A 25-YEAR-OLD exercise fanatic from Acton was found dead in the pool of a health club.
Elsa Carneau was found face down in the water having had a suspected heart attack at the £145-a-month Virgin Active club in Old Court Place, Kensington.
Emergency services were called to the gym at about 7pm on Saturday, December 3, but were unable to resuscitate the French national, who was pronounced dead at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital.
One gym-goer, who did not want to be named, said: “It’s so sad. I didn’t know her personally, but it’s scary that this can happen to someone who is fit, healthy and successful. She was a regular at the gym. You would think that would stop this from happening. The staff are all very shaken up about it. I can’t imagine what it must be like for them having to deal with something like that."
Miss Carneau, of Popes Lane, was an Imperial College graduate, a former model, and had been working in finance at the time of her death.
The swimming pool is not permanently manned by a lifeguard and it is not clear how long she had been in the water.
A spokesman for Virgin Active said: “Investigations into the circumstances of the incident are ongoing to determine the reason for the woman being unconscious.”
Police said there were no suspicious circumstances, and a post mortem examination could not establish a cause of death.
Further tests are being carried out to see whether Miss Carneau had over-exerted herself in the gym before getting into the swimming pool.
An inquest was opened and adjourned at Westminster Coroner’s Court on Wednesday, December 7, and will be resumed early next year.
