The devastated husband of a British woman who drowned while trying to rescue her two sons after they were swept away by a powerful rip tide has revealed he 'screamed with all my heart' for a passing boat to rescue them.
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he → drown → them
Nathan Gregory has been left distraught following the death of his childhood sweetheart, Leanne Gregory, 36, who died on Tuesday while on a snorkelling expedition in the island of Bimini, in the Bahamas.
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who → leave → Bahamas
He added that his wife, also 36, had died a 'hero', having swum against the waves to reach their youngest son and desperately held on to him until he was rescued - but became too fatigued to save herself.
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he → add → herself
The couple, and their two sons, Scott and Leo, were only 48 hours into their holiday - and the first day of a cruise around the islands to celebrate their tenth wedding anniversary - when the tragedy occurred.
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tragedy → celebrate → anniversary
Mr Gregory, from Stapleford, Nottinghamshire, said the loss for the family had been 'unimaginable', adding the couple had known each other since primary school and had first starting dating aged 14.
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couple → say → school
The bereft father-of-two, who has launched a GoFundMe page, said the family had only just arrived at the beach when his sons came into difficulty minutes later.
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sons → launch → difficulty
Speaking for the first time about his ordeal, he said: 'The boys hopped into a shallow point of water with their snorkel masks as they were super excited about just getting to the Bahamas.
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they → speak → Bahamas
Nathan Gregory has been left distraught after the death of his childhood sweetheart, Leanne, also 36, who drowned in the Bahamas
Nathan revealed his wife had died a 'hero', having swam against the waves to reach their youngest son and desperately held on to him until he was rescued
'
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he → leave → him
Leanne and I were still unpacking our towels and snorkels.
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I → unpack → towels
When we turned around a minute later, they had been swept from the calm water they were paddling in towards treacherous water on a rip tide.
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they → turn → tide
'We saw they were struggling.
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they → see → ?
I ran to Scott, and Leanne dived in to swim towards Leo.
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Leanne → run → Leo
The water was almost impossible to move through.
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water → move → ?
'Scott was around half the distance away that [his brother] was, but somehow Leanne still got to Leo first.
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Leanne → get → Leo
I still don't know how she swam that fast through water that I could barely move in.
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I → know → that
She moved faster than I have ever seen, almost appearing at his side instantly.
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I → move → side
'People say mothers have special powers and I saw that in her.
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I → say → her
I don't know whether it was love, a mother's power or divine intervention, but something happened that I have never seen before.
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I → know → that
She reached Leo and kept him above water, even though she was being overwhelmed by the roughness of the sea.'
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she → reach → sea
Mr Gregory said he reached his older son, Scott, and attempted to get him on his back but was dragged down by the force of the waves.
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he → say → waves
'I thought to myself, if I don't get help we are all going to die,' he said.
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he → think → help
'Leanne couldn't move with Leo and I couldn't move with Scott.
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I → move → Scott
So I had to make the hardest decision of my life and told Scott to stay floating on his back with his head above water while I got help.
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I → have → help
I knew he could do this.
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he → know → this
I screamed with all my heart for a passing boat.
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I → scream → boat
It took a lot of screaming and people on the beach joined me, but
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people → take → me
eventually they noticed and started following my directions.'
The distressed father said his wife used her 'last bit of strength' to boost Leo towards the rescue boat.
'But seconds after she got him aboard, a massive freak wave hit the side of the boat and sent it metres away from her, sweeping her under,' he recalled.
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he → notice → her
'She reappeared for a moment, but then completely disappeared from view.'
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She → reappear → view
The couple had been enjoying a cruise ahead of their tenth wedding anniversary, which they would have marked in December
With the assistance of others, Mr Gregory was able to bring his wife out of the water and give her CPR, but she died shortly after being taken to hospital.
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she → enjoy → hospital
'If it wasn't for Leanne staying strong and holding my youngest boy, he would have died minutes before the boat finally arrived.
'
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boat → stay → boy
She died a total hero and she needs to be remembered as one.
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she → die → one
I just wish I was the strong swimmer, so it was me instead of her.
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it → wish → her
Paying tribute to his wife, Mr Gregory described her as 'the most amazing person who ever walked this earth.'
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who → pay → earth
He added: 'There are no words I can use to describe Leanne, same as anyone she ever knew.
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she → add → anyone
The hardest worker, but she still had time for us and so many others around us.
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she → have → us
Her kids loved her to bits.
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kids → love → bits
She was fair, balanced and generous, incredibly organised and seemed to have 48 hours in her day.
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She → seem → day
'She always had time for her family, friends, colleagues and anyone who needed help.
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who → have → help
She was the perfect mother, the perfect wife, the foundation of our entire family and the strength that held us all together.
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us → hold → family
We never fought.
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We → fight → ?
…and 20 more, not listed.
The Aporia
