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| Charlotte Furness-Smith cave death 'misadventure' | Charlotte Furness-Smith cave death 'misadventure' |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| A former Royal Navy reservist who became trapped in a sea cave died by misadventure, a coroner has ruled. | A former Royal Navy reservist who became trapped in a sea cave died by misadventure, a coroner has ruled. |
| Charlotte, 30, and brother Alex Furness-Smith had been coasteering when they became trapped at Durlston, near Swanage, Dorset, in November last year. | Charlotte, 30, and brother Alex Furness-Smith had been coasteering when they became trapped at Durlston, near Swanage, Dorset, in November last year. |
| Mr Furness-Smith told the inquest the pair were going kitesurfing but changed their plans due to the weather. | Mr Furness-Smith told the inquest the pair were going kitesurfing but changed their plans due to the weather. |
| The coroner recommended a gallantry award for a volunteer coastguard who took part in the recue bid. | |
| Mr Furness-Smith, 31, managed to get out and went to find help. | Mr Furness-Smith, 31, managed to get out and went to find help. |
| By the time rescuers managed to get to his sister she had died. Her body has never been found. | By the time rescuers managed to get to his sister she had died. Her body has never been found. |
| Queen's Commendation | |
| Ms Furness-Smith, known as "Buffy" to her friends, was a maths teacher at Bristol Free School and had also appeared on Royal Navy posters during her time as a reservist. | |
| On Tuesday, the inquest at Bournemouth Coroner's Court heard how she and her brother had been swimming and climbing along the cliff face - an activity known as coasteering - when the weather deteriorated even more. | |
| Winds of 35mph and waves of 3ft (1m) pushed them into Tilly Whim cave, a sea cave at the old stone quarries at Durlston. | |
| Inside the cave it was pitch black and they were being tossed upside down by the waves, Mr Furness-Smith told the hearing. | |
| After several failed attempts, he managed to escape and raised the alarm. | |
| A coastguard helicopter arrived within eight minutes and he was winched to safety. | |
| Paramedic Adrian Rogers was then lowered to a blowhole at the top of the cave from where he spoke to Ms Furness-Smith still trapped inside. | |
| He was unable to lift her out and a specialist rescue team was called. | |
| When they got inside the cave they discovered Ms Furness-Smith's lifeless body lying face down in the water. | |
| They were not able to recover the body and subsequent searches failed to find it. | |
| At the end of the inquest, coroner Sheriff Payne recommended volunteer coastguard Ian Bulger for a Queen's Commendation for Bravery. | |
| He was winched through the blowhole as part of the rescue attempt. |