Medical staff in Bradford were today in mourning for a popular doctor who died in a freak jet ski accident on the other side of the world.

Dr Sridhar Shekar, 31, was thrown from the jet ski he had hired on Australia's Gold Coast after the vehicle is thought to have hit a moored boat's anchor chain.

His wife, 32-year-old Dr Divya Patel, a GP in Bradford, was also on the jet ski and received minor injuries. She was treated at the nearby Gold Coast Hospital.

The couple lived in a house on Rush Croft, off Leeds Road, Bradford.

Dr Shekar worked at Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust as a senior house officer in rheumatology.

A spokesman said: "Everyone here at Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is saddened to learn of Dr Shekar's tragic death. We would like to take this opportunity to pass on our sincerest condolences to Dr Shekar's family and friends at what must be a very difficult time for them."

Dr Patel works at the Cowgill Surgery in Clayton, where she has been a partner for the past four months. A spokesman for Bradford and Airedale Teaching PCT said: "Both the tPCT and Cowgill Surgery are saddened to learn of the tragic death of Dr Patel's husband.

"We would like to send our sincere condolences to Dr Patel and her family at this difficult time. The tPCT is supporting the practice and also its patients who will be gradually finding out out about this sad news."

Police in Queensland said Dr Shekar was thrown into the water after the collision and is believed to have suffered a broken pelvis and other injuries to his head and upper body. Bystanders administered emergency first aid but could not resuscitate him.

The couple had been holidaying on the Gold Coast in Queensland and had hired the jet ski from Shane's Watersports World, an operator at Southport Broadwater, a popular area for boating enthusiasts.

Gold Coast Water Police acting senior sergeant Mark Kelly said it was thought to have been the first time Dr Shekar had ridden a jet ski. He said: "It can be very difficult to drive a jet ski."

Staff at Shane's Watersports World said they had warned Dr Shekar he was going too close to a boat just moments before the tragedy.

"It is inexplicable that it happened, where he left the beach and where the boat was - I just have no idea how he could have hit it," part owner Trevor Gibson said.

"The company has been operating for 13 years ... and nothing like this has ever happened, nobody can make any sense of it."

He said he had been under supervision and using a dedicated jet ski course set up in the Southport Broadwater, a sheltered estuary popular with watersports enthusiasts.

"I'm not sure if it was his first time or not, he had done a couple of circuits of the course already, our staff had warned him that he was going too close to a moored boat," Mr Gibson said.

"He had only just been told that, he left the beach and then he more or less drove straight into it."

Queensland Police said the accident happened at around 10.30am local time yesterday (1.30am GMT).

The couple also have a house in Meanwood, Leeds. Neighbour Dr Chumbempakserry Gopakumar, 68, himself a retired hospital consultaint, said: "He was a nice guy, a very good man."