While police say they are “looking into it”, dive operators suggest little can be done to eliminate accidents, saying, “if you want to stop dive accidents, stop diving”.

In the wake of another diving death this year, in which 51-year-old Pamela Langevin died Friday night in hospital after being pulled from the water near the Cayman Turtle Farm early Thursday afternoon, operators offered the usual cautions about diving alone and proper training, but were largely fatalistic, saying such accidents are rare, but sometimes unavoidable.

“The only way to stop diving accidents is to stop diving,” said Owen Miller owner of Sundivers at the Cracked Conch. Mr Miller helped pull Ms Langevin from the water on Thursday, but was unable to say what had gone wrong.

”I was on the boat and everyone was trying to help her, and I can only assume she had some sort of medical problem. She was fit, she was in good shape, there was nothing wrong. She might have had a cut on her forehead, but that was just from people helping her out and  getting her onto the boat,” he said.

”There have probably been about 10 deaths [in the water], but seven of them were from snorkelling. It’s just hard. You can’t do anything about it. It’s like if you want to stop car wrecks, you stop driving.
“You can only do your best,” Mr Miller said. “I have been diving for 40 years and have taken hundreds of thousands of people out diving. I’ve been operating my boat for 35 years, and have never had an accident.

“It’s a terrible thing, but what can you do. It’s the nature of the thing sometimes. Unless you want to hire a dozen people, take out a boat for about a week and hold everyone’s hand.”

In a police statement late on Friday, a spokesman said Ms Langevin had made her way to shore, but had fallen unconscious.

“The woman was able to reach shore with her dive partner, but went unconscious and had difficulty breathing. Staff from Sun Divers responded and assisted. CPR and oxygen was administered prior to the arrival of emergency services,” the report said.

Taken to the Cayman Islands Hospital, she died on Friday night.

“There are deaths happening every year, and it’s just one of the things that happen,” said Anton Swanepoel, a technical instructor from nearby Divetech at Lighthouse Point.

“Let’s not get this out of perspective, though. Hundreds of thousands of people come every year, and we can only make sure that their training is sound. We do our best, but beyond that there is nothing much we can do.

“I have saved several people myself,” he said, “doing CPR on the boat, and that is the best you can do: Have a competent crew on your boat and even in the shop – and make sure you always have a dive buddy.

“It’s a bit like decompression sickness. It’s a shame and a sad fact, but it happens.”

RCIPS Chief Inspector Malcolm Kay, said police were looking into the issue, but he was unable to say if officials could do more to prevent similar problems.

Minister for Health and Sports Mark Scotland regretted the incident, worried by the number of deaths that had occurred, offering his condolences.