A 28-year-old man from southern India has died during a scuba dive while on his honeymoon in Sri Lanka – and another death occurred on the same day in Florida, after a diver went missing.
AK Mohammed Irfan, from Vengara in Kerala, had married on 16 June and the couple had travelled to Sri Lanka accompanied by friends.
On Friday, 26 June, Irfan took part in a morning scuba dive, though neither the exact dive-site nor whether the dive was conducted from a boat or from shore has been confirmed.
If, as local reports suggest, the incident occurred in the Trincomalee area on Sri Lanka’s north-east coast, most recreational diving there is conducted from boats visiting offshore reefs and wrecks. The area is one of the country’s best-known scuba-diving locations.
According to the reports, while under water Irfan had signalled that he was suffering chest pain, and shortly afterwards lost consciousness. He was brought to the surface by dive professionals and taken ashore where he was rushed to hospital, but staff there were unable to save his life.
Local reports suggested that Irfan might have suffered a cardiac event, but this remains unconfirmed pending a post mortem examination.
Divers found their friend
Also on 26 June, off Port St Lucie on Florida’s Atlantic coast, a scuba diver went missing and was later found dead on the seabed at a depth of 16m.
US Coast Guard Station Fort Pierce picked up a Mayday call from a boat at the scene at around 11.30am. The vessel was about 10km north-north-east of the Fort Pierce Inlet.
The Coast Guard notified the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), which dispatched four boats to assist.
Meanwhile, the St Lucie County Sheriff’s Office marine unit had already responded to the initial emergency call and they were later joined by a group of friends of the missing diver, who had set off in their boats at about 1pm to help with the underwater search. Coast Guard and FWC aircraft also provided support.
At about 4.10pm the divers located their friend on the seabed. The diver was recovered to the surface but pronounced dead.
The body was taken to Coast Guard Station Fort Pierce, while St Lucie County Sheriff’s Office’s criminal investigations division launched an investigation. Authorities have not released the diver’s identity or indicated what might have caused the person to go missing under water.
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