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UPDATE: South African boat captain drowned, autopsy revealed

January 5th, 2012 | Tags: died Norman Island skipper local charter company
The sailing boat was anchored off Norman Island. Photo: prweb.com
ROAD TOWN, Tortola, VI – The autopsy of 27-year-old Zac Van De Merwe, who had dived to retrieve a camera off Norman Island on December 29, 2011, revealed that he died from drowning.

According to police spokeswoman Diane Drayton the post mortem examination was conducted on January 1, 2012.

De Merwe was the boat captain of a Moorings chartered vessel and dived into the ocean to reclaim a camera that had fallen overboard by a guest. However, the area where he was searching was some 70 feet deep.

As reported by Virgin Islands News Online on December 29, 2011, head of the Virgin Islands Search and Rescue (VISAR) Phil Aspinall said that the agency received a distress call at 8:13 a.m., and when they turned up, a local dive company had already found the victim and was performing CPR. Unfortunately, it was too late.

This news agency understands that De Merwe, a South African citizen, was on his first charter job in the Virgin Islands.

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