Turneffe Atoll

[Johnoly]

Posted: Monday, May 9, 2022. 7:14 pm CST.


By BBN Staff: An American tourist, Michael Williams Coli, 64, drowned during a diving trip to the Turneffe Atoll on Sunday, police report.


According to police, Coli and a group of others left onboard a vessel called the Aggresor 4 around 5 a.m. on Sunday. While in the water, Coli went down and did not resurface.



He was reportedly rescued from the water and CPR was administered, however, he remained unresponsive. He was brought to the mainland and pronounced dead at 11:46 a.m.


Police say no foul play is suspected. Coli is the second tourist in a matter of days to have died during a tour at sea.

Tourist drowns on dive trip to Turneffe Atoll

An American tourist, Michael Williams Coli, 64, drowned during a diving trip to the Turneffe Atoll on Sunday, police report.

www.breakingbelizenews.com

 

[scubadada]

I spent a week on the Belize Aggressor IV in April. We did not have any dives at 5 AM. I wonder if the article is accurate about the dive time. A special sunrise dive? I did one on the Cayman Aggressor V in 2018

 

[Johnoly]

.. A special sunrise dive?

I was surprised it was even reported in the news. I was looking for something else, but it popped up. The news is not the most accurate and followup from official sources is non-existent. Some friends have a condo there and have invited me several times for spearing. Keep hearing great reef, no big fish though.

 

[Cali_diver]

I spent a week on the Belize Aggressor IV in April. We did not have any dives at 5 AM. I wonder if the article is accurate about the dive time. A special sunrise dive? I did one on the Cayman Aggressor V in 2018

It's been a long time but we did a very early transition dive on the Belize Aggressor on the last dive day.

 

[scubadada]

Both Belize Aggressors run from Sat to Sat. They do not leave the Radisson dock until about 5 AM on Sunday and head over for the first dives on the west side of Turneffe later in the morning. Our first dive started at 9:15.

So, I think the article means they left Belize City at 5 AM and this event must have happened during the first dive of the trip. They would be able to get back to Belize City by the time stated in the article.

I would imagine that this will not be part of the May 7 Adventure Log for the BAIV Belize Aggressor IV Adventure Logs | Aggressor Adventures™

 

[Ayisha]

I spent a week on the Belize Aggressor IV in April. We did not have any dives at 5 AM. I wonder if the article is accurate about the dive time. A special sunrise dive? I did one on the Cayman Aggressor V in 2018

On the Belize Aggressor III in 2019, we met on the deck at 5 AM at Turneffe for our last 2 dives the day before disembarking.

We had asked as a group if we could spend more time at Lighthouse instead of Turneffe, so we stayed an extra day at Lighthouse. They fit it into the schedule by doing 2 sunrise/morning dives at Turneffe and then booting back to port as soon as we were done.

I wouldn't be surprised if they're referring to when the liveaboard left though.

 

[ABUnderwater]

Both Belize Aggressors run from Sat to Sat. They do not leave the Radisson dock until about 5 AM on Sunday and head over for the first dives on the west side of Turneffe later in the morning. Our first dive started at 9:15.

So, I think the article means they left Belize City at 5 AM and this event must have happened during the first dive of the trip. They would be able to get back to Belize City by the time stated in the article.

I would imagine that this will not be part of the May 7 Adventure Log for the BAIV Belize Aggressor IV Adventure Logs | Aggressor Adventures™

I used to run that boat for a bit, and while the schedules vary a bit based on weather and the usual business, that is a fairly standard variant of the schedule. I think you're spot on, the article saying the bit about 5 AM is a bit misleading, since that time isn't really related to when the dive would have happened, it's just when they departed the Radisson.

 

[scubadada]

The May 7 Adventure Log states they did only one site on Sunday, off Turneffe. They did not make it to Lighthouse Reef until Monday. The incident and the extra roundtrip to Belize City are not included Belize Aggressor IV | Adventure Logs