British tourist who drowned in Lake Como named

A British tourist who drowned in Lake Como on Wednesday has been named as 21-year-old Sam Rigby.

The student from Liverpool, was swimming with Olivia Greenall, his 19-year-old partner, when the pair got into difficulty. 

Ms Greenall watched him being swept away as he was overwhelmed by the strong current.

The young holidaymakers are said to have rented a boat in Varenna on the eastern shore of the lake and were sailing towards Menaggio when they stopped to go swimming.

The woman was rescued by a passing boat, which immediately raised the alarm.

Increased safety fears

Firefighters and other rescue services from Menaggio and Dongo launched an intensive search of the area. Two helicopters and a team of rescue divers swept the lake in the hope of finding the young man alive but his body was recovered late Wednesday.

Lake Como attracts around 1.5 million visitors a year and is one of Italy’s most popular tourist destinations. However, its currents are considered dangerous for swimmers and leisure craft.

In 2022, two teenagers died in separate incidents after they dived into the lake.

Despite the dangers, the lake is filled with leisure craft, kayakers and swimmers in the summer months, creating water safety concerns not only at Lake Como, but across the lakes region of northern Italy.

On Tuesday, Hanna Shabratska, a 56-year-old Ukrainian woman, and her son, Oleksiy, drowned near Punto Lido at Lake Garda. After an intense search their bodies were found by rescue divers at a depth of 18 metres (60ft).