Woman killed in seal attack

A British woman researcher working in the Antarctic has been attacked and killed by a leopard seal.

Kirsty Brown, 28, was snorkelling in waters close to the British Antarctic Survey's Rothera research station when the seal approached her and pulled her under water.

It is believed to be the first fatal attack by a seal on a human in the Antarctic since the Scott Expedition of 1912.

Shocked colleagues immediately launched a rescue boat and managed to retrieve the body but were unable to resuscitate the marine biologist, even after reaching the centre's medical facilities. 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. The BAS describes the behaviour of the animals on previous dives as "inquisitive".

Kirsty's father, James, a retired shipbroker who worked at the Baltic Exchange in the City, said today: "She actively wanted to go down there for a year or so. It was the way she was made. Antarctica drove her on and she wanted to see it for a time.

"She was small and bubbly. Obviously she was very committed to her research and her career.

"It seems unrealistic that we are here and she is thousands of miles away. But the British Antarctic Survey has been very good and we don't in any way blame them. All the safety checks had been carried out and it was a freak accident." Mr Brown, who has two other daughters and a son, said he last saw Kirsty in December as she travelled between Australia and the Antarctic.

Chris Rapley, the Director of the BAS, described yesterday's attack as "tragic and shocking".

He described Kirsty Brown as a "vibrant, dynamic individual, committed to her science and with a promising scientific career ahead of her. The team reacted in a highly efficient and professional manner of which we, and they, can be proud. They are, however, shaken by the loss."

The death is the first of a BAS scientist on the icebound continent in 21 years.

The Cambridge based BAS, which has been carrying our research and snorkelling trips in the area for over 30 years, has already launched an inquiry into the death.

Brown's research involved looking at the impact of iceberg scouring on Antarctic near-shore marine animal communities. She was a qualified and experienced diver, who holds a degree in Geology from the University of London.