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Man washed out to sea while scattering sister's ashes off English coast

Shane Galliers, 51, was caught by a large wave and pulled into rough seas as he tried scattering his sister's ashes off the coast of Cornwall, England, on Saturday.

By Fred Lambert
Portions of coast off Cornwall, in the United Kingdom, where a man was swept out to sea as he scattered his sister's ashes on January 31, 2015. Photo by Jennifer C/CC/Flickr
Portions of coast off Cornwall, in the United Kingdom, where a man was swept out to sea as he scattered his sister's ashes on January 31, 2015. Photo by Jennifer C/CC/Flickr

CORNWALL, England, Feb. 1 (UPI) -- A man who was trying to scatter his sister's ashes off the English coast Saturday was swept out to sea, according to his family and Britain's Maritime and Coastguard Agency.

Shane Galliers, 51, had gone with family members to a rocky area of coastline in north Caldwell to scatter the ashes of his sister, who died in November. Galliers had diverted from the main group when a large wave caught him, pulling him into the sea.

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"He just wanted a private moment with his sister, but he slipped," said Gallier's mother, Patricia Howells, according to the Guardian. "Unfortunately, Shane just couldn't stay afloat. It was so cold, we were very well wrapped up, he was wearing very thick clothes, they just dragged him down."

Two other members of Galliers' group went into the water to help but were unsuccessful. Extensive searches along the area Saturday night into Sunday proved fruitless amid "gale force winds and rough seas," according to coastguard officials, who said no further searches were planned.

Family member Jasmine Bird told the BBC that the area, which was at Trebarwith Strand, near Tintagel, was a "very personal spot for the family," and that other family members' ashes had been scattered there in the past.

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"It's all a very big shock for all of us," Howells said. "First I lost my daughter and now I have lost my son; it's so difficult to come to terms with."

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