A British scuba diver who saved her twin-sister's life in Mexico by repeatedly punching an aggressive crocodile three years ago has been awarded the King’s Gallantry Medal.
Georgia Laurie and her sister Melissa, 28, had been working in animal sanctuaries in the country as part of an international back-packing trip. On 6 June 2021 they visited Manialtepec Lagoon near Puerto Escondido, a Mexican Pacific coastal area known for its bioluminescence and turtles.
There were also warning signs about resident crocodiles up to 3m in length, but a tour company representative was said to have assured them that entering the lagoon was safe. Both sisters were scuba divers but on this occasion were surface swimming.
Then they saw a crocodile, which dragged Melissa Laurie beneath the water before they could swim away. Her sister got to her as she lay unresponsive and face-down back at the surface but, as Georgia tried to keep Melissa's head above water and tow her back to safety, the reptile returned. She had to repeatedly punch it with her free hand to keep it away from her sister.
“Eventually it went away, and a passing boat rescued us,” says Melissa, though it then took 25 minutes to reach a waiting ambulance, followed by a further 20-minute journey to hospital.
Battle to recover
Melissa Laurie had sustained a complicated open wrist fracture, severe puncture wounds to her abdomen and many bite injuries to her foot, leg and glutes. Following emergency surgery she had to be placed in a medically induced coma because of the infection risk, but went on to develop sepsis. Georgia was treated for bite wounds to her hand.
Melissa is now said to be almost completely recovered physically, but both she and Georgia still suffer from symptoms linked to PTSD.
Georgia Laurie, a hospitality specialist and Dive Master from Sandhurst in Berkshire, had earlier been awarded a silver medal by the Royal Humane Society by Princess Alexandra for her bravery during the incident.
She. described now being included on King Charles’ first Civilian Gallantry List as having come as a shock but said that it was also “a silver lining to have come out of the terrible ordeal”, paying tribute to her sister’s “unwavering bravery”.
On 11 August this year the Laurie sisters are taking part in the Thames Marathon, swimming the 13km from Henley to Marlow in the hope of raising £4,000 for the charities PTSD UK and Companeros En Salud, which provides aid and medical training to communities in Chiapas, Mexico. They are already well on the way to their target, having so far raised more than £2,500.
Also on Divernet: Crocodile attack!, The American Crocodiles of Cuba, ‘Wrong place, wrong time’: diver whose head was in croc’s jaws, Crocodile Attack in Raja Ampat, Snap!, Be The Champ! – The Spread
