Hong Kong man dies in South African scuba diving incident

South African National Sea Rescue Institute says tourist pulled unconscious from water; Chinese consulate in Cape Town confirms he is Hongkonger

Medical personnel battled to resuscitate man, transferring him to rescue boat, institute says

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A boat operated by South African sea rescue personnel. A Hongkonger died on a scuba diving trip off Port Elizabeth. Photo: South African National Sea Rescue Institute

Published: 11:09am, 22 Apr 2024Updated: 7:31pm, 22 Apr 2024

A 50-year-old Hongkonger has died after losing consciousness while scuba diving in South Africa, rescue services and Chinese state television have said.

The Chinese consulate in Cape Town on Monday confirmed to broadcaster CCTV that the dead man was a Hongkonger, a day after the South African National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI) said it had received a report of a tourist being pulled from the water off Port Elizabeth.

“It appears that the man … had surfaced from a scuba dive unconscious and he was recovered onto the dive charter boat where cardiopulmonary resuscitation was commenced by the dive charter boat crew,” it said.

The rescue service said it had been alerted to the emergency at 10.45am on Sunday.

Port Elizabeth in South Africa’s Eastern Cape province, where a 50-year-old Hong Kong man has died in a diving incident. Photo: Shutterstock

Institute spokesman Justin Erasmus told the broadcaster that medical personnel had also tried to resuscitate the man but were unsuccessful.

“[The man] was transferred onto our NSRI rescue craft, and with NSRI doctors continuing with CPR on the man, he was brought to our NSRI Gqeberha rescue station where paramedics continued with advanced life support CPR efforts,” the rescue service said.