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A diver who died off the coast of North Cape yesterday has been named.
He was 56-year-old Garry William Pitman of Whangarei.
Mr Pitman was diving with two others off North Cape around noon yesterday when he floated to the surface without his gear.
He was unresponsive and others on board the boat tried to revive him, but he died at the scene, police said.
A post mortem examination was being carried out in Auckland today and the incident has been referred to the Coroner.
The police dive squad is now searching the area where Mr Pitman was diving to recover his missing diving gear.
He had been diving in about 10m of water, a police spokeswoman said.
"He surfaced and they brought him on the boat but he died at the scene," she said.
There were four in the dive party, made up of three divers and the skipper of the boat.
It was not yet known if the other divers had been in the water or in the boat at the time the man surfaced, the spokeswoman said.
The man's body has been transported to Auckland for a post mortem examination to help investigators determine what happened.
The police dive squad was also searching the water for the man's dive gear in the hope it will provide key information.
"We don't know what happened, that's why we've got the dive squad going down to look for his gear, so they can ascertain what may have happened," the spokeswoman said.
She also thanked a number of local people who provided police with a boat to reach the area where the diver and his friends were yesterday.
- Additional reporting APNZ staff
Police could be seen cordoning off a street in the area.