The parents of a graduate who died scuba diving in Australia today demanded answers after it emerged she drowned after apparently becoming separated from her instructor.
Bethany Farrell, 23, died on her first ever scuba dive at Blue Harbour Bay in the Whitsunday Islands.
The English literature and media student had signed up for an introductory session with friends a week into her trip around the country.
Her parents Patrick and Caron Farrell said their daughter, who was a strong swimmer and had snorkelled before, became separated from her instructor. They have suggested she may have drowned because she was left unsupervised and went too deep.
Mr Farrell, 47, said: “The instructor had three students — one of them was Bethany. One of them decided she didn’t want to dive and we haven’t got the exact reasons why, so she remained on the boat, which left the instructor, Bethany and one of her friends.
“At some point, the diving instructor lost sight of Bethany, then realised he couldn’t locate her, returned the other student to the surface, sought help and went back down, presumably with other people, to help and they found Bethany dead 11 metres down.
“They were meant to be diving in a depth of five metres.
“It is devastating. There were weeks I was just hoping I had gone insane and got it wrong.”
The parents, who both spoke to their daughter days before her death on February 17, were told the news by police officers who came to their home in Colchester, Essex.
Mrs Farrell, 50, said: “For the first few days it was like a bad dream.”
Mr Farrell added: “It is devastating. She was a pure and gentle soul. She was at a point in life where everything was in place. She had a degree, she had passed her driving test.
“She was going off to Australia and then to decide if she wanted to have a career path but this has gone too far. She was on a supervised activity, she should have been safe.
“She was excited and happy. She has always been bright and happy and caring. A lot of her friends said they had never seen her so happy.”
The Southampton Solent University student’s body was repatriated to Britain earlier this month.
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Australian police and the Office of Fair and Safe Work are now investigating Miss Farrell’s death. Her parents have been told the process could take up to a year but could lead to a criminal investigation.
