaria" motorboat in which 44 children lost their lives.

This morning the councilor for civic and general services Gaia Romani, on the occasion of the 77th anniversary of the Albenga tragedy, placed a wreath of flowers on the funeral monument dedicated to the little victims, inside the Major Cemetery.

It was the late afternoon of July 16, 1947 when the motorboat "Annamaria" with 84 children on board, all boys aged 4 to 8, sank a few tens of meters from the coast.
The boat was taking the children, mostly Milanese war orphans and guests of the national solidarity colony of Loano, on a trip to the Gallinara island (SV), when it hit an iron pole and began to take on water. While the Annamaria quickly sank, some children managed to swim to the shore, others were rescued but for most of them there was nothing that could be done.
In the tragic accident, in fact, there were 48 victims, of which 44 were children.

The images of the small bodies lined up shook the entire country, which remembers that tragedy as the most serious post-war disaster in which children lost their lives. The funerals of the little victims took place in the Cathedral, in the presence of the then mayor of Milano Antonio Greppi, of the entire city council and of a silent and moved crowd.

"Even this year - says councilor Gaia Romani – I wanted to be here to commemorate the terrible and unjust drama that swept away so many little lives. An opportunity to remember and remember how that of Albenga was a tragedy that shook an entire community which, 77 years ago, shrank in pain and showed its big heart. Today, together with the victims of the accident, in fact, we also remember the courage and solidarity shown by all those who did not hesitate to throw themselves into the water in the desire to save lives as well as those who took action to offer clothing and hospitality".

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