Dive master died after rapid ascent

A DIVE master from Cornwall died after rushing back to the surface too quickly during an incident off Malta, an inquest heard.

- OLIVIER VERGNAULT [e-mail]

Darrel Nicholas Pascoe had been on a diving trip on the Mediterranean beauty spot with his wife, Sue, for what should have been a week-long holiday diving shipwrecks.

The inquest into the death of the 66-year-old held in Truro on Monday heard how Mr Pascoe and his dive buddy had only been at the bottom for three minutes, exploring the popular P29 wreck, when he signalled he was going back up to the surface.

While Mr Pascoe's dive buddy ascended from the depth of 30 metres, taking his time to avoid pressure problems which could lead to what is known as 'the bends' (or decompression sickness), the experienced diver from Cornwall went straight up to the surface without taking the necessary safety steps.

The court heard how when he reached the surface, Mr Pascoe, from Probus, near Truro, was still breathing but soon stopped moving and went into cardiac arrest. His dive buddy reached him and with another they brought him back to the shore where they started CPR.