Dean Kronsbein: Italy yacht crash victim was Ross-on-Wye facemask firm boss

Dean Kronsbein was reportedly on board a yacht with his wife and daughter when they crashed into rocks off the coast of Sardinia on Sunday

A British man who was killed in a boating accident in Italy has been named as the millionaire owner of a Covid facemask company.

Dean Kronsbein was reportedly on board a yacht with his wife and daughter when the craft crashed into rocks off the coast of Sardinia on Sunday.

Mr Kronsbein, 61, owned Ultrafilter Medical in Ross-on-Wye, Herefordshire.

A family spokesperson said he was a "much-loved and respected family man, friend and business colleague".

In a statement, the spokesperson said: "It is with great sadness we can confirm that Dean Kronsbein has been killed in a boating accident.

"It is a tremendous shock and he will be deeply missed by all who had the privilege to know him."

The company in Ross-on-Wye in Herefordshire made up to one million masks a day last year

Councillor Ed O'Driscoll, mayor of Ross-on-Wye, said in a post on Facebook he was "deeply shocked" to learn of the death of Mr Kronsbein, who was a German-British dual national.

"I would like to offer my deepest condolences to his family as they come to terms with this terrible news," he said.

It is thought Mr Kronsbein was pulled from the water at Il Nibani, near Porto Cervo, but was pronounced dead at the scene.

His wife, Sabine, 59, and daughter, Sophia, 27, were seriously injured, media reports stated.

A spokesperson for the Foreign Office said: "We are providing support following a maritime accident in Sardinia, including to the family of a dual national who has died.

"We are in contact with the local authorities."

In September, Mr Kronsbein's company started operating at Alton Business Park in Ross-on-Wye, making a million medical-grade face masks a day with a workforce made up of those who had lost their former jobs in the pandemic.

He later pledged to give away 100,000 masks - used by frontline workers, Herefordshire Council, the Swiss government and hospitals across Germany - in his hometown on Christmas Eve, the Ross Gazette reported.