Durban - A Joburg holidaymaker died during a deep-sea dive off eMkhomazi on the South Coast on Thursday.
The man, believed to be in his mid-20s, was a member of the Twin Palms Dive Club in Gauteng and was with a group visiting the Blue Vision Dive Centre, in eMkhomazi, for the weekend.
Dive centre owner Carol Oosthuizen said she was “shocked” by the man’s death. She suspected the diver had a heart attack under water during the recreational dive.
“We do not believe the cause of death was dive-related,” she said, “But we will know for sure only once the post-mortem is complete.”
Netcare911 spokesman Chris Botha said the man was 27m under water when he lost consciousness.
“A rescue diver was with him at the time. He saw what happened and brought the man to the surface,” said Botha.
The man was placed on a boat and CPR was administered on the way to the launch site.
When paramedics arrived they took over.
“But the man was declared dead at the beach,” said Botha. Oosthuizen said the man had been an experienced diver.
“He was a recreational diver, a deep sea diver and a rescue diver,” she said.
An officer at eMkhomazi police station confirmed the incident and said police had attended the scene.
The Mercury