Two women in their mid-20s died in separate sea-related incidents yesterday morning, as one took part in a charity dive and the other was out on a small boat.

A 24-year-old woman from Żabbar lost her life during a trial dive for charity in Qawra after she lost consciousness and was lifted off the seabed two metres below the water's surface, the police said.

Later on in the morning, a 26-year-old from Cospicua was on a boat with companions off St George's Bay in St Julians when she suddenly fainted and died before the boat reached shore.

The police did not release the women's names and gave no indication of the possible causes of death.

The 24-year-old was among a group of four first-time divers who were accompanied by an instructor and an experienced diver during the annual Atlam Sub Aqua Club's "Try a Dive for Charity" event held at Ta' Fra Ben in Qawra.

Sources said her boyfriend was among the four new divers in the group, who made a €10 donation to Dar tal-Providenza for the 15-minute shallow water trial dive. Before being handed the equipment they had filled in medical forms, underwent a check-up and been given a pre-dive brief.

After the group entered the water, at about 10.30 a.m., they realised they could not see the young woman. The instructor then spotted her on the seabed without her oxygen regulator while her oxygen tank and jacket were also detached, sources said.

The equipment originated from different diving schools which volunteered to help in the fund raising event. The equipment that the woman was wearing was taken away by the police for testing.

An eyewitness on shore said he suddenly heard someone call out "call a doctor" and saw the unconscious woman being lifted out of the water.

Within seconds the medical team that was on stand-by for the fund-raising activity, and who included Nationalist MP Michael Gonzi, surrounded the young woman and gave her mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.

"She did not respond," the witness said, adding that it took the ambulance more than half an hour to turn up.

"Once they lifted her out of the sea there was a panic on the beach and a crowd surrounded her," he said.

Another witness said: "She lost her life while she was helping others who are less fortunate. I cannot help but complain about the long time the ambulance took to arrive on the scene - almost 45 minutes".

The woman was then rushed to Mater Dei Hospital where she died, the police said.

The diving instructor who had accompanied the woman on the trial dive later fainted, witnesses said.

Following the incident, the Atlam Sub Aqua Club cancelled the event that had been due to run till 5 p.m. and refunded any people who had not yet tried their dive. By then, 75 people had made a dive.

"This was the 11th consecutive year that we've organised the event. Each time we've had an average of 200 people and nothing of the sort ever happened before," one of the event coordinators, Anton Debattista, said.

In a statement issued later, Atlam explained that, as with previous years, dives were manned by qualified instructors accompanied by qualified divers.

"Participants register and complete a medical questionnaire and any medical matters that require further clarification are addressed to the medical team made up of three medical practitioners and a nurse," the club said as it expressed solidarity with the woman's family.

Meanwhile, in St Julians swimmers were shocked to see a small boat with an outboard engine enter St George's Bay at about midday carrying a body covered in a white sheet.

The police said the 26-year-old woman was on the boat outside the bay when she suddenly fainted. Her companions immediately called for medical assistance, but she never made it to shore alive.

Autopsies will be held to confirm the cause of the two young women's sudden deaths.

The police are investigating and Magistrate Silvio Meli is carrying out an inquiry into the two cases.