By MARTIN JOHNSTON, NZPA
Two divers died and one is missing after vicious tides sucked a dive party into a 95m hole in the Marlborough Sounds yesterday.
Police last night named one of the dead, Ricky McDonald, aged 40, thought to be from Nelson.
The other dead diver was a woman and the
missing diver was male, said Sergeant Mike Fitzsimons, of Nelson.
The woman died while rescuers tried to revive her on a beach.
Seven people were diving near French Pass in perfect weather when tragedy struck, said Acting Sergeant Dean Rosson, of Picton.
Four rescue helicopters were sent to the area, at the northern tip of the Sounds, after the Nelson-based dive boat sent out a mayday call about 2.30 pm.
Helicopter pilot Steve Gibb said the divers had been in a 400m-wide strip of treacherous water between D'Urville Island and the mainland when changing tides carried them north.
"They got a very bad suckdown effect into a hole, and they were dragged down, some of them, to 95m," he said.
Four other divers were flown to Nelson Hospital. One is suspected to have the bends.
Sergeant Tere Lawson, of Blenheim, said gear failure might have been a factor. It was thought the divers had gone deeper than planned after a depth marker line broke.
