Diver dies off darwin

[MattyDucati]

Sad time for all involved:sad:

http://www.ntnews.com.au/article/201...81_ntnews.html

[Ausfish]

Spear fisho death mystery
NICK CALACOURAS
April 25th, 2010


A SPEARFISHERMAN died in waters off Darwin yesterday after he failed to resurface from a dive on a wreck.

Police last night refused to speculate or reveal how he died until after an autopsy was completed.

The 31-year-old man was spearfishing with a group and diving on the wreck of The Marchart III, about 35km from Darwin Harbour.

Police received a report from the boat at 9.45am that the man had not surfaced with the others. The men were diving without scuba gear.

NT Marine and Fisheries Unit led the search for the man with assistance from the Territory Response Section.

CareFlight conducted an air search from a helicopter while the Customs vessel Holdfast Bay assisted on the water.

The diver's body was located inside the wreck just after 1.30pm.
The body was recovered and brought to Cullen Bay.

Duty Superintendent Bob Harrison said the cause of death was still unknown.
"The body has to be taken to get an autopsy," he said.
"It could be a number of things."

The Northern Territory News understands the diver was with a group of local Territorians who were regular fishermen.

The Marchart III wreck is a popular spot for recreational diving and spearfishing. The area is known to have a large population of tiger sharks.
The wreck is also a challenging dive, with depths up to 35m, and divers are required to have a high level of skill if attempting to spearfish there.




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[wayne18]

Horrible stuff. :sad:

Guys its not worth pushing yourself too hard for that 1 extra fish. Let it go, live to tell the story and get the next fish. Condolences to all involved.

Dive safe.

[devocean]

I have connections with the familt involved and it is very sad news. This guy was an experienced diver diving with an experienced bunch of guys. It is just a very sad event. Diving deep is safe is done correctly and with proper training

[2rods]

Yep a very sad day..one of my best mates was the skipper of the boat they were in...the men on board were some of the best divers in the NT...

Just 1 point to add . the NT news got it wrong ... He was NOT in the wreck....as you can't get in it by all accounts.... he was outside the wreck.

RIP Paul........

[Badone]

How does this tragedy happen?? Diving a wreck in 30m+ they would be keeping an eye on each other you would think.. Dirty water, big currents maybe. A sad day for all involved.

[dodgyone]

Pretty hard for freedivers to buddy up. Was a few guys in the general area.

[Badone]

Dodgy, one up one down.. how hard is that? Lots of deep divers dive this way and it is compulsory in a lot of international spearing comps. One diver must be visible on the surface all the time and only one gun and rig line which is shared between the two divers. Not referring to this situation as I have no idea of the details.

[devocean]

Diving in NT means dirty water and lots of current. Hard to keep an eye on someone in dirty water