FERMAIN, Channel Islands (18 June 2007) -- A man has died after going for a solo dive at Fermain. The diver, named by police this morning as Shaun Fallaize, 42, of Rose Cottage, Marette Road, St Martin's, was found floating off Icart by the lifeboat just after 2pm on Saturday. Attempts to resuscitate him failed and he was pronounced dead at the Princess Elizabeth Hospital. Crew on his dive boat at Fermain had called a full-scale air and sea search at 1.23pm and his body was sighted at 2.11. The St Peter Port lifeboat, Channel Islands Air Search and other vessels, including the Brecqhou Lass, swept the area south of the bay. Commercial diver Tim Morris said it was nearing the start of the diving season and Fermain was a popular site – particularly with those looking for scallops. But he warned that strong tides meant people had to be cautious. Saturday had a particularly low tide of 1.6 metres with a strong south-west wind, force 5-6. 'The tides in that area can be quite treacherous – especially south-going tides,' said the 56-year-old. 'There's some fantastic diving to be had out there. People go for sport and professional reasons – but you've got to be aware of the tides that run there.' Mr Morris said diving in Guernsey was as safe as anywhere else in the world so long as the right precautions were taken. 'I've dived at Fermain for years – it's very scenic. It attracts all sorts of divers because of the varied types of diving down there.' He added that solo diving was very common in Guernsey. But the dive instructor, who has 35 years' experience, advised people against it. 'It's not a recognised way of diving in the commercial sense,' he said. | 'You won't stop people diving on their own – all you can do is discourage them.' Police confirmed that investigations were ongoing. In an unrelated incident also on Saturday, a man believed to be suffering from the bends after diving off the north of the island was brought into St Peter Port Harbour by his dive boat.An ambulance took the man to the recompression chamber at Ambulance and Rescue headquarters just after 2pm. He was successfully treated and later discharged. Fermain hit the national headlines in September when diver Matthew Harvey went 'missing' from there in September.His faked diving accident sparked a massive air and sea search while he had taken a ferry the UK. He returned two days later and slipped back into the water and was found by a passing craft. No criminal charges were ever brought. © CDNN - CYBER DIVER NEWS NETWORKSCUBA FORUMDISCUSS THIS TOPIC - Dive in and have your say at Scuba ForumCDNN Related NewsCHANNEL ISLANDS - UK 'miracle survivor' exposed as scuba diving fraud | 
