HB, all good valid questions and the answers to which would obviously affect how the issue was dealt with. I doubt you will get any valid answers here.
What would however be incontestable was the nature of the event and their rescue by the Italian police. Had this occured in Lincoln High Street then it would have been dealt with in exactly the same way and the answers to your questions would have had exactly the same bearing on the matter.
Drinking unwisely has occurred before and will occur again. That the media will pick up on it again is also a certainty.