A Briton is believed to have drowned in Lake Garda after diving in to save his teenage son.
The man, identified as Aran Chadda, 51, hired a boat with his two children and partner on an Italian lake near Limone on Friday.
The family live in the village of Woodhouse Eaves, near Loughborough, Leicestershire, and are believed to have just started their holiday, which included his birthday on Tuesday, The Times reported.
They were about 500 meters (0.3 miles) from shore when Mr Chadha’s 14-year-old son got into trouble in the water, so he dove in and managed to push him towards the boat to save him, the coastguard said.
Mr. Chada then got into trouble and went under the water and has not been seen since.
An eyewitness told Italian media: “We were about 100 meters from the shore when we heard a woman’s cry for help.
“I looked and she was in the boat with two kids screaming and pointing at the water, so we called 911 and they came very quickly.”
Coastguard Commander Antonello Ragadale said: “This man was a hero and we fear he has drowned but we are doing everything we can to find his body.”
A coastguard spokesman said: “The family hired a boat from a local company for two and a half hours.
“A man dove in to save his eldest son who was in trouble and managed to push him towards the boat but then he got into trouble.
“It was very hot on Friday afternoon, but the water was ten degrees cooler, so maybe he had a shock attack.
“The search went on for almost seven hours and stopped when it got dark, but has now resumed.
“The family are in their hotel with the police and a psychologist has been offered to support them.”
It was around 31 degrees on Lake Garda last week.
A Foreign Office spokesman said: “We are supporting the family of a British man who has been reported missing in Italy and are liaising with the Italian police.”
Rescue boats, divers, a robotic submarine and helicopters are involved in the search of the 34-mile-long lake, which in places drops to 364m (1,135ft).
Mr. Chada’s LinkedIn profile says he is the director of sales for Global Energy Ventures, a company that provides specialized services to the oil industry in West Africa.
There have been several drownings in Lake Garda recently and the divers looking for Mr. Chad have just returned from a search for an Italian who recently went missing.
Earlier this month, another Italian drowned in the lake.
In 2017, 37-year-old Londoner Gary John Wood died while trying to swim one mile after a sudden storm created 6-foot waves. His body was retrieved by a robotic submarine.
https://news.sky.com/story/british-man-feared-to-have-drowned-in-lake-garda-after-saving-his-son-12658191
