Venice lagoon boat crash kills 25-year-old fisherman as search continues for missing wife

Collision in the Tessera canal

The collision occurred around 05:30 on Saturday, 12 September 2026, in the Tessera Canal near the island of Tessera, close to Venice Marco Polo Airport. A small boat carrying 25-year-old clam fisherman Sean Michieli and his 26-year-old wife Gabriella Querino collided with a water taxi traveling along the route between Fondamente Nuove and the airport. The impact caused the small fishing vessel to sink immediately into the dark and foggy waters of the lagoon. The couple, residents of Burano who married three months earlier on 8 June 2026, were traveling out to gather bait.

The water taxi driver, the sole direct witness to the crash, reported that darkness prevented him from seeing the approaching boat or knowing how many passengers were on board. Both the damaged taxi and the sunken fishing craft were subsequently placed under seizure by investigators.

Hospitalization and declared death

Michieli was recovered from the lagoon in critical condition, having sustained severe craniofacial trauma alongside multiple bodily injuries. Emergency responders transported him to Dell'Angelo Hospital in Mestre, where surgeons performed operations before transferring him to the intensive care unit. On Sunday afternoon, 13 September 2026, more than 24 hours after the collision, a medical commission convened in the resuscitation ward to carry out the brain death assessment protocol. Following a six-hour period of clinical observation and neurological testing, the Ulss 3 health authority officially certified the 25-year-old's death on Sunday evening.

Veneto regional council president Luca Zaia paid tribute to the young couple on social media while describing the circumstances of the crash.

“Sean and his wife Gabriella were married just three months ago and were expecting their first child. After the collision with a taxi, their small boat sank: Sean was recovered in very serious condition, while Gabriella is still missing in the Lagoon.”

Lagoon search operations

Search teams from the Carabinieri and the Vigili del Fuoco continued scouring the lagoon for Querino throughout the weekend. Firefighters deployed regional diving units, a search helicopter, and personal watercraft to widen the perimeter around the crash site. Search conditions in the Tessera Canal proved challenging due to muddy waters that reduced underwater visibility to a few meters, compounded by strong alternating high and low tides.

Operations were suspended at sunset on Sunday and scheduled to resume at daybreak on Monday. When firefighters recovered the sunken vessel on Saturday evening, investigators found items confirming Querino had been aboard during the collision.

Investigation and family history

The Venice Public Prosecutor's Office opened an official inquiry into nautical homicide (omicidio nautico) to establish legal responsibility for the crash. Investigators with the Carabinieri boat unit are examining the seized hulls, though the absence of surveillance cameras and third-party witnesses in that sector of the lagoon complicates reconstruction of the boat trajectories and speeds.

The tragedy struck a Burano family already scarred by a previous nautical loss. In 2007, Sean Michieli's 19-year-old uncle, Endrius Michieli, died in a boat collision near Fondamente Nuove in Venice.