UPDATE: |Student, 20, died after diving into sea and getting ‘caught in a vortex’ News

Emily Sherwin’s body has not been recovered, an inquest heard

A student died after getting caught in an underwater vortex while cliff diving off the Dorset coast last summer, an inquest has heard.

Emily Sherwin, from Poole, went missing after a dive off Old Harry Rocks, near Swanage, Dorset, on Tuesday, July 23, 2024.

A search got underway on the same day, carried out by HM Coastguard and the RNLI with support form Dorset Police.

A police dive team from Avon and Somerset Police also attended to conduct searches in the area where the diver had last been seen.

Very sadly, the 20-year-old’s body has never been located.

Her family issued a statement, expressing their heartbreak at having lost Emily, and adding that they felt “eternally grateful for the 20 wonderful years we had with her”.

“Emily was unique, high spirited, outgoing, loving and loyal,” the statement continued. “She lit up every room. Emily adored the sea and loved sailing and diving. She was looking forward to an exciting career in marine conservation.

“The search operation was a testimony to the impact she had upon everyone she met and the love we all share for her.

“We will miss her forever.”

At a coroner’s hearing in Bournemouth on Thursday, it was found that Emily died after getting caught in the underwater current.

Coroner Richard Middleton explained that a search was launched for Ms Sherwin after she had become separated from her dive buddy.

He said that he was unable to provide a cause of death because Ms Sherwin’s body had not been recovered.

Recording a narrative conclusion, Mr Middleton said: “Upon entry to the water, Ms Sherwin has got caught in a vortex, she became separated from her dive buddy and failed to return to the surface.

“An extensive search was launched by a number of agencies but Ms Sherwin could not be found.”

In a statement read out at the hearing, Emily’s mother, Ellen Sherwin, described her daughter as “passionate about the natural world”.

“She had loved her first year at university, enjoying both her course and the social life and was looking forward to sharing a house with friends,” she said.

“She had been active in the sailing society and enjoyed a university sailing holiday. She was passionate about the natural world, particularly the sea world, her hero was David Attenborough.”

“She started diving a year before and immediately loved it,” Mrs Sherwin added. “She described a deep sense of calm when under the sea, ironically she described it as a safe place.”