TUTUKAKA, New Zealand (25 Oct 2006) -- An experienced diver and Coastguard training officer died scuba diving off the Tutukaka Coast. Police told CDNN the victim, Dennis McAllister, 55, of Oakura, was one of four divers scuba diving in the Poor Knight Islands off a dive charter vessel based in Tutukaka. Witnesses said McAllister ascended at about 2:45pm, swam to the ladder at the stern of the dive boat and took off his mask. But something went wrong and McAllister slipped back beneath the ocean's surface. The other divers quickly descended and brought the stricken diver back to the surface, pulled him aboard the dive boat but attempts to revive him with CPR failed. Coastguard officials described McAllister as an experienced diver and exceptional boat skipper who was well-liked by everyone who knew him. He was the skipper of a boat used to film a documentary about dolphins that saved lifeguards from a great white shark attack at Ocean Beach. | 
