The raft, carrying a local guide and four Israeli tourists, capsized about 150 metres into the trip near the confluence of the Soča and the Koritnica after hitting an underwater boulder.

A rescue mission was launched immediately but it was suspended at nightfall. The search resumed at 8 AM Monday morning and the rafter was found two hours later near the accident site.

Soča is a Slovenia's most popular whitewater destination, with rafting, kayaking and canyoning the most popular sports for adventure-seekers from around the world.

Accidents typically happen when foreign guides, with insufficient knowledge of the river, organise trips. According to the daily Delo, this was the first fatal accident involving a Slovenian rafting company since 1989.

So far the worst year has been 1999, when six people died in five accidents, according to police statistics.