Student Millie died during a midnight swim
‘KIND, BEAUTIFUL’ TEENAGER WAS ON PLACEMENT AT AFRICAN HOSPITAL
TRIBUTES have been paid to a Yorkshire teenager who died after going for a midnight swim with friends while on a student placement in Ghana.
Nursing student Millie Ann Gentry, who was 19 and from Gomersal, Cleckheaton, was just over two weeks into a one-month volunteering placement at a hospital in Ghana, West Africa, when tragedy struck in the early hours of March 17 last year.
Millie had been staying in lodgings in Busua, a beach resort, with her friend Erin Byrnes, from Halifax, when they decided to go for a swim in the sea just after midnight along with another friend, Lewis Mallinson, an inquest was told.
The friends had gone to a pool bar, had a couple of drinks and were then told to return to their room as there was a 10pm curfew. The friends went back to the lodge but at around 12.30am decided to go to the beach for a swim.
In a statement, Erin described how the waves ‘pulled us all in’ and how she had attempted to lift Millie up while screaming for help, but she could see that she had drowned.
Erin was eventually pulled out of the sea while others continued to search for Millie. Lewis Mallinson, who was also volunteering in Ghana, said they had been in the sea for around 15 minutes and the current was ‘very strong.’
In a statement, Lewis said Millie and Erin were ‘struggling’ and added: “I had no choice but to leave them and call for help.” He said Erin was rescued after around 30 minutes. Around four hours later, Millie’s body was found, he added. Around 30 villagers had joined the rescue efforts.
A post mortem examination found that Millie had drowned and had suffered a head injury while in the sea.
The inquest heard from Millie’s mum Tracy, who provided a statement on behalf of the family. She described Millie as a ‘beautiful girl’ who had decided to dedicate her life to children’s nursing. Millie, who had three siblings, had been studying for a degree in nursing at Bradford University and was ‘a muchloved daughter.’
Tracy said Millie was kind and had the ‘biggest heart’ as well as being clever. She had been reluctant to go places until she had met her boyfriend, Elvis, who had given her the confidence to do new things, Tracy said.
The inquest heard evidence from Christopher Holland, a director with a company called The Mighty Roar, which organised the volunteering trip. He outlined the safety information given to volunteers, which included advice not to swim at night.
The hearing was told that on the night of the tragedy, Millie and her friends had broken a 10pm curfew and had scaled a high wall to get to the beach.
Senior coroner Martin Fleming concluded that Millie had died as a result of a misadventure after she and her friends had been unexpectedly ‘overwhelmed’ while in the sea. He said it was thought that Millie had banged her head while in the sea. There was no evidence that Millie had more than a couple of drinks before entering the water.
Mr Fleming described Millie as ‘a young woman with so much promise who had already dedicated her life to helping children.’
Millie’s friends and family left their own tributes on a memories page. One said: “Millie had the kindest soul and was such an amazing girl, we had so many memories together which I’ll forever cherish, and I feel so lucky to have been her friend.”
She was a young woman with so much promise who had dedicated her life to helping children Martin Fleming