What was supposed to be a memorable diving trip on the idyllic island of Pulau Sipadan in Sabah turned into tragedy for a couple from China after the wife watched her husband sink to his watery grave.
According to Harian Metro, the incident took place at 10.45am yesterday (May 19) when the 37-year-old victim swam into the water without the diving instructor giving him the green light to do so.
Swam into water without permission
In a statement by Semporna district police chief Superintendent Mohd Sobri Zainol, he said initial investigations found the victim and his wife were among eight divers from various countries participating in a diving activity at the resort.
The victim is believed to have entered the water alone without the instructor’s supervision and was noticed by the boatman, who saw him in a state of panic before he sank.
“One of the divers then dove in to search for the victim and successfully found him at a depth of approximately 25 meters in an unconscious state,” he said.
Mohd Sobri added the victim was brought up to the boat and given cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), where he responded briefly by taking a deep breath and vomiting before losing consciousness again.
Unfortunately, it all proved to be in vain when the victim was pronounced dead on arrival at the Tawau Hospital after he was transferred from the Semporna Hospital.
Police have since opened an investigation on the case, which was classified as a sudden death report (SDR). A post-mortem examination is also scheduled to be held at 2pm today at Tawau Hospital.
Our condolences to the victim’s family and always heed the instructor’s advice before diving headfirst on your own!
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