Four dead after boat full of tourists ‘celebrating birthday’ sinks in Italy

Four people have died after a tourist boat capsized during a storm in Italy.

Authorities confirmed on Monday that bodies had been recovered from Lake Maggiore in the north’s Lombardy region after divers searched overnight.

The victims included an Israeli tourist, two Italians and the Russian wife of the skipper, according to Italian newspaper La Reppublica. The boat had reportedly departed from a shipyard in Sesto Calende as part of a birthday outing.

Sky Italia has reported that British nationals were among the passengers on board though this has yet to be confirmed by officials.

A Foreign Office spokesperson said: “We are in contact with local authorities in Italy after a boat accident and are ready to provide consular assistance to any British nationals involved.”

A sudden whirlwind upturned the boat on Sunday evening. Rescue efforts managed to save 19 people from the water, with many reportedly either swimming to the shore or being picked up by neighbouring boats.

The boat overturned between the towns of Sesto Calende and Arona, Italian media say, with more than 20 passengers on board as well as the crew.

Five people are reported to have been taken to hospital and the boat is now lies wrecked 15 metres below the surface of the lake.

The whirlwind was part of a storm system that arrived in Lombardy on Sunday evening that had seen delays at Milan Malpensa airport in the region’s capital.

A video released on Sunday shows pieces of wood floating on top of the lake whilst a helicopter flew overhead.

The president of the Lombardy region Attilio Fontana confirmed in a Facebook post that the boat was 16 metres long and had been hired by tourists.

According to La Reppublica, Claudio Carminati, 53, lived on the boat along with his Russian partner, Anya Bozhkova, 50, who is among the reported dead.

The mayor of Sesto Calende, which lies at the Southern tip of Lake Maggiore, said that there had been “no weather alert” prior to the storm.

A large lake located on the southern side of the Alps, Lake Maggiore is the second-largest lake in Italy and the largest in southern Switzerland.

The lake is divided – both the lake and its shoreline - between the Italian regions of Piedmont and Lombardy and the Swiss canton of Ticino.