According to a report by BBC Bristol, Wells coroner Tony Williams heard how Christopher Lindup, 58, surfaced in difficulty during a night dive at Vobster Quay, Somerset, after 'wrongfully believing' that he had run out of air.
He gave the out-of-air signal to his buddy, Clive Finn, who air-shared and brought Lindup to the surface, where Lindup was still conscious and talking. A rescue buoy was thrown to the men by another diver, Gary Ward, who was on shore.
'I swam out a few feet to get the buoy and as I turned to Chris he just wasn't there,' Finn is reported to have told the inquest. 'What's really upsetting is that we were only 10ft from the shore.'
Finn recovered Lindup who, despite resuscitation attempts, never regained consciousness and was declared dead upon arrival at hospital.
Unusually, the corner ruled that the cause of death could not be determined. A pathology report found that 'no classical signs of drowning' were present, but simply that Lindup had died 'following a period of immersion under water'.
Lindup, a retired head teacher, was described by his diving friends as an experienced, able diver who had completed some 60 dives. Lindup, Finn and Ward had dived regularly together.
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