Diver trapped by reef at Tung Lung Chau dies after attempted rescue

^{Hung Shing Temple – Tung Lung Chau}

A fatal accident occurred at a Tung Lung Chau, Sai Kung popular diving spot, yesterday (14/3). During a dive with a friend, a 59-year-old man became trapped in a rocky reef and fell into a coma. When his dive party discovered that he was missing they called the emergency services. The rescue services sent a frogman into the sea for a search and rescue operation. The victim was found for about an hour, but was dead on arrival at the hospital

Yesterday morning, the man and three friends went diving about ten metres off shore close to the Buddhist temple. By 11:00 am everyone should have returned to the boat. However, his friends did not see him on the boat and suspected that he had met an accident.

Once they suspected that the victim was trapped by the rocky reef they searched the diving site. Due to the turbulence and strong water flow at the site, they could not carry out a full search and rescue, so called the emergency services for help.

The Police, Fire and Flying Service teams arrived at the scene for the search and rescue. After nearly an hour of searching, the victim was found at about 12:00 noon. He was pulled from the water in a coma. The victim was taken to to the Siu Sai Wan Pier and then to the Eastern District Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

After a preliminary investigation by the police, the case was classified as a death during search and rescue in Hong Kong waters and hospitalisation. The cause of death will be determined by an autopsy.

Tung Lung Chau is one of the more well-known diving sites in Hong Kong, because the waters are open and there are many big fish on the rocky bottom, including lobsters and groupers, so it attracts many divers especially underwater photographers. The water depth at Tung Lung Chau is about 14 metres. As the deceased had the accident ten metres offshore, it is estimated that the water depth was only ten metres at the time. One diving expert suspected that the victim may have become entangled in some “ghost nets”.

This is the second diving accident in three days. Last Friday, a 60-year-old woman was found drowning in a coma about 100 metres offshore while snorkelling at Lobster Bay in Tseung Kwan O with her friend. She was later confirmed dead on arrival at hospital.