Former Australian spy Alisdair Putt dies during ‘World’s Toughest Row’ across the Atlantic

Alisdair Putt preparing for the Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge. Organisers have confirmed he died on 4 January Photograph: Supplied

A former Australian spy and war crimes investigator has died skippering a rowing boat in a race across the Atlantic Ocean.

Alisdair Putt, who had planned to spend his 62nd birthday on the boat, suffered a heart attack while competing in the Talisker Whisky Atlantic rowing race from the Canary Islands to Antigua.