Percé, Quebec Fatality

[DandyDon]

Deadly scuba diving accident in Percé

A scuba diver has died after having difficulty breathing while in the water off of Percé, Que., about 60 kilometres south of Gaspé.

According to provincial police, when the man started showing signs of having difficulty breathing, the woman who was with him tried to help by offering him some of her breathing equipment — such as her regulator, which reduces the pressure of the compressed air in a scuba tank.

Despite this, he was still struggling to breathe.

"The man was reportedly brought back to the Percé wharf by a boat that accompanied the divers," Sûreté du Québec spokesperson Sgt. Audrey-Anne Bilodeau told Radio-Canada.

Police received an emergency call around 4 p.m. They said the man was a tourist who would go scuba diving regularly.

The man was transported to a hospital in Chandler, about 40 kilometres southwest of Percé, where he was pronounced dead.

The SQ says the man's death was an accident, and was not linked to a criminal act or negligence.