Shipwreck dive fatal for tourist

By BRIDGET CARTER

An English tourist died after being pulled from the sea unconscious during a weekend diving trip off Northland.

The accident happened at 11.20am on Saturday, when the woman, aged 23, was exploring the underwater Rainbow Warrior wreck at the Cavalli Islands.

She was diving with three others on a deep adventure dive trip organised by Paihia Dive.

A diving instructor pulled the woman from the sea bed when she did not respond to his hand signals.

Paihia Dive owner Charles Le Couteur said the woman was not breathing but had a pulse.

She was revived on board the company vessel, Deep 6, but again stopped breathing when taken ashore at Matauri Bay.

Divers continued to perform CPR on the woman on shore under the supervision of a doctor until the Northland Electricity rescue helicopter arrived.

She was flown to Whangarei Hospital with multiple internal trauma involving her lungs, a Whangarei St John Ambulance paramedic said.

She was sent to the recompression unit at Devonport Naval Base, but died on Saturday evening.

Police and Occupational Safety and Health are investigating the accident.

Mr Le Couteur said the woman was a certified diver.

It took "literally seconds" for other divers on the trip to realise something was wrong, he said.

"They were diving in a very tight group."

The accident happened during the first dive of the day, which began just after 10.30am. It is understood to be the first diving fatality at the Rainbow Warrior wreck since it was sunk off the coast in 1987 and believed to be the first diving fatality this year for Northland.

Mike Edkins, who runs the Dive North Rainbow Warrior Company, said about 20 divers a day explored the Rainbow Warrior wreck in summer. "It is actually a relatively easy dive."

The Rainbow Warrior was sunk by the French Secret Service in Waitemata Harbour in 1985.

It was refloated and towed to Matauri Bay, where it now sits 25m underwater.

Diving deaths

82 people have drowned in diving accidents in the past 10 years.

Fifty-two were scuba divers.

Thirty were snorkellers.

Eight divers drowned last year.

* Source: Water Safety New Zealand