Dutch top model Yfke Sturm is said to be fighting for her life after sustaining serious injuries in an accident involving a motorised surf board off the Italian island of Ischia.

The 33-year-old, who has worked for Ralph Lauren, Chanel and Victoria’s Secret, was taken to hospital in Naples by helicopter where she is in a coma, according to Italian media.

The Corriere della Sera says the model, who recently became a mother, has fractured her skull and several bones in her spine and may be paralysed.

The Italian coast guard are now investigating the accident.

However, Sturm’s father Wilfrid told the Telegraaf his daughter is not in a life-threatening position. ‘She is a strong woman,’ he told the paper.