- Lynette Hartman, 55, and Bronwyn Armstrong were stuck under a hull
- Given breathing equipment and before being persuaded to remove their life jackets so they could swim down and clear of the 36ft hull
- Both women were treated for hypothermia and one suffered damage to her eyes from diesel in the water getting behind her contact lenses
- Peter Hyett, 64, from south Wales, died after the charter boat overturned
By Dan Newling and Ben Spencer
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Two British women endured a terrifying four hours trapped under a tourist boat after it capsized in shark-infested waters near Cape Town.
Lynette Hartman, 55, and Bronwyn Armstrong were stuck under one of the two hulls and survived by breathing pockets of air.
Fellow tourist Peter Hyett, 64, Vale of Glamorgan, south Wales, died after the charter boat, which was carrying 40 people on a seal-spotting trip, overturned just after at 2pm on Saturday.
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Rescue effort: A police diver brings the first woman to safety after swimming her out of the upturned hull of the Miroshga and is handed to sea rescue volunteers
Rescued: Bronwyn Armstrong was stuck under one of the two hulls and survived by breathing pockets of air
The two British women were found clinging on beneath the boat by divers looking for bodies and rescuers communicated by tapping on the hull.
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With the sea temperature at less than 10C (50F), they would have been unlikely to survive for much longer than an hour if they had been in open water.
Police divers gave them breathing equipment and emergency scuba training before persuading them to remove their life jackets so they could swim down and clear of the 36ft hull.
Craig Lambinon, of the National Sea and Rescue Institute, said most of the passengers were rescued by nearby charter boats.
Grief: Sharleen Malan cries after the body of her partner John Roberts, a crew member of a capsized boat, was recovered. They were to be married next week
Support: Family members of John Roberts cry as his body is recovered
But he said the two women ?had somehow become trapped when the boat flipped and had found an air pocket which they were using to breathe?, Mr Lambinon said.
?They were freezing cold as they were wearing just their life jackets and normal clothes.
?The teams found them but they were very scared and it took a long time to coax them to take off their life jackets and swim out.
?The women had to be coached in the water in using the breathing equipment and were eventually freed at around 5.50pm.
?It was obviously a terrifying ordeal for them, but they should now start to recover.?
Both women were treated for hypothermia and Miss Hartmann suffered damage to her eyes from diesel in the water getting behind her contact lenses.
Probe: It is unclear what caused the Miroshga to capsize. South African police have begun an investigation
Survivors ? treated in Cape Town hospitals for hypothermia and shock ? said the motorboat lost power and took on water before being swept on to rocks.
Mr Hyett was taken to shore, where he was pronounced dead.
The dead Briton's wife and daughter Suzanne, 63, and her daughter Helen, 37, from Bournemouth, survived the accident and were treated in hospital.
Last night after identifying the body Mrs Hyett said: 'At the moment things are a bit raw. It?s been such a shock.'
City of Cape Town emergency services spokesman Wilfred Solomons-Johannes said the two women were ?totally devastated ? we are offering them all the care and help we can?.
Dignity: Rescue personnel hold a sheet to shield a body being carried away after the boat accident
The family had been due to return to the UK yesterday after a two-week holiday in South Africa
The coast around Cape Town is also known for a large population of great white sharks.
A second man, South African tour guide John Roberts, also died in the water.
A Foreign Office spokesman said: ?We can confirm the death of a British national in this incident. Several British nationals were also hospitalised following the incident, most of whom have now been released.?
Alive: Rescuers help survivors after the accident, which took place off in the seaside town of Hout Bay
The motorised boat, called the Miroshga, capsized three miles out to sea as it carried tourists from the fishing port of Hout Bay to Duiker Island, known for its large seal colony.
The South African Maritime Safety Authority has launched an investigation into the accident.
Passenger Emma Tengskog, a Swedish tourist, said: ?I was up on the roof. Suddenly I saw a lot of water inside the boat.
?We drifted to the rocks, then there were a lot of waves coming. One big wave hit the boat and it flipped over.?
Exhaustion: A National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI) crewman reacts after recovering survivors and bodies from the accident
Fisherman Alfonso Wichman, whose boat was the first at the scene, said: ?The first thing we saw was the boat capsized and an empty life raft, and then dozens of people thrashing in the waves.
?It looked like a nightmare. We were especially concerned about the children and elderly.?
The website of tour operator Southern Ambition Marine Safaris says safety on the Miroshga, which runs regular whale, dolphin and seal-watching trips, ?is of paramount importance?.
The Hyetts, who had both been married previously, had been on holiday with Mrs Hyett?s daughter Helen since October 1.
A family friend said last night: ?This is such a shock. They were so happy and enjoying life together. Sue had beaten breast cancer just a few years ago and they were making the most of his retirement and the time they had together.
Sombre: Rescue personnel carry a body to shore. Scores more were injured in the wreck
Survivor: Rescue volunteers haul a passenger out of the water. Two British women were rescued from inside the hull over the overturned craft
?Peter was a fabulous person and they were a great, devoted couple.?
The couple had retired to the seaside town of Barry in the Vale of Glamorgan, where Mrs Hyett? had grown up, after living in the Bournemouth area. Mr Hyett was believed to have been in the RAF as a younger man.
The family had been ?happy and relaxed? in the days before the accident, according to a hotel worker who met them when they spent Thursday night in Swellendam, 140 miles east of Cape Town.
Renette Henrico, assistant manager at the Aan de Oever Guest House, said: ?They were really relaxed, in the holiday vibe.?
VIDEO: The body of missing crewman John Roberts is found...?
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