WHITSUNDAYS, Australia (3 July 2007) -- A DIVE trip turned to tragedy after a young German tourist died in the Whitsundays. Shocked instructors tried desperately for more than an hour to revive the 29-year-old man, but he died on board the boat. The tragedy unfolded on Bait Reef, north-east of Hayman Island, on Sunday. The tourist was on a day trip on board the Dive Time company boat Gladiator. Whitsunday Water Police Senior Constable Brett Norris said the man had been diving with a group when he got into trouble about 11.45am. Sen-Constable Norris said the man, who was a certified diver, had gone for a dive with three others, including a qualified dive instructor. "He surfaced after the dive and indicated to the vessel that he was OK, then he swam 15 to 20m back to the vessel," Sen-Constable Norris said. But the man collapsed as he was trying to get back on the boat. "He was getting up on the boat when he collapsed, I think someone grabbed him as he was falling back into the water," Sen-Constable Norris said. The man was pulled back on board the boat, where staff administered CPR for more than an hour before a rescue helicopterarrived. RACQ-CQ rescue helicopter crewman David Williams said the chopper had taken about 45 minutes to reach the vessel from Mackay. He said a paramedic and rescue crewman were winched on board the boat about 1.15pm. Mr Williams said instructors were administering CPR to the man when they arrived on board. However, the man was pronounced dead a short time later. | Dive Time's Gladiator dive boat. The company has declined comment on the scuba diving accident that killed a German tourist.  View larger imageHis body was taken to Mackay Hospital, where a post-mortem examination will be conducted in coming days to determine what caused his death. Sen-Constable Norris said the man's name had not been released as police were trying to contact his next of kin yesterday. Sen-Constable Norris said he was unsure of where the man had been staying or how long he had been in the country. Dive Time did not return the Townsville Bulletin's phone calls yesterday. SOURCE - Townsville BulletinSCUBA FORUMDISCUSS THIS TOPIC - Dive in and have your say at Scuba Forum | 
