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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
World
Leigh Mcmanus & Charlie Duffield

Woman, 26, dies after being injured by boat propeller as onlookers scream

Onlookers were heard screeching in horror as a young woman was fatally struck by a boat propeller, having jumped into the sea to find her flip flops.

Natalia Andrea Larranaga Fajardo, 26, died in the horrific accident at White Wata Beach in San Andres, Colombia.

Her injuries turned the water red with blood as nearby boaters wailed at the sight, mobile phone footage revealed.

The accident took place on November 27, and meant that the young woman from Cali, Colombia experienced horrific injuries to her buttocks, lower back and legs.

She was taken by jet ski to a hospital on the island, and underwent several blood transfusions and surgery to repair her arteries, The Daily Star reports.

Natalia Andrea Larranaga Fajardo, 26, died in the horrific accident at White Wata Beach in San Andres, Colombia (CEN)

Medics also needed to resuscitate her because she experienced a cardiac arrest.

Following the operation she was taken to the ICU, but suffered another cardiac arrest in the early hours of the next morning.

It turned out to be fatal.

Natalia Andrea Larranaga Fajardo, 26, poses in undated photo (CEN)
Witnesses take Natalia Andrea Larranaga Fajardo, 26, out of the water after she was hit by a propeller of a boat in San Andres, Colombia, on Sunday, November (CEN)

According to reports, the boat involved in the incident was carrying 24 tourists and two crew members.

Dimar, Colombia's maritime authority, said in a statement: "The vessel has been immobilised and its two crew members have been placed at the disposal of the relevant authorities by the Coast Guard of the Colombian Navy as part of the due process of investigation."

Natalia was hit by a propeller of a boat when diving to retreat flipflops (CEN)

Officials in San Andres reminded swimmers to keep clear of moving boats and to notify crew if entering the water.

Juan Carlos Escotet Alviarez, the youngest son of Spanish-Venezuelan billionaire banker Juan Carlos Escotet Rodriguez, recently suffered the same fate in Miami.

The 31-year-old had jumped into the water after his fiancee who had fallen overboard during a fishing competition about six miles east of Ocean Reef Club in north Key Largo in March.

He was ravaged by the 36-inch blades while his fiancee was pulled back on board by the crew using a life ring.

The couple were reportedly due to marry in November.

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