A woman has died while attempting to swim the English Channel for charity, the British Foreign Office said.
Susan Taylor, who was in her 30s, was swimming under the guidance of the Channel Swimming Association, which officially authorises attempts, when she got into difficulty near the French coast at about 5.30pm yesterday.
She was taken to hospital in nearby Boulogne-sur-Mer where she was later pronounced dead, according to news website The Local.
Susan Taylor’s father, Arthur Wright, said he had lost “the best person in the whole world”. He described his daughter as “just wonderful” and said he had been left devastated by her death.
Mr Wright said his daughter had given up her full-time job to carry out charitable work and was working part-time as an accountant. She had also done wing-walking and a parachute jump, and was a qualified rally driver.
“She was certainly not a boring accountant,” he added. Mr Wright revealed that his paramedic son David, Mrs Taylor’s brother, was on the boat at the time of the swim and battled to save her life.
“David was with her and he was the paramedic, he tried to help. “He pulled her on to the boat.” Also on the boat was Mrs Taylor’s husband Stephen, her coach who had been training her since she was eight years old, and a support swimmer.
PA