British diving instructor Gary Vanhoeck shot and killed by robbers in front of his wife in Bahamas

Vanhoeck’s wife Kathryn is thought to have been tied up and forced to watch but was unharmed

Gary Vanhoeck was shot and killed by two armed gunmen in the Bahamas (Twitter)

A British diving instructor who lived in the Bahamas with his wife has been shot and killed by two men who accosted the couple on their boat and demanded money.

Gary Vanhoeck, 44, and his wife Kathryn were ambushed by the armed gunmen while relaxing on their boat at around 10pm on Friday. The two armed men ordered that Vanhoeck give them money before apparently tying up his wife and marching him onto the dock, where they shot him twice in the head, the Daily Mail reports.

His wife Kathryn was reportedly forced to watch her husband’s death but was left unharmed, and immediately called police after the men fled.

The Royal Bahamas Police Force said in a statement it has now launched an island-wide manhunt for the suspects who fled on foot, and have said they are searching for four suspects in connection with the incident. No one is thought to have been arrested so far.

The police added that Vanhoeck was a British national who had been residing in the Bahamas for a number of years and was attacked “at home on his sailboat located at western New Providence near a place where he was employed”.

Nassau police spokesman Stephen Dean told the Daily Mail that this kind of attack was “rare,” and said: “It’s a major concern every time we have something like this happen.”

Vanhoeck, originally from Grimsby, Lincolnshire, reportedly quit his job in the UK to move to the Bahamas with his wife a number of years ago, where he became a driving instructor. He previously described the pair’s life as, “Living like pirates, diving in the Caribbean.”

He is understood to be survived by his son from a previous marriage, Chris, 24, and his wife Kathryn.