Victoria's Secret model Yfke Sturm in a coma

Yfke Sturm had given birth to her first child a month before her accident. Photo / Getty Images

A Dutch supermodel is fighting for her life in an Italian hospital following a dramatic jet surf accident in which she was struck by another rider.

London-based Yfke Sturm suffered a fractured skull, severe spinal injuries and remains in a coma as doctors at a specialist hospital in the southern city of Naples continue to treat her.

Tragically the accident comes just one month after the 33-year-old gave birth to her first child, a son named Alexander.

Ms Sturm has walked the catwalk for huge international brands such as Victoria's Secret, Ralph Lauren, Calvin Klein, Marc Jacobs, Dior, Saint Laurent, Chanel and Valentino, and has appeared on a number of Dutch television shows, including hosting Holland's Next Top Model.

The accident took place while Ms Sturm was on holiday near the southern Italian island of Ischia.

She is understood to have fallen off a jet surf - a kind of motorised surfboard - and was attempting to swim to safety when another jet surf rider approached at speed and struck her.

The Italian Coast Guard were on hand to immediately rescue her from the water, after which she was airlifted to a regional polyclinic in Naples, where doctors are treating her.

Ms Sturm is believed to be at serious risk of permanent paralysis due to the serious injuries to her spinal chord. She also suffered a fractured skull and remains in a coma.

The model's representatives have declined to comment on her condition.

- Daily Mail