British mother drowns in Bahamas while trying to save her two children who were swept away while snorkelling
A British woman has drowned in the Bahamas while trying to save her two children who were swept out to sea.
The 36-year-old was on a snorkelling expedition in the south of the island with her husband and boys when the current carried them away.
According to local reports, she entered the water in a bid to save them.
She was pulled from the water and taken to North Bimini Ferry Dock when a man tried to resuscitate her.
Alice Town police said they were told shortly after 10am on Wednesday that the mother was found unresponsive at the ferry dock in Bimini.
But the woman had already been rushed for treatment when officers arrived. Doctors at the clinic later pronounced her dead.
Linty Stuart, owner of L&A Water Taxi, told ZNS that he was captaining the boat when people on board the vessel alerted him to the incident.
He said he ‘saw two boys and a mum’ in the water and that bystanders were able to pull the two boys from the water but the strong currents made it difficult to reach the mother.
The family were on a snorkelling expedition in Bimini, the Bahamas, when the tragedy unfolded
Mr Stuart then tried to turn the boat around to the ‘calm section’ of the water when he spotted the 36-year-old ‘face down’.
ZNS reports that ‘one of her children reportedly got into distress’ when she jumped in to save him.
Mr Stuart said the ship’s first mate Jason Saunders tried to perform CPR on the mother when the boat docked before paramedics arrived at the scene.
Mr Saunders told the broadcaster that despite his attempts to resuscitate her ‘didn’t come around’. He said: ‘It’s scary. We tried… it’s sad.’
A woman claiming to be a witness said: ‘Both children were rescued, I was there for all of it. She’s a hero.
‘Also pray for her husband. He went out to save the other boy but a bystander was able to get him.
‘It was truly terrible and nobody’s fault. Just two boys who were eager to get in the water and then things went crazy fast.
‘Two of the best parents I’ve ever seen in my entire life.’
A post-mortem examination will now take place to determine the cause of her death.
The Foreign Office has been approached for comment.
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