- The man went on Sunday to the Flic en Flac lagoon, on the west side of the island.
A British tourist has drowned in Mauritius during his first swim in the sea after arriving on the paradise island.
The 55-year-old Briton landed in Mauritius on Sunday and was staying at the Henessy Park hotel in Ebène, on the west side of the island, according to reports. The express.
He went to the nearby Flic en Flac lagoon to swim for the first time and had difficulties in the water, local media report.
A French national on a boat reportedly pulled the man from the water, but efforts to resuscitate him failed and he was taken to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
The sea was reportedly rough and there were strong waves when the man drowned.
The 55-year-old Briton landed in Mauritius on Saturday and was staying in a hotel in Ebène, on the west side of the paradisiacal island. On Sunday he went to nearby Flic en Flac beach (pictured) for his first swim and had difficulty in the water.
The Briton was due to leave Mauritius on Friday.
He is one of three people who drowned in the strong waves and three others are still missing. Coast guard rescue efforts were undermined by strong winds and waves of up to four metres.
A Foreign, Commonwealth and Development spokesperson told MailOnline: “We are supporting the family of a British man who has died in Mauritius and are in contact with local authorities.”
This comes after a heroic British father tragically disappeared after disappearing beneath the waves while trying to save his 15-year-old son who survived the ordeal on the paradise island of Mauritius.
The 49-year-old man had tried to rescue his teenage son, who was swept out to sea by large waves in Pomponette Lagoon, on the island’s southern coast, according to local media reports.
But during the rescue, the British national ran into difficulty and when rescuers reached the 15-year-old boy shortly after 10:15 a.m. on March 23, his father had disappeared beneath the waves.
While his son was successfully rescued, the search for the man lasted into the night and continued until March 24. He has not yet been located and it is feared that he has died.
The man, his partner and their son had arrived in Mauritius on Friday, March 22 and were due to leave approximately a week later, just before Easter Sunday, March 30.