British Pensioner rescued from Atlantic

A British holidaymaker was rescued from the Atlantic after apparently trying to swim to a cruise liner while carrying her handbag, Susan Brown, 65, was pulled from the ice-cold waters off the coast of Madeira shortly after midnight on Sunday with severe hypothermia after more than four hours swimming a third of a mile out to sea.

She told rescuers she jumped into the water from beside the Portuguese island’s airport believing her husband Michael had got back on board the Marco Polo cruise ship after both had disembarked earlier in the day following a blazing row.

The pair cut short a 32 day tour with only four days left, booking easyJet flights to get them back to Bristol on Saturday evening after arriving on Madeira from the West Indies.

After losing sight of her husband some time before boarding the jet home, Mrs Brown is said to have become convinced he had returned to the vessel.

When the ship then passed the airport’s coastal runway, she is reported to have taken to the water to make chase.

Gripping her handbag, Mrs Brown made it more than 1,600ft before struggling.

Her life was eventually saved by passing fishermen who heard her panicked screams for help shortly after midnight.

Details of the moments leading up to the drama of Mrs Brown’s sea rescue emerged as her husband Michael, 69, remained holed up at the couple’s home at Shaftesbury, Dorset, after flying back home from Madeira alone. 

They parted company after cutting their cruise short when their ship Marco Polo docked in the island capital Funchal on Saturday morning on its way back to Bristol.