The other Italians, in addition to Marco Ratto, who are missing are Patrizia Marziale and Luca Barachini. They too were in the area where the flash flood occurred on August 26th which overwhelmed everything from the Gyirong pass (China) to the Trishuli river valley (Nepal). An immense mass of ice and rock collapsed onto the Lhende Khola tributary, generating gigantic waves that devastated nearby roads and villages.
Massacre between Tibet and Nepal, a thousand missing: the collapse of the glacier, the earthquake and then the river of water, mud and rocks
Who I am
The identity of the couple was revealed by Tg3. Marziale and Barachini are Italian-Swiss citizens and reside in Lugano. Barachini’s Linkedin profile states that he is director of consumer & digital at Deloitte. The two were on a traveling trip between Tibet and Nepal. In a post shared on Facebook Marziale recounted their journey in twelve stages, from Lhasa to the capital of Nepal, Kathmandu.
“Ask me if I’m happy… Yes. Because I’ve learned that happiness doesn’t need big things. It’s in a sincere smile, in a hug that comes at the right time, in a look that speaks without the need for words”, he wrote on social media on August 22. The last contact with the family dates back to August 26 when the couple shared a video with them. The tenth stage involved passing through the Gyirong pass.
Among the missing there is also Marco Ratto, owner of a goldsmith’s shop in Rapallo. The man had arrived in Nepal after postponing the same trip for the first time.