‘I saw my wife die… and no one has even said sorry’: Husband's outrage at rescue crews who dropped his wife into the sea

The husband of a cruise passenger who died after she was dropped into the Arctic Ocean during a botched rescue almost a month ago claims he has still not received an apology.



Janet Richardson, 73, was being evacuated from the Ocean Countess liner because she needed hospital treatment when she plunged into the water as paramedics tried to transfer her to a rescue boat earlier this month.

She spent seven minutes in the freezing water but was pulled out alive, however she died three weeks later with her family at her bedside.

Heartbroken husband George Richardson said neither the cruise firm Ocean Countess or the sea rescue service sent to help his wife, Janet, left, had apologised

But heartbroken husband George Richardson said neither the cruise firm Ocean Countess or the sea rescue service sent to help her had apologised for the incident which happened on March 29.



The 78-year-old, who was married to Janet for 30 years, said he was still waiting for answers as to how his wife was dropped and whether the freezing waters contributed to her death.



He said: 'Once someone's said sorry they've accepted liability, so I'm not surprised I haven't heard.



'The cruise company have been in touch and asked how I am but I've heard nothing from the lifeboat people.'





He added: 'I've lost my wife and it was very traumatic to see it happen.

'There's been some carelessness here. They should have foreseen the boats moving apart.'

A post-mortem examination will now be carried out, but Mr Richardson, a retired Windermere farmer, said he is convinced she died from the effects of battling icy waves.

He said: 'She was already ill but there's no doubt she was significantly more poorly when she came out of the water.



'There's the shock of it and she'd inhaled a lot of sea water.'

Mrs Richardson was being moved from the cruise ship to a rescue boat on a stretcher when she was dropped. Here she is being lowered onto a boat

Mr Richardson is now helping with an international inquiry into the incident involving NSSR, in co-operation with Norwegian police and the ship's owners.

Keen sailor Mrs Richardson was taken ill on the eighth day of the couple's cruise around the coast of Norway to see the Northern Lights on the Ocean Countess liner.



After a night in the ship's hospital with suspected internal bleeding and kidney problems, a doctor decided to transfer her to hospital on land.



She was being transferred by stretcher to a rescue boat when those holding her lost their grip as the two boats drifted apart and the mother-of-three fell into the sea.



Following her rescue, she went to hospital in Boda, Norway, before being transferred by air ambulance to Cumberland Infirmary, Carlisle, where she spent two weeks in intensive care.



Ernst Larsen, of the Norwegian Sea Rescue, said: 'We are very sorry for the loss the family of Mrs Richardson must feel. We have been investigating into the reason the accident occurred, and have started an internal investigation.'



Chris Coates, of Cruise and Maritime Voyages, said: 'We are all deeply shocked by the news that Mrs Richardson had passed away. All our thoughts and prayers are with the Richardson family.'



The north Cumbria coroner has been informed and an inquest is yet to be opened.

Too long: Mrs Richardson was floating in the icy seas for nearly five minutes before she was hauled onboard again

Tributes have poured in for Mrs Richardson, who was well-known as a sailor, gardener and horse lover in South Lakeland, near Penrith.



Friends described her as a 'gutsy' woman never afraid to take on new challengers.



'When most people would be thinking about retirement Janet took up sailing lessons, learned how to crew on boats and then bought her own yacht,' said Jenny Fearnely, of Windermere Cruising Associaton.



'She was a gutsy lady who wasn't scared of anything and nothing was too much for her. She put younger people to shame.'



Mrs Richardson grew up in Grimsby, where she raised her three daughters from her first marriage, Aneita, Sonja and Debra.



She met Mr Richardson after responding to an advertisement he put in the paper for a housekeeper and the pair were married at Ings St Anne's Church in 1981.

Keen to get stuck in with farming life, she took to lambing and other jobs with ease.



'She took to farming straight away, she loved it at High Borrans and was quick to learn and take on new challenges,' said Mr Richardson.



While at the farm she also took up carriage driving and joined the North West Driving Club.

