Woman who was dropped into sea dies

A British woman who was dropped into the sea off Norway while being transferred from a cruise ship to another vessel has died.

Janet Richardson, 73, from near Penrith, Cumbria, was taken ill on the Ocean Countess and fell into the sea while being stretchered onto a rescue vessel. She spent eight minutes in the near-freezing Arctic Ocean before being rescued and taken to hospital in Norway.

The grandmother died on Thursday evening at Cumberland Infirmary, Carlisle.

Mrs Richardson had been struck down with internal bleeding on the voyage from Hull to Norway on a trip to see the Northern Lights with her husband George, 78.

The captain of the Ocean Countess, operated by UK company Cruise and Maritime Voyages, had called for a rescue boat to take her to hospital.

As she was being lifted from the ship to the rescue boat, the two boats moved away and her stretcher slipped from the grasp of the rescuers and she fell into the water.

The incident is under investigation by the cruise company and the Norwegian rescue authorities.

In a statement North Cumbria University Hospitals said: “It is with regret that Mrs Janet Richardson passed away on Thursday evening, 21 April. Respecting the family’s wishes we have no further comment at this time.”