A British couple who went scuba diving off the coast of Mauritius spent seven hours drifting in shark-infested waters after they became separated from their dive boat and swept out to sea.
Julie Byrne and her husband, Jeff, were in a group of five divers, including a qualified dive leader, who were dragged 12 miles by a rip tide into the Indian Ocean, prompting a huge rescue operation involving 22 boats, two helicopters and an aircraft.
They were eventually spotted by a passing pleasure boat and hauled out of the water, dehydrated, sunburnt and traumatised, and taken to a nearby yacht club.
“We were constantly on the lookout for fins, but the waves were so high and the water so choppy that we couldn't see