Filmmaker, 29, killed by dinghy propeller while diving off Lampedusa, investigation opened

The incident

Cristiano Daniele Giamporcaro, a 29-year-old filmmaker from Caltanissetta, was killed on August 8 (per most sources; Adnkronos reports the date as August 9) while freediving without tanks in the waters of Punta Sottile, Lampedusa. He was on vacation with his girlfriend. He had deployed a red signaling buoy to mark his position, as required by safety regulations for divers, and was engaged in a fishing dive. His girlfriend, who had been swimming with him earlier, had returned to shore to sunbathe when a rubber dinghy passed through the area. The vessel's propeller struck Giamporcaro, nearly severing his arm. According to initial findings, he likely died from rapid blood loss before emergency services could reach him. The Coast Guard, supported by a specialized private vessel and firefighters, recovered his body shortly before 8pm. The dinghy was brought to port and subjected to initial technical examination.

Investigation

The Agrigento prosecutor's office has opened a case for "omicidio nautico" (nautical homicide), a charge under Italian maritime law. The two people on board the dinghy, described as an elderly married couple from Milan in their sixties, have already been questioned by the Coast Guard. The couple are habitual visitors to Lampedusa, where they spend long holiday periods and keep their boat moored year-round. Investigators are working to reconstruct the vessel's trajectory, its navigation speed, and critically, the distance maintained from the red signaling buoy that marked the diver's presence beneath the surface. The exact dynamics of the collision remain unclear: the boat apparently failed to notice the buoy before striking the diver.

The victim

Giamporcaro was a former student of the Sicilian Experimental Center of Cinematography. In 2023, his documentary "La ricomparsa delle lucciole" was selected for the international section of the Festival dei Popoli in Florence. He had also taught at the Summer School of the Strada degli Scrittori. His mother, Maria Castiglione, is a full professor of Italian Linguistics at the University of Palermo and a former culture councilor for the municipality of Caltanissetta, where she is well known. His father, Ruben Giamporcaro, accompanied her to Lampedusa on the morning of August 9 to identify their son's body. The University of Palermo posted a message of condolence on Facebook expressing closeness to the family.

Witness account

A woman who was present in the bay described the scene to investigators. She said she had noticed the girlfriend on shore and Giamporcaro freediving for about an hour, with only the three of them in the bay initially. She then saw the girlfriend stand up and walk toward the farthest point of the bay, looking for him, and noticed a rubber dinghy with two people retrieving the buoy.

“I noticed the girl on land and him freediving for an hour. At first it was just the three of us in the bay. Then I noticed she got up to go toward the farthest point, looking for him, and I saw a rubber dinghy with two people retrieve the buoy.”

The witness said the young woman then threw herself into the water, at which point the witness understood something was wrong, took her own boat, and reached her while shouting to nearby fishermen.

Aftermath

The body was transferred to Porto Empedocle, where an autopsy will be performed in the coming days on the prosecutor's orders to establish the exact cause of death. Filippo Mannino, mayor of Lampedusa and Linosa, expressed deep sorrow and dismay, emphasizing the community's closeness to the family. He issued an appeal for maximum caution to both tourists and residents on the island, urging particular attention both at sea and on land.