Wolverhampton diver missing as hurricane hits

Paul Whitehouse and his partner Simone Wood, who the left the UK to start a new life in Mexico, had not been seen since their yacht overturned in the coastal city of La Paz in the early hours of last Monday.

Yesterday the Foreign Office confirmed that a body, believed to be that of Ms Wood, from London, was discovered following a search operation.

The couple, in their 40s, were living on their 70ft boat, called Tobasco II, in the harbour at La Paz, on the Pacific coast peninsula of Baja California, when it capsized along with 24 other vessels.

They had been there for a year as Mr Whitehouse lived his dream to be a scuba diving instructor.

He had been scuba diving for 10 years, rising through the ranks with Diverse Scuba in Brentwood.

He gave up his job two years ago to teach the sport professionally, spending the first 12 months instructing in this country before heading for Mexico.

Mr Whitehouse's brother Jon Whitehouse, of Lower Penn, Wolverhampton, contacted the company on Tuesday to tell them he and Ms Wood were missing.

Simon Barlow, manager at Diverse Scuba, said the couple had been 'living the dream'.

He said: "We'd been hoping they would both be found safe washed up down the shore somewhere. He's a very experienced diver, and a confident one, and that's what gives us hope he might still be found.

"Paul was a bundle of laughs when he was here. He was nicknamed Blondie because of his long blond hair down his back.

"It takes several years to become an instructor and he went through the ranks from advanced to rescue diver, then diver master, assistant instructor to a professional instructor.

"Everyone here is really upset."

Helicopters have been deployed in a desperate attempt to find the couple, according to local reports.

Hurricane Odile left a trail of destruction, wiping out homes and hotels in beach resorts across the Baja California peninsula and also damaging power and water supplies and phone services.

Another three people have been confirmed dead following the category three hurricane - two Korean citizens and a German man who reportedly died from a heart attack.

Ricardo Fifield is the owner of The Cortez Club, a scuba diving club in La Paz.

He said that fellow businesses had been searching 40 square miles of water off the coast of the city on a daily basis for missing boats.

Speaking to the Express & Star he said: "Every day we are out there looking while out on our tours. I know the military have boats and planes out too but we are looking around the water that we know. I didn't meet Paul or Simone personally but I know that they were living on a yacht. There are about five boats missing and we are doing anything we can to find them."