Two British doctors have drowned off the coast of Tenerife after reportedly getting into difficulty as they attempted to rescue their two children swept out by a wave.
Uma Ramalingam, 42, and her relative Barathi Ravikumar, 40, were pronounced dead after the incident off the coast of Playa Paraiso on the Canary Island on Sunday.
A third woman, 38, survived along with the two children, aged 10 and 14, after being pulled out of the water by rescuers.
Colleagues yesterday paid tribute to Mrs Ramalingam, from Altrincham, Cheshire, and Dr Ravikumar, a partner at the Heath Surgery, Bracebridge Heath, in Lincoln.
Dr Ravikumar, a mother-of-two, was described as “a hard-working and dedicated GP”.
A statement on her surgery’s website said: “Dr Ravikumar will be sorely missed and leaves behind a husband and two children.”
In a statement, Dr Mohammed Zubair Qureshi, Dr Ashfaq Qureshi and Dr Rama Srinivasan, partners at the Heath Practice, added: “It is with great sadness and shock that our practice has learned of the tragic death of Dr Barathi Ravikumar, a hardworking and dedicated GP.
“She will be greatly missed by us and all our sincere thoughts and condolences are with her family and friends at this very sad time.”
A Guardia Civil spokeswoman said: “It appears that the two women were dragged into the sea by a wave on Sunday at around 6pm in Playa Paraiso, Adeje.
“We can confirm that both were British and both were relatives, although we are not certain how they were related at the moment.”
A spokeswoman for emergency services on the Canary Islands said: “Witnesses rescued two women and two children from the sea.
“An emergency helicopter located a fifth person in the sea, a woman, and one of the respondents dangled out of the craft and pulled her out.
“After realising that she was in cardiac arrest, respondents gave her basic CPR while they took her to land so she could be attended by healthcare personnel.
“Staff from the Canaries health service, a doctor from a nearby health centre and another doctor who was at the scene found that two women were in cardiac arrest and tried to give them advanced CPR without success.”
The Guardia Civil is now investigating the incident, the spokeswoman said.
A spokesman for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office said: “We are in touch with the authorities and are providing consular assistance with the families.”