Newlywed bride, 26, missing and groom, 25, in coma after their boat smashes into huge water taxi in Venice

A NEWLYWED bride has been missing for over 96 hours in a Venice canal after a horror crash. Gabriella Querino, 26, and her husband Sean Michieli, 25, were travelling in his small boat on Saturday morning when they smashed into a five-tonne water taxi and sank. Gabriella Querino and Sean Michieli pictured in Venice Credit: JamPress The couple had met in Venice and got married in June Credit: JamPress Sean, who works as a clam fisherman, was found in critical condition and taken to hospital, where he fell into a coma. He was eventually declared braindead on Monday despite the efforts of medical staff. Sign up for The Sun newsletter Thank you! His wife, a Brazilian national, is still missing and only her handbag has been recovered from the Venetian Lagoon. Police, firefighters and divers are still searching for Gabriella, but powerful currents and poor visibility are hampering the operation. The tragedy happened after the newlyweds left the picturesque island of Burano to search for bait needed for Sean’s work. They collided with the water taxi off the island of Tessera, a short distance from the airport of the Veneto capital. The driver later told investigators he did not see any other boat before the crash. The sunken vessel has been located, and will soon be pulled out as part of the investigation. Most read in The Sun A search and rescue is currently ongoing to find Gabriella Credit: JamPress The incident happened in the early hours of Saturday Credit: JamPress Gabriella and Sean met in Venice and got married just three months ago, according to local media. She had moved to Italy around two years ago, and had been sorting out the necessary paperwork to also obtain a fishing licence like her husband. Her mother, Gisele Elorriaga, told Brazilian media: “She was building a life for herself over there, and she was happy.” Meanwhile, Gabriella’s sister Maria Eduarda, said she plans to travel to Italy to follow the search efforts. Emergency services searching for Gabriella Credit: JamPress Specialist divers have been deployed in the search Credit: JamPress She said: “We need help to bring visibility to this case and for the search for my sister to continue and be expanded.” For the Michieli family, this is a second tragedy unfolding in the same waters where they have earned their living for generations, according to local media. In 2007, Sean’s uncle Endrius, then 19, died in a crash between his small boat and a small fuel barge. The incident happened near the Fondamente Nove, opposite the island of San Michele. Authorities are still trying to piece together the sequence of events on Saturday, and the cause of the crash remains unclear. Comment now