Tributes for Briton killed by seal

British scientist Kirsty Brown who was killed in an attack by a giant seal while diving in the Antarctic was a "bubbly and talented" woman devoted to her job.

Today family and friends - still in shock after 28-year-old Kirsty was killed by the leopard seal during an iceberg survey - paid tribute to her.

Her father James Brown, a retired City shipbroker from Horsham, West Sussex, said: "She was small and bubbly and obviously very committed to her research and her career."

The 71-year-old former and former director of the Baltic Exchange added: "It seems unrealistic that we are here and she is thousands of miles away."

He added: "She always wanted to go down there for a year or so. It was the way she was made. Although she was a geologist by training the marine aspect of Antarctica drove her on and she wanted to see it for a time and carry out her research there.

"We are not going over, her body will be brought back in due course.We last saw her in December and she was very excited about the trip. When she got there she was delighted.

It is believed Kirsty's death is the first known fatal attack by a seal on a human in the Antarctic since the Scott Expedition of 1912.

Shocked colleagues at the British Atlantic Survey in Rothera witnessed the incident from the shore and immediately launched a rescue boat. They managed to retrieve her body, but they were unable to resuscitate the marine biologist, even after reaching their research centre's medical facilities.

Mr Brown added: "The British Antarctic Survey have been very good and we don't in any way blame them for what happened.

"All the safety checks had been carried out and the equipment was not faulty. It was simply a freak accident that hasn't apparently happened before - something you cannot anticipate.

Her sister Diana added: "The whole family is devastated. My father is distraught and my mother is beside herself. I think we will be going away for a few days."

Chris Rapley, director of the British Antarctic Survey also paid tribute. He said: "Kirsty was one of those young people who delight in the outdoors, especially when work can be combined with some element of adventure. We called her Bang because she was the noisiest girl in the group.

"Kirsty followed all the rules but sadly was fatally injured in

an incident we had never experienced before. The death of such a young and vital person is an enormous blow to any family and society.

"We have lost a talented, enthusiastic and warm person in this accident - a daughter, a sister, a friend and a colleague. We all mourn our loss."

Leopard seals, which can grow to almost three and a half metres long and weigh up to 500kg, are solitary animals that usually eat penguins. There are no previous reports of the seals attacking humans without provocation, and the BAS describes the behaviour of the animals on previous dives as "inquisitive".

Kirsty's research involved looking at the impact of iceberg scouring on near-shore marine animal communities, and she was a qualified and experienced scientific diver. At the time of the attack, she was accompanied by a "dive buddy".

During her time at the Rothera research centre from October 2002, until her death, Kirsty kept an internet diary, discussing the joys and the trials of life in the Antarctic.

She joined the survey organisation in 2002 on a 30-month contract. She studied at Adelaide University in Australia and was part of Imperial College's Greenland diving expedition in 1995.

Before heading to the Antarctic, Kirsty was interviewed by a university newspaper and said: "I've been diving right along the South Australian coast, I've done tropical, temperate, Arctic and now I'll be doing Antarctic diving, so I feel very lucky. I'll be down there scuba diving every day of the year, if I can."