New Info Tonight--NOT A REBREATHER INCIDENT! In fact...Mrs. McAlpin didn't even have her scuba equpment on. She reportedly dove into the 12' section of the pool with a weight belt on to retrieve a piece of snorkeling equipment. Something happened down there and she drowned.
It will be interesting to see if this even goes down as a SCUBA death instead of a swimming death.
From KLTV.com: An East Texas scuba instructor drowns in a pool while teaching a class. It happened yesterday at the Scuba Center in Tyler off Highway 31. The instructor had been teaching for a while.
Forty-seven year old Barbara McAlpin has worked for the Scuba Center for 6 years. The center uses a pool where people get trained to dive. The owner of center would not speak to us on camera, today, but did McAlpin was getting ready to teach a class for 2 adults, when the accident happened.
The owner says McAlpin did not have her scuba gear on at the time. He says she got into the 12- foot deep pool and dove to get a piece of snorkeling equipment off the bottom.
"The students at the center basically contacted emergency personnel that the instructor was in need of help due to the fact of taking in too much water in the pool so she was transported to ETMC and was later deceased," says Officer Don Martin, Tyler Police Department.
Martin says an autopsy has been ordered and they should get the results back in the next 2 to 3 weeks to find out what caused the drowning. Martin also said there is no sign of foul play. Police say OSHA has been contacted, since the accident happened at a business. No word yet if there an investigation.
