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Basel fan, Rolf Bantle, who travelled to watch his favourite team play Inter Milan at the San Siro on 24 August 2004 has finally reached home after 11 years. The then 60-year old Bantle went to the washroom just before the final whistle and upon returning was unable to find his friends he travelled with. He had only €20 with him and also didn’t have a mobile phone with him. As a result, he was stranded in Milan and stayed there for 11 years with help from locals.
Schweiz am Sonntag, a Swiss daily reported Bantle’s story once he reached Basel after living on the streets of Milan for more than 10 years. FC Basel lost the match 4-1 to Inter and because of the result the Swiss became an AC Milan fan. In a rather heart-warming fashion, the Milan fans gifted him a Rossoneri jersey with Kaka imprinted on the back. The locals even gave him food and spare change.
A few weeks after Rudolf did not reach Basel, he was declared missing. Quite naturally, the search for him was unsuccessful. On 29 September 2011, he was finally declared by the Civil Court of Basel-City as lost. Some people in Switzerland even thought that he had died.
In Switzerland, on an average each year 4,000 people are reported missing, and most of them die sooner or later. However, about 200 people remain untraceable and five years after the last sign of life, they can be declared as ‘missing’. Since Bantle had no family back home, he did not care if he was missing or considered lost, he told Schweiz am Sonntag.
Swiss authorities bring him home after an accident
Earlier this year in April, the 71-year-old had an accident and broke his femur in the process. It was after he was taken to the hospital for treatment that the Italian authorities realised he had no insurance. Ultimately, the Swiss consulate stepped in to look into the matter and organised his transport to the University Hospital in Basel.
After rehabilitation at the Felix Platter Hospital, he was taken to the Alterszentrum Zum Lamm, which is an old age home located in Basel itself. Rudolf told the Swiss daily that he doesn’t miss his life in Milan and his happy after returning to his homeland.
“Ten years is enough, and here I feel so good now,” the 71-year-old said.
