Italian authorities are searching for Swiss footballer Florijana Ismaili, who has been confirmed missing after a “swimming accident” in Lake Como, northern Italy.
Ismaili, 24, a striker with the BSC Young Boys women’s team, has been missing since Saturday afternoon, the Swiss club confirmed.
A spokesman for the local fire brigade told CNN its teams would continue to search for the footballer using an autonomous underwater vehicle, which can search down to depths of 200 meters. He also confirmed that divers, who can search water as deep as 50 meters, had been deployed to search for the player on Sunday.
“The officials of the BSC Young Boys have been informed that our player Florijana Ismaili has been missing since Saturday afternoon on Lake Como after a swimming accident,” the football club said in a statement on Sunday. “Searches by the police continue. We are very concerned and have not given up the hope that everything will turn out well.”
“We are in close contact with family members and we ask for your understanding that we can not provide any further information at the present time. We will inform again as soon as we know more,” they added.
Ismaili has played for the BSC Young Boys women’s team since 2011. She previously played for Swiss team FC Walperswil, and is in the Switzerland’s national women’s team.
