British tourist drowns on dream trip in Australia
Bethany Farrell was on the trip of a lifetime.
The 23-year-old arrived in Australia in mid-February after graduating from University in the United Kingdom.
She planned to spend a year working and traveling throughout the country.
But just days into her trip, Bethany drowned while scuba-diving in the Whitsunday's.
Initial reports suggested she may have become separated from her instructor.
She was found 11 metres below the surface and could not be resuscitated.
Her devastated family are demanding answers about why she was found in such deep water even though she was only supposed to be diving to a depth of five metres.
“She was on a supervised activity - she should have been safe,” her father Patrick said, according to the Daily Telegraph.
"At some point, the diving instructor lost sight of Bethany, then realised he could not 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.”
Mr Farrell said he had spoken to his daughter only two days earlier on Skype.
In the days leading up to her death, Bethany had posted a series of happy snaps on her Instagram account.
"It's a beautiful day down under," she captioned one her photos.
Bethany's family said they are struggling to come to terms with her death.
“It has been just devastating," Mr Farrell said.
"There are times when I have been just hoping I had gone insane and got it wrong.
"Bethany was a pure and gentle soul - she was at a point in life where everything was in place."
Queensland police are investigating the cause of Bethany’s death but say they do not believe there are any suspicious circumstances.
They are yet to provide their report to the coroner.
News break – March 25
