Somerset West police have opened an inquest docket following the death of a young man who drowned at a local water-sport resort on Thursday 29 August.
According to Sergeant Suzan Jantjies, spokesperson for the Somerset West police, officers responded to the incident around 16:10 and recovered the body from the water at Blue Rock Cable Waterski Resort. Jantjies said the 28-year-old Nigerian national from Strand apparently drowned during a diving simulation and was declared dead on the scene.
A press release shared by the Jacks Dive Chest Commercial Dive Academy stated students were engaged in diver training at the resort. “Dives were done following the training standards at 40 m depths. An incident happened where a student diver was entangled under the water at 40 m depth. All efforts were made to untie the diver, and several standby divers were deployed to assist with this task. The dive and rescue was done on Class II Surface Supply.
“All safety protocols were adhered to continuously. Our management team was on-site while the rescue was in process. The student diver was freed later the afternoon and brought to the surface. It is with great sadness that we report that the diver unfortunately passed away in the incident. Efforts were made to resuscitate the diver on arrival on the surface, but all attempts were fruitless. There is an ongoing police and Department of Employment and Labour investigation into the matter,” the statement divulged.
On enquiry, the resort stated: “We were informed about an incident by the commercial diving academy, Jacks Dive Chest Commercial Dive Academy in Strand. The academy is an independent operation that uses the Blue Rock lake as their training grounds and operates all year round. Many scuba-diving, free-diving and commercial diving schools use the lake as their training and teaching facility. The Blue Rick Waterski Resort, also known as an adventure park, is closed over the winter months – from April to mid-September – and is a complete separate company and operation.”
