Florijana Ismaili: Swiss women’s international footballer declared missing after Lake Como swimming accident

Florijana Ismaili, the Switzerland women’s international, has been declared missing after a swimming accident in Lake Como in Italy on Saturday.

The Swiss Football Association and Young Boys, Ismaili’s club, issued a joint statement on Sunday confirming the 24-year-old’s disappearance. 

“Searches by the police continue. We are very concerned and have not given up hope that everything will turn out well,” the statement read.

“We are in close contact with the family members and ask for understanding that we can not give any further information at the present time.”

According to TGR Lombardia, Ismaili was spending a day at Lake Como with a friend when she dived into the water but did not resurface.

“We do not know yet what exactly happened,” a police spokesperson told Swiss newspaper Blick. ”It could be that the young woman fainted when she jumped into the cold water.” 

Rescue teams searched the area on Saturday evening with no results, before resuming their work on Sunday morning.

Ismaili has played 33 times for Switzerland at international level and was an unused member of the 2015 Women’s World Cup squad.