Unknown Belgian technical solo diver fatality - Curaçao

[DandyDon]

Excerpting from...

Diver deaths in Wales and Curaçao

The body of a 60-year-old male scuba diver has been recovered from the Dorothea Quarry inland dive-site in north-west Wales.

divernet.com

Belgian technical diver Jan Verhaegen was found dead by Coast Guard yesterday (2 June) near rocks in Piscadera Bay, south of Curaçao’s capital Willemstad.

Verhaegen, 39, ran a construction company and had lived on the southern Caribbean island for seven years.

Said to have been an experienced technical diver, he belonged to Curaçao Diving Society and regularly teamed up with other members on their weekend dives in the area, but was also said to have enjoyed diving alone, especially if he wanted to venture into deeper waters.

Despite reportedly poor underwater visibility he had gone off on a solo dive on Sunday afternoon, and as usual had asked a friend to raise the alarm if he had not returned by a certain time.

The subsequent search and rescue operation involved a helicopter and a fixed-wing aircraft, along with a number of boats and divers.