Businessman drowned while swimming in sea on family holiday in Mexico

A businessman on the verge of retirement drowned after suffering a heart attack while swimming in the sea on a family holiday in Mexico, an inquest heard. Clive Richard Lees, an engineer from Littleborough in Rochdale, died while attempting to swim to shore during a boat trip with his wife and daughter near the resort of Puerto Vallarta on January 10 this year.

An inquest at Rochdale coroners court heard Mr Lees, 64, managing director of Oldham -based B&H Machine Tools Ltd, was a trained lifeguard. A keen swimmer, hiker, mountain biker, gym-goer, skier and paddle boarder, he was described as 'very active' and 'fit and healthy'.

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The inquest heard that after the boat moored off-shore Mr Lees and his daughter decided to swim to a small beach about five minutes away with other passengers from the trip, while his wife Marie stayed onboard. But when Mr Lees's daughter got to the beach she couldn't find her dad.

She looked out to sea and saw him face down in the water. He was brought to shore on a paddle board and CPR was attempted.

Paramedics were called and he was taken to hospital where he was sadly pronounced dead. A post-mortem gave a cause of death as drowning 'due to or as a consequence of' a heart attack.

The inquest heard that having worked as an engineer all his life Mr Lees was about to retire. In a narrative conclusion assistant coroner Michael Salt said death was the result of 'natural causes which led to the deceased drowning'.