Saved by yoga

A 46-YEAR-OLD English woman who survived 10 hours in the Adriatic Sea after falling off the back of a cruise ship told her rescuers it was her fitness from yoga and singing that kept her alive.

Kay Longstaff was rescued by Croatia’s coast guard on Sunday morning having fallen off the back of the Norwegian Star as it sailed for Venice 95km off Croatia shortly before midnight on Saturday.

After her rescue she was taken to hospital in the town of Pula and later said she felt “very lucky” to have survived the ordeal and thanked her “wonderful” rescuers.

One of her rescuers told The Sun the woman put her survival down to singing songs and her fitness from yoga practice.

“She said the fact that she practises yoga helped her as she was fit. And she said she was singing to not feel cold in the sea overnight,” the unnamed rescuer said.

Ms Longstaff was spotted swimming in an area not far from where she is believed to have fallen, the rescue ship’s captain, Lovro Oreskovic, said.

“I fell off the back of the Norwegian Star and I was in the water for 10 hours, so these wonderful guys rescued me,” the woman said. “I am very lucky to be alive.”

David Radas, Croatian Ministry of Maritime Affairs spokesman, said that by checking CCTV rescuers knew the exact moment she had fallen in the water.

“Because they knew the time, they were able to know the exact position of the ship,” he told The Sun.

Captain Oreskovic said they were “extremely happy for saving a human life”.