Two French tourists are believed to have suffered heart attacks and died while snorkling along the Great Barrier Reef.  This happened at Michaelmas Cay, about 33 kilometers east of Cairns. 

The divers are a man and a womansaid to be in their sixties, on a diving excursion with the "Passions of Paradise" company.  Spokesman Scotty Garden said in a statement, "Passions of Paradise has extended its sympathy to the family and friends of the two elderly French travellers who died."

A lookout on the beach firstnoticed the man floating in the water, and pulled him onto the sand to administer CPR and oxygen, but it didn't work.  A second lookout then spotted the woman, brought her up to the catamaran.  She couldn't be revived, either.  A third person reported suffered "medical distress" but survived.

"They indicated that they had medical conditions prior to getting in the water," said Col McKenzie of Queensland's Association of Marine Park Tourism Operators, who vouched for the Passions of Paradise company.  "Obviously something horrible has gone wrong. They were actually in the water with the dive guide," he said, "Because they indicated their medical conditions, what's gone wrong I don't know."