A 29-year-old woman working as a hostess on a British sailboat has been found dead on board the vessel after it caught fire overnight at an Italian port.

The 22-metre sailboat caught fire in the marina in the commune of Castellammare di Stabia in the Metropolitan City of Naples in the early hours of 30th August.

Giulia Maccaroni, from the commune of San Vito Romano in the Metropolitan City of Rome, was asleep when the sailboat caught fire in the marina.

She told other crew members that she was feeling tired after a cruise and wanted to sleep on “her” boat.

The Port Authority has launched an investigation into the blaze, and the victim’s body was taken to a forensics facility to undergo an autopsy.

Meanwhile, the authorities are continuing to recover the damaged vessel named ‘Morgane’ that sails under the flag of the UK and is managed by a local company in Naples.

The 29-year-old victim was a crew member who worked as a hostess, and it is believed she was unaware of the fire and probably suffocated in her sleep.

Firefighters found her dead body below deck without burns or other injuries, according to the news site La Stampa.

The fire mainly damaged the outside of the sailboat.

After being informed of the young woman’s death, family members are travelling down from Rome to identify the body and assist the authorities with any questions.

The cause of the fire is still unknown and the investigation is ongoing.