PLACENCIA, Belize (31 Oct 2005) -- Advanced Diving of Placencia, Belize has been forced to shut down in the aftermath of a dive trip accident that killed one scuba diver and critically injured three others. The Tour Operating Licensing Committee of the Belize Tourism Board voted unanimously to shut down Advanced Diving and permanently ban owner Vance Cabral and divemaster Henry Mark Tucker from participating in commercial dive tour activities. Officials said the strict penalties were based on the police investigation of the October 22 accident and a previous accident in late December 2004 when the "Advanced One" dive boat owned and operated by Advanced Diving capsized injuring several tourists. In addition to losing their licenses to work as professional dive guides, both Cabral and Tucker could face several criminal charges including negligence, manslaughter and operating without valid operator and guide licences. Police said that because the surviving divers have admitted leaving the "Advanced One" dive boat voluntarily, it could be difficult to prosecute Cabral and Tucker on the more serious charges. | | Advanced Diving led a group of 10 tourists on an ill-fated boat diving trip 20 miles offshore to Silk Caye despite small craft warnings, no onboard emergency equipment, no drinking water and a broken radio. After the small dive boat's engine failed and it started drifting out to sea, four divers abandoned the vessel and attempted to swim for shore. One of the divers was not wearing a wetsuit and died after drifting at sea for three days. © CDNN - CYBER DIVER NEWS NETWORK |
