GOLD COAST, Australia (15 Apr 2009) — A Chinese student died in the Broadwater while on a holiday diving trip with a local company today. The 21-year-old woman was a learner diver participating in a Discover Scuba course with Queensland Scuba Diving Company on the northern side of Wavebreak Island when she got into difficulty. The $99 course involves up to four uncertified divers heading out with an instructor after first completing a session in a pool to learn about diving skills and equipment. The student was one of four divers accompanied by a female Japanese instructor known only as Yuri. Police district duty officer Senior Sergeant Vern Sanders said the woman was underwater with a number of people when she surfaced alone and signalled for help. "She's come up, called for help and immediately disappeared underneath the surface of the water," said Sen-Sgt Sanders. "Immediately rescue efforts were commenced (by the dive crew) and the deceased was located on the bottom of the Broadwater in about 3m of water. "(Water) police then arrived on the scene, attempted CPR, though efforts to revive her have failed." The woman was located just before 3pm. Water police pulled the woman into a boat and began CPR on the way to the jetty at the Grand Hotel, where ambulance crews met them soon after. Sen-Sgt Sanders said police attempted to revive the woman for 15 to 20 minutes before ambulance crews took over. However she was pronounced dead on arrival at Gold Coast Hospital. It is understood she was in Australia studying at Charles Sturt University in NSW and was visiting the Gold Coast with friends, five of whom accompanied her on the dive trip this afternoon. The remaining divers and several instructors were taken to the diving company's berth at Mariners Cove after the woman was found. Company employees ushered other divers past the media and told them not to speak to reporters. However one diver who was on the trip said everyone on the dive was shocked by the woman's death. "It just happened out of nowhere," said the man, who declined to be named. "I was diving with the company and one of the instructors who took out the group of learners found out that one of the group was missing so we began a search for her. "Basically after trying to find her we found her on the bottom of the sand. "The police just dragged her up on to the boat and took her away. | The 21-year-old scuba diving accident victim died after a Queensland Scuba Diving Company dive instructor lost contact with her during a $99 PADI Discover Scuba course. "Everyone was shocked, especially the two guys that found her. The instructor that was taking out the group, she's really, really upset." On its website, Queensland Scuba Diving Company says it has clocked up more than 20,000 dives in 14 years. The company is owned by Mark Salter, who has been lobbying for some years for an artificial reef for scuba divers on the Gold Coast. The company refused to comment on the fatal scuba diving accident and hung up when contacted by The Bulletin. Police said the forensic crash unit and Workplace Health and Safety would investigate the death. The woman is the second Chinese national to die in Gold Coast waters in the past two weeks. Last Thursday the body of Brisbane student Jeffrey Gong was found off South Stradbroke Island after he was swept out to sea by a rip from Surfers Paradise on April 6. by Hayley Sultanie | 
