The deceased were 70-year-old ex-pat Stanley Horne who had lived in Goa for the past four years, and his friend Liesel Smith, 37, who was in the resort visiting him. Ms Smith, who is thought to be divorced with one son, and Mr Horne, who has three sons and a daughter, met when they were both working as nurses in the same hospital. The pair hailed from Dover in Kent.

The accident occurred when Ms Smith went swimming at the beach but was pulled far out to sea by the strong current. After spotting his friend was having difficulty, Mr Horne swam in to save her and sadly, they both drowned. There were several people on the beach at the time to witness this tragic event.

Heather Horne, who is married to Mr Horne’s son David, commented that the deaths were a tragic accident. She said: "The sea was rough, it was an accident that could have happened anywhere." Mrs Horne described her dead father-in-law as a 'quiet' and 'gentle' man who loved living in India. She said: "Our consolation is that he was where he would have wanted to be when he died."

Post mortems will be carried out on the bodies to determine cause of death and they will then be released back to Britain.

Sadly, the deaths of Mr Horne and Ms Smith bring the total amount of British citizens who have died in Goa this year to 12. Others include Scarlett Keeling, the Devon teenager who was brutally murdered there in February.