A British tourist died and an Australian man was injured in a diving accident in Malaysia.
The woman was struck by a passing boat’s propeller while diving off a group of popular resort islands in the South China Sea off Malaysia’s east coast.
Madeline Jayne, 25, suffered serious injuries in the accident early on Monday off Pulau Perhentian Kecil and died on the way to hospital, according to police.
Her Australian friend, Simon Rogers, 22, was also hurt but survived, Malaysia’s official Bernama news agency reported.
Rogers was injured in both legs and stomach, the agency said. He was taken to the University Sains Malaysia Hospital in Kubang Kerian, Kelantan, on the mainland.
Terengganu state police chief Jamshah Mustafa said police were investigating.
“From our initial findings, the incident happened in an area which is off-limits to swimmers,” he said.
Besut police chief Supt Kamaruddin Mohd Zakaria told the news agency the incident occurred as boat operator Mohd Azwan Mohamad, 23, was passing the area to bring tourists to the island resort.
“The two victims and two other friends were diving outside the safe zone and were not wearing safety jackets. They were accidentally hit by Mohd Azwan,” he said.
Jayne is reported to have arrived in Malaysia on April 4 and had been staying at Senja Bay Resort on Pulau Perhentian Besar, while Rogers had been staying at Shari-La Resort on Pulau Perhentian Kecil.