Five drown in underground lake

Five people drowned when a boat carrying tourists through Europe’s largest underground lake overturned in Austria today, dumping the 32 passengers and crew into chilly waters.

The accident happened during a tour of the Hunterbruehl Grotto, a popular cave featuring a vast, shallow subterranean lake at Moedling.

There were unconfirmed reports that the tourists were Germans.

Joerg Wuerzelberger, a spokesman for the Lower Austria fire brigade said rescuers tried but failed to resuscitate five people.

During the Second World War, Austria’s Nazi occupiers used the grotto to secretly build aircraft. The site since has become a popular tourist destination.