British woman dies in Bahamas while trying to save children swept away while snorkelling

A British woman has drowned after trying to rescue her two sons who were swept away while snorkelling in the Bahamas.The 36-year-old was holidaying with her husband and children, and had gone on an expedition off the southern end of Bimini on Tuesday morning when powerful currents took hold of the boys.In a desperate attempt to rescue them, the unnamed woman was also carried off, the Royal Bahamas Police Force said.Her children were pulled out from the water in time, but their mother, who was taken to North Bimini Ferry Dock, was unresponsive and was later pronounced dead in hospital.Linty Stuart, the owner of L&A Water Taxi, told the Bahamian broadcaster ZNS that he captained the boat that pulled the family from the water after his crew spotted “frantic hands waving in the distance”.“I immediately went to see what they [crew members] were calling me for,” he recalled. “I saw them pointing towards the west side. I saw two boys and their mother.”Stuart added that the strong currents made the recovery efforts “extremely difficult” and by the time they got to her, she was already “face down” in the water.“At least a 7ft to 8ft wave... almost turned the whole vessel over... it shot me down,” he added about the challenging conditions. “Everything happened really, really fast. It’s a shock.”Footage shared by the broadcaster shows heroic bystanders rushing to the victim’s aid.Her sons watched in horror as people tried to resuscitate their mother before first responders eventually arrived at the scene as the boat docked.A post-mortem examination will now take place to determine the cause of death, but police have ruled out foul play.“According to the preliminary report, shortly after 10am, officers at the Alice Town Police Station received information that a female was unresponsive at the North Bimini Ferry Dock,” the force said in a statement.“Officers responded and, upon arrival, learned that the woman had been transported to the local clinic for medical attention, where she was subsequently pronounced dead by a local doctor despite efforts to save her life. “Preliminary information indicates that the deceased was snorkelling with her husband and two sons near the southern point of the island when a strong current reportedly swept both children away. “In an attempt to rescue her sons, the woman was also swept awat. She was later rescued and transported to the ferry dock, where CPR was reportedly administered.”The Independent has contacted the Foreign Office for a statement.