Coroner urges diver training

Press, 1 May 1978, Page 10

Coroner urges diver training

PA Tauranga Had he been more experienced, a diver he could have corrected a defect in his regulator and saved his life, according to the Coroner (Mr H. L. Boughton) at an inquest at Waihi. He said that a faulty valve in the regulator of diving equipment worn by Barry John Duckmanton, aged 39, of Katikati, was apparently the cause of his death bv drowning at Bowentown on December 7. He found that the cause of Mr Duckmanton’s death was drowning by misadventure. There was no evidence that Mr Duckmanton’s state of health had anything to do with his death but there was evidence of

his inexperience in the use of diving equipment. The Coroner expressed concern about the number of deaths recently among inexperienced divers. He said that more education and training might be required for those taking up the sport. “There is no compulsion but I would emphasise to all those who propose to engage in underwater diving that they would be well advised to seek proper training, to join a club and take adequate instruction, and also to undergo a medical test to show that there is no danger in this respect,” he said. Mr Duckmanton had been undergoing training but had not passed the certificate of-proficiency test of his club.