A Russian swimmer's life ended in tragedy after a speeding yacht spun out of control and cut her into half, even as the boat captain remained unrepentant, saying "if I stopped, I would have chopped up lots of people".

The accident occurred in the Pirogovskoye reservoir after swimmers asked a passing yacht to create some waves for them. But after speeding up, captain Sergei Marchenko, 57, apparently lost control before running over Olesia Ivanova, 25, cutting her in half with his propeller, Moscow News reported.