A dramatic search operation is underway on Italy’s iconic Lake Como after a British man in his late 30s went missing while attempting to save a father and son who had gotten into trouble in the cold alpine waters on Monday afternoon.
The incident unfolded off the coast of the San Siro municipality, on the lake’s western shore, where the missing man was enjoying a day-long boating trip with his close family friends, according to local Italian media reports. When the father and son from the companion group began struggling to stay afloat, the British man immediately dove into the lake to reach the pair. Though the two victims were eventually pulled to safety by a passing private boat, the rescuer never resurfaced after starting to sink below the water’s surface.
The emergency alert was first raised at approximately 13:30 local time (11:30 GMT) by the teenage boy’s mother, who had remained on the group’s rented boat roughly 600 meters from shore with her other child. She contacted first responders immediately after witnessing the incident. Once brought ashore, the rescued father and son were evaluated by medical teams for early-stage hypothermia, a common risk in the lake’s cooling autumn waters, local news outlet Qui Como confirmed.
In the days since the man went missing, a large-scale multi-agency search effort has been deployed across the search zone. First responders have already dispatched helicopter patrols, specialized dive teams, and search boat units to comb the area, where Lake Como’s depth plunges to more than 200 meters – too deep for human divers to safely scan the lake bed in many sections. To expand the search into these deep-water zones, rescuers are now preparing to deploy two autonomous underwater robots to conduct systematic sonar scans of the bottom of the lake, Qui Como added.
The UK Foreign Office has confirmed it is providing consular support to the missing man’s family, and maintains ongoing communication with Italian local authorities leading the search operation.
Located roughly 30 miles north of Milan, Lake Como is one of Italy’s most popular luxury tourist destinations. Data from the local chamber of commerce shows the destination drew more than 78,000 international visitors in 2024 alone. While the region draws crowds through much of the year, local officials routinely warn that water temperatures drop rapidly starting in September, creating unexpected cold shock risks even for experienced swimmers.