The dead were identified as David White, 42, from Rodborough, and Kaye Moss, 43, from Cam.
Post mortems were carried out on the pair on Friday. Police are examining the divers' breathing systems and diving computers. A preliminary hearing was being conducted by the Plymouth coroner today.
It has emerged that the divers were part of a group of five friends diving on the wreck. One of the recovery team, made up of professionals from local diving businesses, has confirmed that the bodies of White and Moss were found in a fairly small compartment on one of the ship's mid-level decks. The Scylla sits upright in about 24m of water, its bridge reachable at about 8m at mean low water. Divers can swim safely through its bridge and hangar areas without need for penetration-diving measures.
More caution is advised if entering one of several lower deck levels, through companionways or access hatches which were cut in the ship's sides to improve light and access/exit safety.
Most challenging are the wreck's engine room and bilge areas. Here, and to a lesser extent on some of the decks higher up, enough silt has settled for visibility to be seriously reduced if residue is disturbed.
The safety of diving on the Scylla has been questioned at previous inquest hearings. But dive professionals have defended its reputation as a relatively safe wreck-penetration site.
The Scylla, a decommissioned RN frigate, was sunk three years ago as Europe's first artificial reef. Its preparation and sinking were managed by Plymouth's National Marine Aquarium.
The NMA has played no further part in organising sport diving on the wreck, bar the monitoring of colonisation by marine life.
|