Local hospital doctor drowns on holiday in Tenerife

A doctor from the Royal Oldham Hospital has drowned in the sea during a holiday on the Spanish island of Tenerife.

Consultant obstetrician Uma Ramalingam, 42, and relative Barathi Ravikumar, a GP, were "dragged into the sea by a wave" on Sunday at Playa Paraiso, in the island's south-west.

Another woman and two children, aged 10 and 14, were rescued.

Some reports say the women had jumped into the sea to try to save the children.

The BBC reports a spokeswoman for emergency services on the Canary Islands saying: "At just after 6pm yesterday afternoon we received several calls alerting us to two people who were in difficulties in the sea and needed help to get out of the water.

"Witnesses rescued two women and two children from the sea.

"An emergency helicopter located a fifth person in the sea, a woman, and one of the respondents dangled out of the craft and pulled her out.

"After realising that she was in cardiac arrest, respondents gave her basic CPR while they took her to land so she could be attended by healthcare personnel."

The spokeswoman said the children had no life-threatening injuries.

Mrs Ramalingam registered as a doctor in the UK in February 2003 after graduating from Tamil Nadu Medical University in Chennai, India, in 1994.

Olubusola Amu, of the Pennine Acute Hospitals NHS Trust - which includes the Royal Oldham Hospital - said: "We are greatly saddened to hear of the death of Uma who had been working for the trust for about six years.

"She was a fantastic doctor who brought a lot of hope to the high-risk women attending the women and children's unit at the Royal Oldham Hospital.

"This is a terrible shock to everyone who knew Uma. Our thoughts are with her family at this sad time. She will be sorely missed."