A British couple have drowned in Italy the day before they were due to fly home to the UK.
Italian police said they believe the man drowned after trying to rescue his fiancee who got into trouble off the coast of south-west Sicily, reports the Daily Mail.
They said both victims were not strong swimmers and they were working on the theory that Andrew Sturgess, 34, had tried to save his girlfriend Carmen Spiridon, 25, after she got into trouble in an area of shifting sands.
Off-duty lifeguards tried to resusitate Mr Sturgess after a woman on the beach at Tre Fontane near Campobello saw his motionless body floating face down.
The couple were due to fly back to their home in Stoke-on-Trent today after spending a week in Italy.
Captain Fabio Manzo said: "The area of beach is public and there are no lifeguards or watch towers but screams from a woman on the beach alerted two off duty lifeguards who dived into the water.
"The water was not rough at the time but from what we have established neither was a strong swimmer and there are awkward currents in the area.
"They had been spotted playing around in the water just a few minutes beforehand. That area of coastline has a strange current and the sand is also very soft there."
