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Free diving community in mourning after man’s death

Free diving is a form of diving where participants hold their breath rather than using breath apparatus.

Free diving is a form of diving where participants hold their breath rather than using breath apparatus.

A professional free diver has described the death of a Queensland man off Moreton Island as a “tragic but preventable accident”.

A 19-year-old man died while free diving at Hutchison Reef off Moreton Island in south-east Queensland yesterday.

Free diving is a form of diving where participants hold their breath rather than using breath apparatus.

The man and three of his friends were reportedly competing to see who could dive the deepest, when he blacked out and sunk in 30 metres of water.

He was brought to the surface but could not be revived.

The founder of international free diving body Apnea International, Erez Beautus, said it was imperative free divers always used a “safety buddy”.

“Just exactly for this case, for this scenario, so if something goes wrong, your buddy can be watching you all the time,” he said.

“If we dive a little bit deeper – deeper than 10 metres – the sole responsibility of the safety diver is to take care of his buddy at that moment in time.”

Mr Beautus said the diving community was in mourning.

“It’s very depressing to hear about young people that lose their lives, and in my career as a free diver and free diving instructor I’ve had to deal with a few,” he said.

“But I’ve also lost people in car crashes. This will not prevent me from driving to work.”

Mr Beautus said people should not jump to unfair conclusions.

“Since we’re young and jumping in the water, in the pool, and trying to swim lengths underwater – that’s free diving – snorkelling, underwater photography, that’s all free diving,” he said.

“You can actually hold your breath for quite a long time, without any damage or any problem arising – it’s actually quite a safe activity, to be honest.”

Diving community supporting man’s family

Australian Freediving Association spokesman and national record holder, Tanc Sade, said he had spoken to members of the man’s family.

“Obviously they’re very distressed right now,” he said.

“The good thing is that the community is very tight, and they’ll have a good support network – there’s a very big diving community in Queensland.

“We’re a very, very tight-knit community, and we care about each other immensely.

“It is unfortunate because we care about each other a lot and we don’t want to see anyone get hurt.

“The community is in mourning right now, because it’s a very sad and tragic event.”

Mr Sade said formal education was the key to preventing future deaths.

He said most divers knew their limits.

“I think the press tends to sensationalise the sport and wants to tout it as an extreme sport, and we don’t think it’s that kind of sport at all,” he said.

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