Ravenna, July 19, 2026 – The level of the tragedy was understood by two minors, also on vacation on the coast, who, passing by the street, noticed the pool gates open. They entered for a dive to give them relief from the heat. And, when they approached the water, they saw something floating. “I thought it was a doll,” one of the two later told the officers. But it was a little girl: Magdalena Kaiser, just four years old. Their screams attracted the first rescuers. A doctor, also on vacation, ran down from one of the hotel rooms. But there was nothing more to be done for the girl: no pulse, no sign of life: she had already drowned.
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Family vacation from Austria to Milano Marittima
Magdalena, who would have turned years old in October, had arrived from Austria to Milano Marittima for a vacation with her parents and her two older sisters. The tragedy occurred around 2 p.m. yesterday inside the ‘Continental’ hotel on IX traversa. The 118 operators tried until the last moment to resuscitate her even inside the ambulance. All in vain: Magdalena was declared dead around 4 p.m. at the ’Bufalini’ hospital in Cesena.
Tragedy captured by cameras
Besides the carabinieri of the local Company and colleagues from the Ravenna Investigative unit, the on-duty prosecutor Angela Scorza also arrived on site for a inspection lasting over two hours after which the seizure of the pool was ordered. Several witnesses have already been heard to reconstruct a tragedy partly captured by the hotel’s cameras. Clips in which the little girl is seen going towards the pool. Then follows a dead zone. From the images, it was possible to deduce that the little girl remained in the water for at least 7-8 minutes: an endless time that would have left no chance to anyone.
The father left to reach the mother and the other daughters
According to checks, shortly after having lunch, Magdalena was with her father, a guest of that same hotel since he was a boy. The two were between a play area and the water. The father, after ordering his daughter to wait for him among the games as he would be back soon, left perhaps to go up to the room, where the mother was with the other two daughters. When he came back down, the doctor was already attending to little Magdalena, now lifeless.
Gates open but no lifeguard service
An autopsy will be performed on the girl early this week: the first formal step to shed full light on what happened. It is inevitable that the prosecutor opens a file for manslaughter in which – at least in theory – both the father’s name and that of a couple of the facility’s managers could appear as a guarantee act. After all, according to initial reconstructions, the pool access gates were open even though the lifeguard service was not yet present at that time. Further checks will probably be ordered on protocols and safety devices: on this front, inspectors from the Occupational Medicine of the AUSL could also be involved.
Condolences
“Today we are struck by a tragedy that deeply marks our city – wrote the mayor of Cervia Mirko Boschetti on his Facebook profile before going personally to the hotel with councilor Samuele De Luca -. A little girl of only four years lost her life in a tragic accident. In this moment of great pain, I want to express my sincerest condolences to the parents and all the family members. It is difficult to find words that can ease the pain of such a huge loss, but on my own behalf and on behalf of the entire city, I express all possible closeness to the family members.”
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