Speedboat killed SAS hero’s daughter as she swam off paradise isle
a YOUNG woman died after being struck by a boat propeller while snorkelling in Malaysia, an inquest heard.
Madaline Cole, 25, the daughter of an sas veteran, was seriously injured when she and a friend were hit by a speedboat at a popular diving spot in the south China sea.
the boat’s pilot pulled her from the water and took her to a hospital ten minutes away – but when she arrived, there were no doctors present.
Her australian friend, simon Rogers, received minor injuries in the accident off the island of Pulau Perhentian.
an inquest at Herefordshire Coroner’s Court was told that newly-qualified diving instructor Madaline had been snorkelling outside the safe swimming area marked by buoys. Malaysian police she also did not have a ‘safety sausage’ – a small float that indicates she was under the water – and concluded her death on May 27, 2013, was an accident.
But Miss Cole’s father, Bob Cole, 63, who served in the Royal engineers and the sas and saw action in the Gulf, said he believed boats were being driven too fast near divers.
He flew to the area the day after the accident, when he said he was told by Miss Cole’s boyfriend, Ross Makulec, that a marker used to pinpoint the location of the collision was placed incorrectly. Mr Cole who, following the second Gulf War, provided security and protection for companies in iraq, told the inquest: ‘ We could see a marker which was clearly quite a way out from the buoy line.
‘it’s a third world country and they’re not used to health and safety and their regard for human life is not what we’re used to. Maddy wasn’t the first person to be hit by a boat there.
‘i watched that area for hours and noticed that boat drivers have a lot of bravado and like to skim along the beach close to the buoy line.’
Miss Cole, from Bodenham, Herefordshire, worked in the vil- lage’s england’s Gate pub before leaving to complete her diving qualification.
she had arrived in Malaysia with her boyfriend on april 4 and had been staying at the senja Bay resort on Perhentian Besar island since May 9.
the Perhentians are popular with tourists because of their beautiful waters and coral reefs.
Miss Cole had qualified as a diving instructor just three months before she was killed. she had also been kayaking, rock climbing and mountain biking.
the Malaysian investigation confirmed that a local man called Mohd azwan Bin Mohd had been driving the boat.
Chief of police Kamsani Bin Hassan, conducting the Malaysian investigation into the incident, concluded there was no criminal element and it was an accident.
Herefordshire coroner Mark Bricknell recorded a verdict of accidental death on Wednesday.
after the inquest, Miss Cole’s mother, Jill, 63, said she was disappointed at the verdict. she said: ‘i feel justice hasn’t been done. two other people have been killed in that bay in a similar way.’
Paul austin, the manager of the pub where she worked, said: ‘Maddy was a wonderful, bubbly person. she was the nicest person you could hope to meet.’
‘It’s a third world country’