CAYMAN ISLANDS (29 Jan 2008) — A post mortem examination has found that a popular UK nurse drowned in a Cayman Islands scuba diving accident. Tina Baxter, a 47-year-old nurse at the Royal Blackburn and Burnley General hospitals, was scuba diving with an unidentified dive shop based on Grand Cayman Island when she apparently passed out and drowned. Authorities said Baxter was unconscious when she was pulled back aboard the dive boat where the crew attempted but failed to resuscitate her. Paramedics who had been alerted to the accident by a 911 call met the dive boat at West Bay public beach and took the victim to hospital where she was pronounced dead. Respected nurse, wonderful person Baxter was on a cruise ship holiday with her mother, Sylvia Whittaker, who joined a sightseeing tour of Grand Cayman Island while her daughter went scuba diving. When she returned to the vessel, the ship's doctor told her that her daughter had died. "I was so shocked," Mrs. Wittaker told reporters. "She said 'Bye Mum, see you later' and that was the last time I saw her." "She was a wonderful daughter and we were close...she was a strong person who was full of life." "After I lost (my husband) Colin she was a big support. Without her I don't know what I would have done...it will be so difficult not having her around." Baxter was a highly respected medical professional who had completed a masters in nursing at the University of Hull in 1991. She specialized in psychiatric care for elderly patients and was renowned for her dedication to patients and her efforts to make a difference in healthcare services. "Everyone at the trust was deeply saddened to learn of the sudden and tragic death of Tina Baxter," said Finlay Robertson, chief executive of the Lancashire Care Trust. "She was a valued staff member who cared passionately about older people and worked tirelessly to improve services. She will be sadly missed." Caymans dive industry takes a dive Once considered the best scuba diving holiday destination in the Caribbean, the Cayman Islands has steadily declined in popularity during the past 10 years after a series of ill-advised decisions by local officials and tourism promoters turned off divers and forced large resorts and dive centers to close their doors. Among companies that went belly up were Bob Soto's, the Cayman Islander, Divi Tiara, Fisheye, Indies Suites, Parrots Landing, Seaview, the Sleep Inn, Spanish Bay Reef, Treasure Island and Treasure Island Divers. Eco-unfriendly and overpriced at $250 per night: Ocean Frontiers and Compass Point Condominiums. According to owner Steve Broadbelt, a strident local tourism promoter who also owns a liquor store, his three-storey 27-room beach-front development left the area "pristine and untouched". Travelers who want to visit destinations that actually are pristine and untouched avoid the Cayman Islands, which has become synonymous with the Compass Point development and similar environmental disasters. | | Tina Baxter drowned in the Cayman Islands where the unwritten rule is "always blame the customer" whenever somebody dies or gets hurt scuba diving. According to CDNN sources in the Caymans, at least five other companies that cater to divers are on the verge of bankruptcy as discerning dive travelers bypass the Cayman Islands for destinations that are more affordable and less developed. Cayman cronies "One huge obstacle to getting the Caymans back on track is the cronyism that puts the wrong people in charge, people who have tainted the Cayman Islands brand," said CDNN Editor Lamar Bennington. "Anyone can dumb down the PR and blame scuba diving accidents on 'pre-existing medical conditions' and spin marine wildlife harassment as 'eco-friendly, interactive diving' but most travelers are not that stupid--they're not buying it," Bennington added. "To effectively rebrand the Caymans as a diver-friendly destination rather than an overdeveloped, mass tourism Caribbean theme park aimed at cruise ship shoppers, you've got to throw the bad apples out — the industry insiders like Nancy Easterbrook and Steve Broadbelt who have systematically lied and repeatedly abused their positions to leverage their own businesses and line their own pockets." "I mean it's one thing for Broadbelt to boast about how much he profited from ruining the East End of Grand Cayman with his liquor store scam and ugly, overpriced three-story condo buildings where laws should have been enacted that limit developers to one-floor construction — it's quite another to spin the Compass Point Condominiums and the Ocean Frontiers dive shop as a beach-front development complex that left the area 'pristine and untouched'". Confronted by the steady rise in "dive and stay" package rates, overdevelopment and crude attempts to blame scuba diving accidents on the victims, discerning dive travelers are understandably looking for safe, affordable, eco-friendly alternatives to the Cayman Islands. © CDNN - CYBER DIVER NEWS NETWORKSCUBA FORUMDISCUSS THIS TOPIC - Dive in and have your say at Scuba ForumCDNN RELATED NEWSCAYMANS - British tourist dies while scuba divingCAYMANS - Red Sail Sports customer died from embolismCAYMANS - Diver-fed eel nearly bites off scuba diver's arm |
