A local female tourist drowned when snorkeling in the Maldives last Saturday.

Her husband and father have since traveled to the island nation off the southwest coast of India to learn details of the accident.

The woman, whose name was not made public, was part of a tour group organized by the Shanghai Airlines Tours International Co Ltd, which sent an official tour guide with a group of travelers.

The travel agency refused to divulge information about her other than that she was traveling with someone whom she called her brother.

"We got the bad news from our ground handler in the Maldives last Saturday, and immediately contacted her family and helped them to getting visas and air tickets," said Wang Yan, director of the company's outbound department.

Wang added that the woman was traveling alone with her so-called brother in the Maldives even though her name appeared on a list of tour members.

According to an accountant from the company who didn't want to be named, the woman's travel style was categorized as DIY or Do It Yourself.

"There are two kinds of DIY travel. One is to book hotel reservations and round-trip tickets through our company, while the other is to go and come back with our group but travel alone once at the destination," said the accountant.

If it is confirmed that the woman was not with the group at the time of the tragedy, the travel agency will not likely be held accountable. The company refused to say more.

(Shanghai Daily January 20, 2004)