British tourist drowns in front of girlfriend during Lake Como boat trip
18 July 2024, 19:30
A British tourist has drowned in Italy’s Lake Como after being dragged away from his boat by strong currents.
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The Brit, 22, and his girlfriend, 19, were on a romantic boat trip around four miles away from their hotel in Tremezzina.
In a bid to combat Italy’s oppressive summer heat, the pair opted to take a dip in Lake Como’s waters.
But sudden high winds quickly swept their rented boat away leaving them stranded and a considerable distance from the shore.
Italian publication Corriere della Sera reports the 19-year-old woman was brought to shore in shock but unharmed” by a passing vessel.
She told her rescuers her boyfriend remained in the water.
Italian authorities then launched a search for the missing Brit, using two helicopters - one from the fire brigade with divers on board and one from the Guardia di Finanza of the Como Air and Naval Department - to scour the areas of Vignola, Griante, Bellagio, Varenna and Dervio.
The 22-year-old’s body was discovered by the Guardia di Finanza helicopter “without any signs of life, floating in the search area” at 7pm that same day.
This comes just days after Spanish police confirmed human remains found on the Spanish island of Tenerife belonged to missing British teenager Jay Slater.
The discovery came following a month-long search across remote terrain.
A spokesperson for Jay's mother, Debbie Duncan, said: "Formal identification of Jay's body will be done using a DNA sample provided by the family to the Spanish Guardia Civil during the early stages of the search.
"Debbie has said she wants to see him one last time.
"Obviously that's a personal voice but given he's been there the best part of a month in those conditions, I'm not sure that's a memory she will want."
Ms Duncan said in an earlier statement that she was devastated by the news that her son's body had been found.
She said: "I just can't believe this could happen to my beautiful boy. Our hearts are broken."
Fingerprints were used to identify the remains, a court official confirmed on Tuesday.
