London Woman Dies in Hurricane While on Yacht off Coast of Mexico

The Foreign Office confirmed one Briton had died after a search operation was launched earlier this week for couple Paul Whitehouse and Simone Wood in the aftermath of Hurricane Odile.

The pair, from London and Wolverhampton, are thought to have been living on their yacht in La Paz for a year.

The man is still missing, the Associated Press reported.

A Foreign Office spokeswoman said: "We can confirm the death of a British national, reported missing along with another British national earlier this week off the coast of Mexico.

"The Embassy is working with the local authorities and consular staff are providing assistance to both families at this very difficult time."

Hurricane Odile left a trail of destruction when it hit the Baja California Peninsula last Sunday.

Three other people have been confirmed dead following the storm - two Korean citizens and a German man who reportedly died from a heart attack.

Mexican authorities have deployed more than 8,000 army, navy and federal police personnel to prevent looting in the area.

Simon Barlow, a friend of Mr Whitehouse, said those close to him are "massively worried, really concerned with the situation over in Mexico".

Mr Barlow told Channel 4 News yesterday: "We are all hoping that they are going to be found and it's just communications that's not letting us find that information out.

"We're waiting and anticipating, you just can't put it into words, you just can't go over there to help.

"I'm hoping that his background of being in the Army has hopefully served a purpose and they're both fine."

*Original story: London Evening Standard via Google News (search term: Yacht)
*Image credit: Google images/NBC News / CBC / CC2.0