The video shows the conditions on the lake during the storm that slammed western Switzerland at around 5pm on Saturday afternoon bringing rain, hail and strong winds.

In the footage posted on Facebook, a yacht participating in the huge Bol d’Or Mirabaud regatta appears to capsize as it is buffeted by strong wind gusts that reached up to 50 knots an hour.

The storm caused an estimated 40 broken masts while a number of boats sank and several crew members went overboard, according to organisers. 

But a spokesperson for the event told The Local that sailors had displayed excellent seamanship. He said safety plans had worked perfectly and there had been no serious accidents.

However, in a separate incident which was unrelated to the yachting regatta, the stormy conditions on Lake Geneva claimed the life of a tourist who died when her sightseeing boat sank off Vésenaz.

Another man on the vessel was able to swim to another boat and set off flares, Geneva police said.

Three police boats and emergency services rushed to the scene. Police divers later retrieved the woman's body from the lake. 

The woman was taken to hospital in Geneva by Switzerland’s Rega air rescue services where she was declared dead, according to the AFP news agency.

The wild weather also caused problems across Geneva with emergency services called out over 500 times.

The clean-up continued on Sunday morning with hundreds of people taking part.