Two die in separate swimming incidents

A 62-year-old Briton and a 49-year-old Cypriot drowned on Monday in two separate incidents in Paphos and Larnaca in the early evening.

Reports said a British man, who was vacationing in Cyprus with his family, had joined a short cruise in Kato Paphos bound for Akamas.

The boat set anchor at its destination at Blue Lagoon, at the northwestern tip of the island, where many passengers jumped into the water for a swim.

Around 6:30pm, the man began losing consciousness and was taken by speedboat to Latchi, where an ambulance was waiting at the dock. 

A witness was quoted in local media as saying there was no defibrillator or first aid kit on the cruise boat, but the report has not yet been confirmed.

The tourist was rushed to the medical centre at Polis Chrysochous where a doctor on duty pronounced him dead on arrival. An autopsy on Tuesday is expected to reveal the exact cause of death.

Later, around 7:55pm, a Greek Cypriot woman was spotted floating in the water, near Larnaca’s CTO beach, according to police. The exact area was part of the British Base area in Dhekelia and an SBA ambulance rushed the woman to the Emergency Room at Larnaca General Hospital.

Based on a preliminary investigation by local police, the woman appeared to have drowned while an autopsy is expected to reveal the exact cause of death.

Larnaca CID officials did not find any signs of external injuries on her body, according to local reports.