A British man has drowned in Colombia after reportedly travelling to the country to get married
A British tourist has drowned in Colombia after reportedly travelling to the South American country to get married. The 30-year-old died after getting into difficulties in the sea off the Caribbean port city of Cartagena.
The alarm was raised around 7am this morning local time in a popular tourist peninsula and residential neighbourhood called El Laguito.
Local reports say the Brit had travelled to Colombia to get married, with one saying he had just tied the knot with his partner who is believed to have been with him at the time.
He was pronounced dead at the scene after failed efforts by emergency responders to revive him. Sea conditions at the time he went into the water were described as rough.
An investigation into the tragedy is ongoing although the British tourist’s death has been described as accidental. His body has now been taken to a city forensic medicine institute so a post-mortem can take place.
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Harrowing footage published by one Cartagena media outlet showed a woman believed to be the man’s partner crouching over his body by the shoreline, which was under a white sheet, and weeping: “My baby, oh my baby” over and over before shouting: “No.”
It comes just days after a similar incident on the popular holiday island of Bali where a 39 year-old Brit drowned.
The holidaymaker is belived to have been swimming off the Nyang-Nyang Beach when became caught in the swell and was pulled away by a powerful rip current. Shocking footage of the incident shows two tourists attempt to save him by pulling his lifeless body back to shore, fighting against the strong waves.
Unfortunately, by the time they reached dry land it was too late and paramedics later arrived and confirmed that he was dead before taking him to the local hospital for a post-mortem examination. His death is still be investigated.
Just a week prior to this, two Brits also lost their lives in powerful ocean waves, this time off the coast of Australia at Shellharbour Beach in New South Wales.
The 66-year-old man and 64-year-old woman were at the beach with family when the incident occurred.
Off-duty nurses performed CPR on the pair once they had been brought back to the beach but their efforts were futile. Despite a multi-agency emergency response including fire and air rescue services, neither survived.
