Howrah/Chinsurah, Sept. 29: Shampa Das, a 26-year-old swimmer who had represented Bengal at the national level, died today during a 10km freestyle competition in the Ganga.

The race — between Jagannath Ghat in Chinsurah and College Ghat in Chandernagore — is held on Mahalaya day every year.

Shampa, from Bally in Howrah, had completed almost 9km when the boat carrying life savers noticed she had almost stopped swimming. “They picked her up and took her to the bank where a doctor examined her. She was hospitalised immediately but was declared dead there,” said Ramanuj Mukhopadhyay, general secretary of the Bengal Amateur Swimming Association.

Bhusan Chakraborty, the chief medical officer of Hooghly, said Shampa was brought dead to the Chandernagore subdivisional hospital. “Preliminary tests revealed that she died of a massive heart attack.”

When Shampa represen-ted Bengal, she swam in the 800m and 1,500m events.

“She quit the pool nearly six years ago but kept in touch through competitions like this one (organised by the Chandernagore Aquatic Centre),” Mukhopadhyay said.

Shampa lost her father Harugopal two years ago and got a job in the railways, where he worked.

“She lived with her mother. Her mother will become very lonely now,” Mukhopadhyay said.