A British tourist has died after he suffered a suspected heart attack while scuba diving in False Bay near Simonstown, the National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI) said on Saturday.
NSRI Simonstown and Cape Medical Response (CMR) paramedics were alerted at 11am on Saturday morning by a dive charter boat reporting to be headed towards Simonstown with cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) efforts being conducted on a 63-year-old British man, NSRI Simonstown station commander Darren Zimmerman said.
The man had surfaced from a scuba dive, collapsed unconscious, and was suspected to have suffered a heart attack, Zimmerman said.
The Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC) had been alerted following VHF marine radio communications made to Telkom Maritime Radio Services.
“NSRI and CMR paramedics met the dive charter boat on her arrival at Simonstown harbour where advanced life support CPR continued, but sadly after all CPR efforts were exhausted the man has been declared deceased.
“The man’s wife and daughter are being assisted by police trauma counsellors, and the City of Cape Town tourism officials and the British Consulate are assisting the family. They are on holiday from the United Kingdom and he had been scuba diving with his daughter. Condolences are conveyed to the family,” Zimmerman said.
– African News Agency (ANA)
