Leicestershire dad feared drowned in Italy's Lake Garda after diving in to save teenage son

A Leicestershire man is feared to have drowned in Lake Garda in Italy after diving in to save his teenage son.

Aran Chada, a 51-year-old sales director, is believed to have had a seizure when he leapt from a boat into the water, The Times reports.

Mr Chada was reportedly on holiday in Italy with his partner, Holly Mosley, 39, and their children: a 14-year-old boy and a girl aged seven, and was due to celebrate his birthday on Tuesday (26 July).

The paper reported the family had been on the lake on a rented boat on Friday when Mr Chada noticed his son struggling in the water and jumped in to rescue him.

The coastguard believes Mr Chada may have suffered a thermal shock seizure. Temperatures were around 38C but the water was "a good 10 degrees colder".

'He saw his child in danger and he did what any parent would do'

Coastguard commander Antonello Ragadale told the paper: "This man was a hero and we fear he drowned, but we’re doing everything we can to find his body.

"Divers arrived with the helicopters but could do little because a steep, rocky shelf descends to a great depth at that point.

"A civil protection agency remote control mini-sub was sent down and searched for the man until late into the night, but to no avail."

According to his LinkedIn page, Mr Chada worked for Global Energy Ventures, a company that services oilfields in Africa.

Commander Ragadale pledged to continue the search, which started again at dawn on Saturday, adding: "The father was very brave in what he did. He saw his child in danger and he did what any parent would do and tried to save them, which he did."

The Foreign Office said in a statement: "We are supporting the family of a British man who has been reported missing in Italy and are in contact with the Italian police."