THE friends of a South Croydon woman who drowned in a tragic rafting accident in April said she was swept away in front of their eyes by a swollen river.
Elisa Ly, 25, and her friends were thrown into the River Vilcanota in Cusco, Peru, on April 12 as their raft capsized while negotiating steep rapids.
Richard Leivers and Lea Deroubaix set off for an adventure holiday along with Elisa to Peru and Bolivia in March.
Although Mr Leivers and Miss Deroubaix, along with seven other tourists, managed to escape from the river, Miss Ly was dragged downstream.
At an inquest into her death at Croydon Coroner's Court on Tuesday, Miss Deroubaix fought back tears as she described how there was nothing she could do to help her friend.
"I saw Elisa in the water, but I couldn't help her because she was too far away, and it was so fast," she said.
"The water was so fast we couldn't grab her, it was not possible.
"We had been told if you are in the water you have to sit on your back and put your feet first. I tried to tell her that, but I think she was panicking.
"I just saw her but I couldn't help her."
Miss Ly, who lived in Avondale Road and worked as a tax advisor for BDO LLP after graduating from Warwick University, booked the trip with the rafting company, reported to be Peru Inka Land by the Peruvian media, as part of a four-day package of activities.
Shortly after the accident her family told the Advertiser: "Elisa was always full of love, life and energy. She was the joy in our lives and will always be in our hearts. We miss her dearly."
The rafting group, consisting of the three friends, two others from their tour company and three German girls from another, as well as their guide Freddie Figueroa, had been on the water for around 15 minutes, and had already traversed one set of falls when they came to another.
Mr Leivers described how Mr Figueroa had been shouting instructions to get "inside" the boat and grab a rope when they hit particularly choppy water, but the call came too late when they went over the second falls.
"He's shouting instructions at us really fast, and as we go over this drop, the raft capsized," said Mr Leivers.
"I think he shouted at us to get inside, but we were basically already capsized at that point."
The noise of the water made it difficult to hear the instructions, according to Miss Deroubaix.
Mr Leivers said he managed to swim to a safety raft which had gone ahead of the group, but not before being "grabbed" by Mr Figueroa, who was not wearing a buoyancy aid provided to the rest of the group.
"I was struggling in the water for 10 or 15 seconds, trying to get my head above water, as far as I was aware at the time, we were all off the raft.
"The guide grabbed hold of me because he was struggling to stay afloat, I think he was grabbing me to help himself, not to help me out of the water.
"Then we managed to get the safety raft to the beach from where we saw Elisa bobbing down the centre of the river.
"I was under the impression she was still alive, and one of the guides jumped on the safety raft and set off to go down river after her."
"We tried to follow down the river bank, but after that we lost sight of her."
The friends later found out from local police that Miss Ly had been pulled from the river but she had not survived.
Coroner Selena Lynch ruled Miss Ly's death was accidental and said it was a "terrible end to what should have been a memorable and enjoyable holiday".
"One of the great things about being young is that the world is your oyster.
"Young people often go on trips abroad without any harm at all. There are many activities that have dangers and are managed in a variety of ways.
"One has to somehow balance the need for caution with the need to enjoy our lives and it's very difficult when travelling abroad to know what's what."
She added there was "no sense" the friends should have known the trip would be more dangerous than expected and, while there were a number of questions to be asked about the incident, it was beyond her remit to seek to answer them, especially with an investigation into the rafting company ongoing in Peru.
Mr Leivers and Miss Deroubaix both expressed concerns about the professionalism of the company.
Speaking to Miss Ly's family, the coroner said: "I'm so sorry, the loss of her young life with so much ahead is truly tragic for you."
