http://www.relax.com.sg/relax/news/1785124/S_pore_woman_drowns_while_snorkelling_in_Maldives.html
For five minutes, his gaze was diverted to a group learning how to scuba dive.
When he next looked back, his wife was gone. As he rushed over, others were bringing her lifeless body back to shore.
Singaporean Irene Soon, 34, drowned last Saturday in a snorkelling accident in the Maldives.
The insurance manager had been there since May 1 for what was meant to be a five-night trip, her husband, Mr Mike Lie, 37, told The New Paper yesterday. It was a trip to celebrate her recent promotion from senior executive to assistant manager.
"She got the idea in February and started preparing in March. She booked the resort, bought tickets, exchanged currency," said the financial consultant .
The couple of two years spent May 2 going to Maldives capital Male for shopping and sightseeing, and decided to snorkel the next two days.
It was going to be their first time snorkelling. Ms Soon was not a strong swimmer.
In the 12 years they had known each other, Mr Lie remembered swimming with her less than 10 times and "she wouldn't do laps, just short distances", he said.
They rented snorkel equipment the next day and tried it out for an hour.
On their third day on the island, they rested for a short while after breakfast, rented a camera and started snorkelling from about 9am.
About an hour later, he told her he thought they should take a break as saltwater was getting into his mask and his nose.
He was later distracted by a group learning how to scuba dive and he watched them for about five minutes.
"That was when I realised, 'Oh my goodness,' the weather is bad, cloudy and drizzling. I decided to swim out," he said.
He then realised he had lost sight of her and hurried to put on his snorkelling gear to swim out and look for her.
About the same time, a German uncle and nephew pair on the shore had noticed that something about Ms Soon was amiss, that her snorkelling tube was underwater. The two swam out.
As Mr Lie went back to shore to cross to the other side of the pier, he said he heard a commotion. He next saw the nephew, who was in his 20s, pulling his wife's body in. Her body had been face down on the seabed.
Said Mr Lie: "I was shocked, I wondered what I could do to save her. Her fingernails and toenails were purple. I tried calling her name, she didn't answer. I frantically felt for her pulse, but there was none."
A diving instructor ran over and asked him how long Ms Soon had been underwater; Mr Lie said he couldn't tell, but maybe about 10 minutes.
Mr Lie said: "I asked him, 'Aren't you going to CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) or something?' He said there was no point."
A medical examination by the police pronounced her dead from drowning. Mr Lie returned to Singapore on Monday. Ms Soon's body arrived in Singapore on Thursday morning.
A Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman said it is aware of the case and has rendered consular assistance to Ms Soon's next-of-kin.
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