Two Italian competitive swimmers died on Sunday when their ultralight aircraft crashed after take-off, the Italian swimming federation (FIN) confirmed.
Fabio Lombini, 22,
and Gioele Rossetti, 23, were killed when their plane crashed and burst into
flames shortly after take-off from the Crazy Fly flight school at Nettuno, 60km
south of Rome.
“The Federation,
distraught and stunned, expresses its deepest condolences to family, friends
and clubs,” the FIN said in a statement, adding that Rossetti appeared to be
piloting the plane.
Lombini was taking
part in a three-day training camp at the Italian national swimming complex at
nearby Ostia.
He was a 200m
freestyle specialist, participating in the Taipei Universiade in 2017, the year
he won silver in the Italian swimming championships, and was a finalist in the
European short course championships in Copenhagen in 2017.
Rossetti had
success at youth level in Italy.