Posted by on June 23, 2005 at 00:29:04:
Roatan, Honduras (AHN) – Officials with CoCo View resort announce the deaths of two divers Tuesday near Pirates Point. Both were guests on a guided tour with Divemaster Tulio Gomez. and occurred minutes into the excursion.
There were no witnesses to either incident. The names of the victims are not being released.
In a statement, resort management says diving was suspended Tuesday until all systems could be evaluated, but boat diving would resume Thursday morning.
Authorities are investigating what caused the mishaps, with autopsies ordered on both divers. The equipment used during the dives has also been taken into evidence. Footage from underwater web cams is also under review.
Other scuba diving deaths:
On Monday, a 34-year-old crew member on a private dive boat in the Bahamas died. Officials say D.J. Pottorf was aboard the Nekton Rorqual and decided to ''free dive'' without scuba equipment. Fort Lauderdale police say witnesses tried unsuccessfully to revive Pottorf.
An autopsy is being performed.Last Friday, retired New York City police officer, Frank Langon, went missing while on a dive excursion at “Hole in the Wall” in South Florida’s Jupiter Inlet. U.S. Coast Guard and local police searched for days before calling off rescue operations on Tuesday.
The latest deaths bring the number of scuba diving fatalities in the past two weeks to at least seven.