Woman, 21, hurls herself off Channel ferry in front of horrified school

Travellers on board a cross Channel ferry were left horrified yesterday, after an apparent suicide bid saw a 21-year-old woman leap off a ferry and into the icy sea.Shocked witnesses, including children she had accompanied on a school skiing trip to the mountains, saw the woman plunge 130ft into the freezing water of Calais harbour.According to detectives in the French port, the unnamed 21-year-old was in a ‘bad way’ after her ordeal on Saturday afternoon and was taken to hospital.The woman, who has not been named, leapt from the Spirit of Britain, the largest ferry on the Calais to Dover route.Passengers raised the alarm as the woman floundered in the water and alert ferry crew members launched a fast rescue dinghy from the stern of the roll on roll off vessel.Bernard Barron, lifeboat chief at Calais paid tribute to the rapid reaction of P&O seamen saying it probably saved the distressed woman's life. She was recovered from the water in less than six minutes, he said. 'She could have easily have fallen victim to icy water with a temperature of only eight celsius.'If they had not been as alert as they were she probably would not have survived.'A P&O spokesman added: 'Yesterday lunchtime, a young lady jumped from a ferry. We rescued her and she was taken to hospital.'We managed to recover the lady within six minutes. We practise it and obviously speed is of the essence.'The combination of impact of hitting the water and the freezing temperature means that getting them out of the water quickly is essential.'If the ship had been out at sea, it might have been a different story.'Speaking of the crewmen concerned, he added: 'They would tell you that it's just what they do. I would say that it was quite a feat of seamanship.'Undoubtedly, they saved that young lady's life.'A spokesman for the Maritime and Coastguard agency added: 'This time of year, had she stayed in the water, she would have been washed out to sea.'Not only are conditions awful but temperatures are freezing too.'The woman suffered an injury to her right leg and was taken to hospital by ambulance for treatment.Investigators questioned witnesses to the incident and have established that the fall was not accidental, according to Calais sources.It remained unclear last night whether the woman accompanying the schoolchildren was a monitor or a teacher(dailymail.co.uk)ANN.Az