TRIBUTES AFTER WOMAN DIES ON WRECK-DIVE IN ALBANIA
The 29-year-old was on holiday in Albania
A FAMILY were watching the Queen’s funeral on television when they received a knock at the door to tell them their beloved daughter had died.
George and Gill Gannon were told by police that 29-year-old Rebecca had passed away in Albania, where she’d been travelling with her boyfriend.
The bereft couple – who for decades ran the George and Dragon pub in Meaford – learned ‘Beccie’ had died in a diving accident.
The former Alleyne’s Academy pupil had apparently noticed something was wrong with her scuba gear before so asked for it to be changed before going on the dive down to an old wreck.
George, aged 61, who runs the Gill’s of Stone bakery and kitchen in Stone with his wife – said it’s understood Beccie and boyfriend Robert Kerans dived in but within five minutes she came back up ‘panicking and asking for help’ while 20 yards away from the boat.
An expert had apparently jumped in to save Beccie, but she went back down again. He also believes the instructor tried to bring her back to life but nothing could be done to save her. Last night, as he and Beccie’s brother Joey were preparing to fly out to Albania, George told The Sentinel of the moment he was informed of his daughter’s death.
He said: “I was numb. We are a very close family and it’s left a massive hole. She was a fit girl. She didn’t drink, smoke or do anything wrong, we are all heartbroken. I last saw her on Friday, the week before, when she dropped her dog off with us. Joey and Beccie were almost like twins because they were close in age.”
Beccie and her boyfriend Robert had been at the Spiranca Diving Centre near the town of Sarande, in Albania. It is believed they were planning to dive to the wreck of an Italian cargo ship, the Probitas, which is just offshore.
There are unconfirmed reports that an instructor from the diving centre was arrested following Beccie’s death on Monday.
According to her family, keen traveller Beccie, who worked at Drac Logistics in Stone and lived in Stafford, had been on a mission to visit 50 countries before she reached the age of 30.
Joey, aged 28, of Stone, says the family are in touch with the embassy in Albania and hope for Beccie’s body to be flown home next week. Paying tribute to his sister, Joey said: “She was the kindest, bravest and most intelligent person in our family. She was an extremely hard worker. She was the most lovable person you could ever want to meet. She was beautiful inside and out.”