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Volvo Sailor Dies After Being Swept Overboard

Despite being recovered by the crew of ABN AMRO TWO after being swept overboard, Dutch sailor Hans Horrevoets never regained consciousness.

At 2:11 am GMT, May 18, Hans Horrevoets, 32, was trimming a fractional spinnaker on ABN AMRO Two when the boat nosedived into a wave at speed, sending water sweeping aft. According to reports from the boat, once the water had cleared the deck Horrevoets was missing. The crew put its MOB drill into effect, turned the boat around, and was able to recover the unconscious Horrevoets despite difficult conditions-15-foot waves and 25 to 30 knots of wind. Despite efforts by the onboard medical team, assisted by accident and emergency doctors in Plymouth, England, via radio, Horrevoets never regained consciousness, and died. ABN AMRO Two was about 1,300 miles from Lands End, England, when the incident occurred, and is now heading east again, but no longer in race mode.

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