Bethany Farrell ( pictured ) was on her first scuba dive when she drowned after becoming separated from her instructor at the Great Barrier Reef . A British graduate drowned on her first ever scuba dive – just days into a dream trip to Australia . Bethany Farrell , 23 , died after she became separated from her instructor while swimming on the Great Barrier Reef , a week after beginning her gap year . She was found 35ft down on the seabed in Blue Pearl Bay , a beauty spot popular with divers . Her devastated parents have demanded to know why she wasn ’ t properly supervised . An investigation by the Office of Fair and Safe Work and Australian police has begun and may lead to criminal proceedings . Statements have been taken and equipment seized . Miss Farrell ’ s father Patrick , 47 , said : ‘ She was on a supervised activity – she should have been safe . It has just been devastating . From what we can gather , Bethany had boarded a bus to get the boat at 1pm . She was dead by 5pm . ‘ We have photos of her looking like she was having fun . There are times when I have just been hoping I had gone insane and got it wrong . Bethany was a pure and gentle soul. ’ The former soldier , who lives in Colchester , Essex , last spoke to his daughter on Skype two days before her death . Mr Farrell , who is divorced from Miss Farrell ’ s mother Caron , said : ‘ The instructor had three students , one of them was Bethany . One of the students decided she did not want to dive but we have not got the exact reasons why , so she remained on the boat which left the instructor , Bethany and one of her friends . ‘ At some point , the diving instructor lost sight of Bethany , then realised he could not locate her , returned the other student to the surface , sought help and went back down , presumably with some other people to help . ‘ They found Bethany dead 11 metres down . They were meant to be diving to a depth of 5 metres. ’ The family has been told it could be months before the events leading up to Miss Farrell ’ s death are fully understood . Miss Farrell , who studied English literature and media at Southampton Solent University , had been in Australia for a week and met up with some friends who were already there . She had been planning to work in the country for a year and posted a series of images to her account on photosharing website Instagram in the days before her death on February 17 . Police and safety inspectors are still investigating her death on February 17 at Blue Harbour Bay ( pictured ) Her father said his daughter was a competent swimmer who had signed up for introductory diving after snorkelling lessons , before she then progressed to scuba diving . He said : ‘ A lot of her friends said they had never seen her so happy. ’ Graduate Ms Farrell ( pictured ) was found drowned following her first ever scuba diving trip at the Great Barrier Reef in Australia in February . Her mother , 50 , said : ‘ For the first few days it was like a bad dream . We have got pictures of them all with the snorkelling equipment . They are all smiling. ’ Miss Farrell worked during her university course as a shop assistant in a stationery store and a bartender . After graduating she was employed at Laura Ashley in Colchester and , in the days and weeks leading up to her trip to Australia , she excitedly tweeted about the adventure . On January 14 she wrote : ‘ This year is already off to an exciting start – one month to go ! ’ Three weeks later , shortly before leaving , she joked : ‘ Packing light really isn ’ t in my vocabulary. ’ She took a number of photos through the plane ’ s window on the flight to Australia and wrote to one of her friends on Instagram : ‘ I am very excited – it ’ s been a long journey…I just want to get there now. ’ Miss Farrell , who was staying in a youth hostel , had a younger brother , Jake , 20 . The Professional Association of Diving Instructors said the instructor would have been allowed to take four students to a maximum depth of 12 metres . But a spokesman added that discretion should be exercised , saying : ‘ This is in ideal conditions with really good students. ’ Blue Pearl Bay is on the north-western side of Hayman Island , part of the Cumberland Islands off the coast of Central Queensland . Underwater visibility of 50 metres means that it is a popular destination for snorkelling and scuba diving . An investigation was launched immediately after Ms Farrell ( pictured ) was found dead - it could take a year .
Bethany Southampton Solent University died on her first ever scuba dive at the Great Barrier Reef . British graduate , 23 , became separated from instructor on diving trip . Group were diving in 5 metres of water - she was found dead at 11 metres . Devastated parents say they are still trying to understand what happened . Australian Police and safety inspectors are still investigating her death . They have told her family the investigation could take more than a year .