BY Samrana Hussain

POLICE have ruled out foul play in the death of a popular nurse who died after scuba diving in the Caribbean.

Last week, following a post-mortem examination, the Cayman Island police authorities revealed that Tina Baxter, 47, a matron at the Royal Blackburn and Burnley General Hospitals, died as a result of drowning.

Officers on the island have now dropped their involvement in the case.

The news comes after a funeral service for the psychiatric nurse, of Primet Heights, Colne, took place yesterday afternoon at Burnley Crematorium.

Ms Baxter had been diving off the West Coast of Grand Cayman, the largest of the three islands, when she passed out and returned to the surface unconsc-ious.

Attempts were made to resusci-tate Ms Baxter on the boat, before paramedics took her to hospital, where she was pronounced dead.

Police in the Cayman Islands said the death was not being treated as suspicious and the matter would now be dealt with by a coroner in England.

Ms Baxter's body was flown back to the UK on February 3. The funeral cortege assembled at Stott House Chapel of Rest before the service at the crematorium.

A spokesperson for the Royal Cayman Islands Police Service said: "We are not treating this death as suspicious.

"We do not believe we will have any further involvement in this matter and it will be dealt with by the coroner."

Ms Baxter was on a two-week cruise when the incident took place on January 19 during an organised dive.

Her mother, Sylvia Whittaker, was on the holiday with her, but had not gone on the dive. She said Ms Baxter, who had taken part in 108 dives, was a "wonderful" person who "died doing what she loved most".

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