A British woman tragically collapsed and died on a beach in Sicily just moments after she had been swimming in the sea.
Deborah Hooper, 64, was on holiday her partner with retired accountant Andrew Ashman, 72, when she took a dip in the "rough" sea on a beach near Punta Secca, Sicily, Italy.
Ms Hooper suddenly felt unwell and managed to get out of the water and reach the shore, before she likely suffered a cardiac arrest.
Police told MailOnline that the holidaymakers had gone for a swim despite the water being "rough and cold", on a beach where there is no lifeguard on duty.
Ms Hooper tragically collapsed on the beach in front of her husband. Medics were called but they were unable to save the Brit who was pronounced dead at the scene.
Ms Hooper was originally from Salisbury, Wiltshire, while her partner is from Hampstead, northwest London.
"We believe she had some form of medical episode. Her partner saw she was in trouble as did two other people on the beach but because the sea was rough they couldn't go in and had to wait until she got closer to the shore", Carabinieri police spokesperson Lt Col Giovanni Palatini told MailOnline.
Mr Palatini said there was nothing they could do to save her and that an autopsy to determine the cause of death is underway.
The news comes as another British tourist was been found dead on a sunbed after suddenly falling ill while on holiday on a Greek island.
The 62-year-old British man was on Stalida beach in Crete with his wife on Thursday when tragedy struck.
On the same beach in Crete in July, the 54-year-old man was left dead for hours as passersby believed he was sunbathing.
Eventually, beachgoers went to check on him and they realised he was unconscious so alerted authorities who raced to the scene to try to resuscitate him but sadly could not save him.
