Four die in apparent drowning incidents in Seychelles
(Seychelles News Agency) - The Seychelles' police said that a Ukrainian woman appears to have drowned on Monday near Ste Anne Island, close to the main island Mahe. The apparent drowning follows the deaths of an Indian male on Saturday and two Seychellois, including a 5-year-old, after a boating accident on Sunday.
The body of the Ukrainian was seen floating near the beach of Ste. Anne Island around 7.15 a.m. Monday, the police statement said. The woman had jumped into the sea from a catamaran and nobody has seen her since, a report filed with the police said.
Marine police officers searched for the Ukrainian but did not find her. The floating body was found by a man close to the Ste Anne beach.
The police opened an investigation into the incident while awaiting the autopsy results, which will determine the exact cause of death.
The police say that according to the report they received, the Ukrainian woman was with her husband and other passengers onboard the catamaran when the incident happened.
The two visitors had arrived in Seychelles, an archipelago in the western Indian Ocean, on April 28 and were due to leave on May 10. They had taken the one week cruise on the catamaran on Monday morning.
The police said they have also started investigations in two other incidents at sea -- the apparent drowning of a 25-year-old Indian male who was working at a tourism establishment at Anse Reunion, La Digue and another boating incident on Sunday which cost the lives of two Seychellois -- 41-year-old Christianne Simeon and 5-year-old Ella Simeon.
According to the police, the two Seychellois died after the boat they were in capsized near Therese Island, off the western coast of Mahe. The boat was carrying 8 passengers including the skipper.