The Cave Divers Association of Australia (CDAA) has released the findings of its investigation into the death of a diver at Tank Cave in South Australia in November last year.
Gary Gibson, 65, died during a dive in the cave system on 29 November last year. His body was recovered two days later, on 1 December.
According to a report by ABC News, Gibson was diving with two other divers when they realised he had become separated from the group.
Upon realising he was missing, they returned to a predetermined meeting point to wait, but when Gibson did not arrive, they retraced their route and found him motionless in the water.
CDAA national director Grant Pearce told ABC that Gibson’s equipment was functioning and that he had an adequate supply of breathing gas remaining in his tanks.
Pearce also said that there was no evidence of a rockfall or other trapping scenario, and that the association was ‘quite comfortable that the rules that we have that govern safe diving within the organisation were all followed.’
‘Gary was a very meticulous diver, very fastidious about his gear and his planning,’ said Pearce. ‘If he didn’t feel right about something, he wouldn’t do it, so we’re all scratching our heads at the moment as to what actually occurred.’
Mr Pearce said the association could not determine the exact cause of death and that it was possible a separate medical event may have occurred, adding that he may have died ‘after a period of high stress and exertion.’
‘We could only conclude that there may have been some other health incident that would have potentially occurred,’ he said, ‘but we’re not aware of what that is.’
Tank Cave is located approximately 25 kilometres west of Mount Gambier near Tantanoola in South Australia’s Limestone Coast region.
The cave forms part of one of Australia’s longest submerged cave systems, and is accessible only to certified cave divers under a permit system administered by the CDAA.
The investigation into Mr Gibson’s death has not yet concluded, but Tank Cave has since reopened to CDAA divers.
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