The Italian Consulate General in Benghazi is working with Libyan authorities to identify a body found at sea.
According to local authorities, the body was found with a wetsuit and a kitesurf board that appear to belong to Italian Mimmo Piepoli, who went missing at sea on May 1 during a kitesurfing trip off the coast of Puglia. At the request of Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is maintaining constant contact with the missing surfer’s family and with the Mayor of Erchie, Giuseppe Margheriti.
The necessary investigations to identify the body are underway.
Confirmation of the identity will be possible only after DNA testing. To this end, the Consulate General has formally requested the Libyan authorities to initiate the necessary procedures for the examination and continues to monitor the case, also in view of the possible repatriation of the body.