A schoolteacher died saving his wife’s life after their Egyptian sailing boat capsized in a storm.
Luke Day and his wife Sophie Nicholson-Cole, from Norwich, married in April and were enjoying the latest part of an extended honeymoon, sailing on the Nile, when their wooden felucca turned over in a sudden gust of wind near Aswan.
Mr Day, 31, opened a hatch on the boat to free Dr Nicholson-Cole, also 31, and two other tourists. He then became trapped beneath the upturned craft and drowned.
Dr Nicholson-Cole, a climate change expert at the University of East Anglia, spent three hours repeatedly diving into the murky water of the river to search for her husband. Onlookers said that she wept as his body was eventually recovered and brought to shore.
Her father David Nicholson-Cole paid tribute to his “selfless” son-in-law.
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“Luke was helping Sophie and everyone else out of the hatch as the boat started to go down. He was the last to try to get out and unfortunately he didn’t make it. He sacrificed himself to save everyone else, including my daughter,” he said. “It was a completely selfless act and was entirely in character. They were a golden couple and were just so in love. She was a beautiful girl and he was handsome and caring.”
The couple had been home for Christmas but left for Egypt on New Year’s Day to resume a honeymoon that had begun with a tandem bicycle ride across Europe to Istanbul.
Philip May, the head teacher at Costessey High School, in Norwich, where Mr Day had taught French for four years, said that he was popular among students. “He was charming, witty, enthusiastic and very, very friendly,” he said.
“He came to us as a good teacher and was becoming better. He was a lively teacher who managed his classes well. The kids loved him. He was always hard-working and enthusiastic. His death is a big loss to school. It is a terrible time. Some of the pupils burst into tears when we told them that he had died.”
Mr Day, who was the acting head of languages at the school and who also organised the French exchange programme, was due to return to work next month.
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Felucca sailing boats are usually regarded as a calm and safe method of transport. The couple had booked a two-day cruise along the Nile, and were sleeping on the craft, which was due to set sail the following day.
According to Mr Nicholson-Cole, a storm had blown in from the desert at about 3am, capsizing the boat and trapping the couple and their companions.
“They were sheltering under the foredeck while they were battered with this torrential rain which flattened the Nile,” he said.
“Within two minutes the water went from being completely flat to having metre-high waves which started swamping these wooden boats.
“They had to scramble out of the hatch. Luke was helping everyone — but he just didn’t make it. There would have been ropes and obstacles on the boat and he must have got caught up as it went under.”
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Many onlookers, some of whom were locals who had lost their houses in the storm, helped to gather the couple’s belongings and handed them in to officials, according to Mr Nicholson-Cole.
Dr Nicholson-Cole sought assistance from two passing cruise ships, but was ignored. She was taken to a nearby hospital, which had no electricity. After being questioned by police, she flew back to England alone.