Wed Sep 25 03:53:00 UTC 2024: ## Desperate Search Continues for Grandmother and Baby Swept Away by Italian Flood
**Montecatini Val di Cecina, Italy -** A major search operation is underway in Tuscany, Italy, for a German grandmother and her five-month-old grandson who were swept away by floodwaters on Monday night.
The pair were trying to escape rising floodwater that engulfed their holiday home in the province of Pisa when the Sterza river broke its banks. The child’s parents and grandfather were rescued from the roof of the house, but the grandmother and baby were lost in the torrent.
Over 100 rescuers, including divers, dogs, drones, and a helicopter, are searching for the pair. Firefighters posted a video on X showing the floodwater flowing through the property and rescuers wading through the deluge with torches.
Luca Cari, a spokesperson for the firefighters, expressed pessimism about finding the pair alive. “We always aim at finding people alive, but this accident doesn’t leave us many hopes. The situation is very, very critical,” he told SkyTG24.
Nicola Ciannelli, commander of the local fire service, described the flood wave that hit the house as “very violent,” reaching a height of 2.5 meters.
The incident comes amid heavy rains across multiple regions of Italy, with Tuscany, particularly Livorno and Pisa provinces, experiencing the worst of the flooding. Last week, the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy was also hit by devastating floods, forcing over 1,000 people to evacuate their homes.
First Piper 