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Two French tourists believed to have died from heart attacks on Great Barrier Reef Two French tourists die from heart attacks on Great Barrier Reef
(35 minutes later)
Two French tourists have died after suffering heart attacks in the ocean north of Cairns, according to reports. Two French tourists have died after suffering heart attacks while on a snorkelling trip north of Cairns.
Police were on Wednesday travelling to Michaelmas Cay to investigate the incident, after the pair were found unconscious in the water. Dive company Passions of Paradise said that the man and woman were among an group of 21 elderly French tourists on a tour at Michaelmas Cay on Wednesday.
Michaelmas Cay is a popular diving spot on the Great Barrier Reef. Two snorkel guides were with the group, while there was also one lookout on the beach, and one on the boat.
The Cairns Post said that the two who died were French tourists. It said they suffered heart attacks while in the water. A third French tourist also reportedly got into trouble but survived. The beach lookout spotted the man floating in the water and pulled him onto the sand, while the lookout on the boat pulled the woman onto the catamaran, the company said.
Col McKenzie, the executive director of the Association of Marine Park Tourism Operators, told the paper that tour operators and an off-duty doctor worked to treat all three but two could not be saved. Crew members tried to revive the pair, but they both died at the scene.
“They had pre-existing medical conditions and were accompanied by a guide when they were in the water,” said Scotty Garden, Passions of Paradise chief executive, in a statement.
A third French tourist also got into difficulties but survived.
Association of Marine Park Tourism Operators executive director Col McKenzie described it as a “perfect storm”.
“Crew on the Passions boat worked to save them all, including CPR and using oxygen, but tragically two are dead,” he told the Cairns Post.
“There was a doctor onboard the nearby Ocean Spirit who declared them dead.”