Doctors drowned in tragic sea rescue bid

TWO British doctors who drowned on holiday in Tenerife were sucked into a whirlpool as they battled to stop their children being swept out to sea, an inquest heard. Dr Uma Ramalingam, 42, and Dr Barathi Ravikumar, 40, were clambering on rocks near their holiday villa with their families when they were hit by a succession of freak waves. They tried to grab the two youngsters but all four slipped as they were battered by the waves and were swept out by strong currents. The children were rescued but Dr Ramalingam, a consultant obstetrician from Bowdon, Cheshire, and Dr Ravikumar, a GP from Lincoln, could not be saved. There were no warning signs near the rocks at the Playa Paraiso resort at the time of the tragedy in April this year, the inquest in Stockport heard yes-

‘ Completely unexpected’

terday. In a statement Dr Ravikumar’s twin Dr Poorami Chandrasekaran, who was also swept into the sea but managed to get out, said that one of the freak waves had caused a whirlpool current. She added that, with nothing to hold on to, they were unable to swim against the current. The coastguards soon arrived with diving equipment. ‘ It felt a very long time to me but I had no idea,’ Dr Chandrasekaran said. She was taken to hospital for exhaustion and her 13- year- old daughter, who is diabetic, was also treated for cuts and bruising. Recording a verdict of accidental death, coroner John Pollard said: ‘ If death had occurred at a British resort I would be writing to the resort about warning signs. It was quite clearly a calm day, with nothing unusual. It was completely unexpected.’ He added that he would write a letter to the Tenerife authorities about the case but was unable to send an official report because the incident had happened outside British jurisdiction.