SOUTH BEACH, Bahamas — A young Defence Force marine is clinging to life in a coma after nearly drowning during a training exercise at the community pools in South Beach. The male marine seaman was swimming laps in one of the pools during a scuba diving lesson along with several fellow officers. As his colleagues surfaced at one end of the pool, someone noticed that the marine was motionless at the bottom. His colleagues scrambled to pull him out and performed CPR until an ambulance arrived. While the identity of the marine not yet been released, The Tribune understands he is 21-year-old Marine Seaman Charles Heastie. Although the incident happened around 11am on Wednesday of last week, it was not reported to the press, prompting concerned citizens to contact The Tribune fearing the matter was being "hushed up". "You don't keep things like that under wraps - if it was me or anybody else - regardless if it was an accident or negligence. The public or persons within the organisation should know," said an outraged Defence Force officer who spoke on condition of anonymity. The officer said he wonders if the incident would have been avoided if there had been more instructors at the pool. When contacted to confirm the incident yesterday, Minister of National Security Tommy Turnquest - who has responsibility for the Defence Force - said officials are not trying to cover anything up. "There wasn't any reason why they shouldn't have given a report, it was an official Defence Force activity," he said. Mr Turnquest said he was told about the incident by Defence Force Commodore Clifford Scavella on Wednesday and has been receiving routine updates on the marine's condition. "It was a dive course. They were taking scuba diving lessons at the Betty Kelly Kenning pools and they were doing breathing exercises, breath holding and snorkel clearing. "When (the other officers) got to the other end, someone shouted out to them that one of their divers was underwater and that's when they got him surfaced and administered CPR until the ambulance arrived," Mr Turnquest told The Tribune yesterday. Mr Turnquest declined to comment when asked if a shortage of certified instructors at the pool contributed to the incident. Sources close to the Force revealed that the marine is in a coma and breathing with the assistance of a respirator, but Mr Turnquest did not confirm or deny this. It is unclear if the marine - who has been on the Force for less than five years - had any pre-existing health issues. Mr Turnquest said the officer, like all his colleagues, would have taken part in an annual physical last January. | 
