In a harrowing incident at Kenting Nanwan in 2020, a 29-year-old woman’s dive took a tragic turn when she lost consciousness underwater. Despite immediate rescue efforts, the aftermath left a grieving boyfriend aboard their boat, unaware of the dire situation unfolding below.
Recently, there has been some news out for updates in a court for the case; however, let’s first recall what the incident then and how it took a tragic turn.
A 29-year-old woman came to dive in Kenting Nanwan, but she suddenly lost consciousness underwater. Her companion quickly pulled her to the surface, and the two were found by a passing marine research vessel. Unfortunately, when she was rescued, there were no signs of life, and she was declared dead after being taken to the hospital. What’s heartbreaking is, at the time of the accident, her boyfriend was still waiting on the boat, completely unaware that his girlfriend had lost her life.
‘Kenting No. 2’ vessel, we can see in above news footage was carrying marine museum staff for a mission, and unexpectedly came across a male and female diver on the surface of the water.
The Coast Guard officer in the above video said “One of the female passengers lost consciousness and was assisted onto the boat by a male former instructor who was with her, as well as the crew of the ‘Kenting No. 2’ vessel.
“A 29-year-old woman and her friend traveled from New Taipei to dive in Kenting Nanwan. It’s suspected that she suddenly lost consciousness in the water. Her friend quickly pulled her to the surface, and the two were floating and sinking, waiting for rescue. They were spotted by the passing Kenting No. 2 vessel, which quickly returned to Houbihu and rushed her to the hospital, but it was too late to save her.
As EMT said on the phone from Hengchun Hospital, ” Before reaching the hospital, there were no signs of life. Despite the doctors’ emergency efforts, her heartbeat could not be revived.”
Recent updates in the news
The instructor, Mr. Lai, and the equipment rental business owner were sued by the family for nearly 8 million TWD, but the Pingtung District Court found them not related to Ms. Xu’s cause of death and rejected the family’s request for compensation.
Pingtung district court
The parents argue that Mr. Lai and the business owner should have implemented effective team control measures to prevent their daughter from separating from the group and should have consistently counted members and kept a safe distance to assist with buoyancy adjustment and monitor her operational responses to prevent accidents.
Mr. Lai contends that he was only hired to instruct by Ms. Xu’s boyfriend and had no financial relationship with Ms. Xu herself, defining their connection as ‘dive buddies’ sharing risks together, maintaining a distance to make physical contact within two seconds, and having acted with due diligence without fault.
The court found that Ms. Xu and her boyfriend did not get adequate rest before the dive, and despite the oxygen tank still containing oxygen and all diving equipment (buoyancy vest, regulator set, oxygen cylinder) being undamaged, her rapid ascents and descents indicate she was not in a suitable condition to dive on the day of the accident.
The civil court deemed that Mr. Lai did not have a guarantee relationship with Ms. Xu and did not have a duty to prevent risks arising from their respective adventurous activities, clearing him of liability for damage compensation and rejecting the family’s claim.