An ex-pat died in the Caribbean just two weeks before returning home to Britain after leaping into the sea to try and save a teenage swimmer, an inquest heard.
Vivienne Carne, 45, drowned in front of her two daughters and ex-policeman husband Terry, 55, as they enjoyed a family day out on the island of Trinidad.
They were with another family on a trip to Three Pools, a series 8ft deep lakes by the Marianne River in the northern coastal village of Blanchisseuse.
Despite the calm conditions one of the group, a 13-year-old Tamika Braithwaite, paddled out too far and was quickly out of her depth.
Vivienne, of Newquay, Cornwall, heard her cries and leapt in and swam out to her but struggled to drag the little girl from the water.
Her horrifed husband was forced to drag his wife out but his attempts at CPR failed to revive her and she died, an inquest in Truro, Cornwall, heard.
Tamika, the daughter of Mrs Carne’s friend Alicia Braithwaite, was also pulled from the
water dead following the tragedy in July 2010.
Terry told the inquest: “I swam to Viv and Tamika and attempted to pull them both towards the edge. Tamika was panicking and had her arms around Viv.
“I desperately tried to pull them but I was unable to reach them. At one point I was under the water myself which was between seven and eight foot deep.
“When I was looking up from the bottom I was looking at Viv’s face. She was already face down in the water. When I pulled myself out both my daughters were screaming.”
Terry had been in Trinidad for two years having secured a job with the island’s Special Anti-Crime Unit.
Mrs Carne was a former secretary of Newquay’s town’s rowing club and the family had booked flights back to England for two weeks later, the inquest heard.
Coroner Emma Carlyon recorded a verdict of accidental death.
