One family were left “numb” after learning their beloved daughter had died when they were watching the Queen’s funeral on TV.
George and Gill Gannon - who for decades ran the George and Dragon pub in Meaford, Staffordshire - learned their daughter, 29-year-old Rebecca, had died in Albania where she had been travelling with her boyfriend.
The bereft family learned ‘Beccie’ had died in a diving accident, StokeLive reported.
They were left “numb” by the news. Last night, as dad George and her brother Joey prepared to fly out to Albania, they described the moment they learned of her death.
He said: “I was numb. We are a very close family and it’s left a massive hole.
“She was a fit girl. She didn’t drink, smoke or do anything wrong, we are all heartbroken.
“I last saw her on Friday, the week before, when she dropped her dog off with us. Joey and Beccie were almost like twins because they were close in age.”
Beccie had apparently noticed something was wrong with her scuba gear so asked for it to be changed before going diving into an old wreck.
George, 61, said it’s understood Beccie and her boyfriend Robert Per Kerans dived in but within just five minutes she came back up “panicking and asking for help” around 20 yards from the boat.
An expert was said to have rushed in to try and save her as she went back down again. George said he believes the instructor tried to bring her back to life but nothing could be done to save her.
Beccie and her boyfriend Robert had been at the Spiranca Diving Centre near the town of Sarande, in Albania.
It is believed they were planning to dive to the wreck of an Italian cargo ship, the Probitas, which is just offshore.
There are unconfirmed reports that an instructor from the Spiranca Diving Centre was arrested following Beccie’s death on Monday.
According to her family, keen traveller Beccie, who worked at Drac Logistics in Stone and lived in Stafford, had been on a mission to visit 50 countries before she reached the age of 30.
Joey, 28, who lives in Stone, says the family are in touch with the embassy in Albania and hope for Beccie’s body to be flown home next week.
Paying tribute to his sister, Joey said: “She was the kindest, bravest and most intelligent person in our family. She was an extremely hard worker.
“She was the most lovable person you could ever want to meet. She was beautiful inside and out."
