BRISBANE, Australia (15 Sep 2006) -- A Supreme Court judge in Brisbane has declared renowned technical diver John Bennett legally dead. The decision by Justice Roslyn Atkinson was not without legal precedent, however, it is extremely rare. Under Australian law, seven years must pass before a missing person can be declared legally dead. Earlier this year, Bennett's common law wife was granted the right to swear to his death and settle his estate even though the mandatory seven-year waiting interval had not elapsed. The court order just issued by Judge Atkinson is the final legal prerequisite enabling early settlement of Bennett's estate. Bennett went missing in South Korea in March 2004 at a depth of 45 meters while trying to detect oil leakage on a Korean wreck located 22 kilometers southwest of Wangdeung Island off North Jeolla Province. After experiencing problems on the dive, Bennett and his dive buddy signaled agreement to terminate the dive and ascend to the surface. The buddy diver ascended but Bennett never reached the surface and despite an extensive search, his body was never found. Bennett, 45, was best known for setting scuba diving depth records and on November 6, 2001, became the first diver to reach a depth of 1000 feet (305 meters) on scuba. | | Renowned technical diver and deep diving legend John Bennett went missing while salvage diving in South Korea in 2004. In November 2003, Scuba Diving International and Technical Diving International (SDI/TDI) announced the appointment of John Bennett as a member of its Training Board. Immediately after Bennett's tragic and untimely death, CDNN joined friends and family in Puerto Galera and Australia to promote the John Bennett Memorial Trust. © CDNN - CYBER DIVER NEWS NETWORKCDNN Related NewsAUSTRALIA - In Memorium: John BennettMICHIGAN - Wreck diver drowns after running out of air |
