A tourist lost a leg and another was left seriously injured after an unmanned diving boat spun out of control and repeatedly sped over a group of swimmers in French Polynesia when its skipper was knocked overboard. The incident occurred on Easter Sunday when the vessel began circling at high speed after the captain was thrown into the sea by a wave, and the emergency stop system failed.
Gianna F., a 24-year-old from Switzerland, said she could hardly believe she survived after repeatedly diving underwater in a desperate attempt to avoid the propeller as the boat looped back toward them every few seconds. However, for two others, the outcome was devastating. Her friend Brian Pethke, 24, lost a leg in the chaos, while the diving instructor suffered two open leg fractures as the out-of-control vessel tore through the group.
'I can hardly believe I'm still alive. I had given up on life,' Gianna said. The group had been diving off the island of Rangiroa after meeting at a local dive centre during her world trip. She said conditions had already been rough, with strong currents, but their second dive began 'amazing' as they spotted a tiger shark and dolphins swimming nearby. After around 45 minutes in the water, the group resurfaced and inflated their life jackets as they waited to be picked up.
Moments later, disaster struck. A wave hit the boat, throwing the skipper overboard and leaving the vessel unmanned as it began spinning in tight circles. 'I tried to dive, but the suction from the boat and my life jacket kept pulling me back up,' Gianna said. At one point, the water around her turned red. 'Brian looked at me in horror and said, 'I've lost my leg!'' she recalled. As panic set in, Gianna swallowed water and began to lose strength. 'I just thought: That's it - now you're dead,' she said.
She was eventually dragged to safety by rescuers from another boat who risked their lives approaching the still-spinning vessel. On board, a group of medics, including a French couple, performed emergency treatment, tying off Brian's leg before rushing him to a small island hospital. Gianna said there were no doctors on site when they arrived, with the medics forced to use available supplies to carry out a blood transfusion and stabilise him.
Brian has since returned to Berlin and faces further surgery, but he is determined to recover. However, he now faces mounting costs, with a sports prosthetic alone priced at more than €10,000 and his current home unsuitable for wheelchair access. Gianna has launched a fundraiser to support him and to highlight both the beauty and dangers of diving.
