Woman, 36, killed by own boat on Javea donut ride

A 36-year-old woman died after an inflatable “donut” ride off Javea, on Spain’s Costa Blanca, when the towing boat’s propeller struck her. Guardia Civil said the accident occurred on Sunday, July 5, in the La Caleta area about 400 metres from the coast, close to Javea’s port. The inflatable capsized, throwing her and others into the water, and the boat returned to pick them up. During the return, the propeller severed her femoral artery, causing catastrophic blood loss. Friends pulled her from the water and rushed back to Javea port rather than wait for help, where attempts by Cruz Roja volunteers and an emergency medical team could not stop the bleeding. She was pronounced dead at the port after a 112 call had triggered deployment of Salvamar Fenix by Valencia’s maritime rescue center. The case is being investigated by Guardia Civil’s Policia Judicial unit in Altea, with authorities treating it as accidental. It was the third fatal propeller incident in under a year along this stretch.