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A 65-year-old British woman had to be rescued by Portuguese fishermen off the island of Madeira after she tried to swim back to her cruise ship following an argument with her husband.
Susan Brown, 65, leaped into the Atlantic Ocean after getting separated from her husband on a stop-off in Madeira, presuming he’d headed back to the Marco Polo.
Susan and her husband, Michael, had been at the airport trying to buy two tickets back to the UK when they were separated.
Police said the 65-year-old was found around 500 metres off the coast of Santa Cruz, which is near Madeira airport.
She was taken to a hospital psychiatric unit where she had life-saving treatment for advanced hypothermia.
They are still trying to establish whether Michael flew back to the UK.
Funchal ports captain Felix Marques, the local maritime police commander, said: ‘She was very lucky to survive.
‘She was in the water for more than three hours and was suffering from the effects of hypothermia when she was rescued by fishermen who heard her cries for help around 12.20am on Sunday.
‘All she had on her was the clothes she was wearing and a handbag which she was clinging to. She could easily died if she had not been rescued when she was.
The couple had been on a 32-day tour from the West Indies when they decided to cut their trip short on the 28th day.
Local reports say they rowed before but the ports captain could not confirm that they had an argument.
Marques added: ‘It’s still a bit unclear at the moment because we haven’t had a proper chance to speak with her ourselves given her condition.’
Agencies/Canadajournal
