THE tranquillity of a riverside beauty spot was shattered as rescuers fought to save a woman and her dogs after her car rolled into the River Fal.
Emergency services arrived by land, water and air to try to save 74-year-old Ann Pewter and her pets.
The Mazda rolled off the King Harry Ferry slipway opposite Trelissick Gardens and quickly sank in 25ft of murky water.
Despite the presence of a Navy helicopter, boats, police, fire and ambulance crews and the bravery of a shellfish diver who descended repeatedly into the murky depths, Ann Pewter died at the scene with her beloved pets.
Mrs Pewter's husband, aged 76, had been driving but had stepped out of the car after stopping on the slipway.
The cause of the accident has yet to be established, but investigations are focusing on the car's handbrake and whether it failed or had not been fully engaged.
The alarm was raised at 4pm last Wednesday with a call to Falmouth coastguards.
The Maritime and Coastguard Agency said: "Reports indicated one person was still in the vehicle.
"Falmouth and Portscatho coastguard rescue teams began a search along with the inshore and all-weather RNLI lifeboats from Falmouth.
"The Royal Navy search and rescue helicopter from Culdrose was also on scene."
First reports on social networking websites suggested the car had rolled off the King Harry Ferry itself, but the vessel was over on the Trelissick side at the time.
Footage of the incident from a live webcam is understood to show a car moving out of the way of the Mazda before it enters the water.
Matt Vernon had been hand-diving for mussels along the Fal – famously deep here, it yields mussels of giant size – and was returning to his base with a good catch when he came upon the aftermath of the accident.
"I came round the corner in my boat and saw helicopters, RNLI boats and harbour officer boats and was wondering what was going on," Mr Vernon told the West Briton.
A team of specialist divers had been requested but not yet arrived.
Mr Vernon dives in a wetsuit, even in bitterly cold water, and does not use an air tank.
Staff from the King Harry Ferry pointed out to him where the car had gone in and, Mr Vernon said, he didn't have to think twice.
"I took a deep breath and dived down. The car was at least 25ft deep.
"I found the car and had been told there was possibly someone in there and it was a case of hoping there was still air in the car and then trying to smash a window."
The water was very murky and visibility extremely poor.
"I tried opening doors first but I couldn't get them open, and it was impossible to smash a window," he said.
Mr Vernon carried out at least a dozen desperate attempts to reach Mrs Pewter, surfacing for a breath before diving back down, but said he realised the chances of finding a survivor were diminishing rapidly.
"I got round to the front of the car and found the passenger window was wide open and the car was flooded," he said.
"I still tried as there was still a chance of getting someone out and reviving them."
Mr Vernon managed to attach a grappling hook inside the passenger window, but it was unable to bear the weight of the car.
By then fully equipped commercial divers brought by the crew and cargo transport vessel MTS Valonia were on the scene and set to work.
Mr Vernon said: "By then I couldn't feel my body and there was nothing more I could do."
The car was winched back on to the slipway just before 6pm, and rescue workers immediately draped a green tarpaulin over the vehicle while the bodies of Mrs Pewter, from Tavistock, and her dogs were recovered.
A police inspector confirmed at the scene she had died.
The body was then flown to the Royal Cornwall Hospital in Truro.
Tim Light, from the King Harry Ferry company, said his thoughts were with Mrs Pewter's family and thanked his staff for their part in transporting emergency services across the river.
