Woman dies during dive trip off Miami Beach

 
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A day on the water has taken a tragic turn.

Jaclyn Hesse was just one of about 40 people on a scuba diving charter boat when they realized one of their fellow divers had failed to return to the surface.

“We finished the first dive and everyone was back on board and we do a roll call once everyone is back on board and one person was missing,” Hesse said.

Hesse the boat’s crew immediately contacted the Coast Guard then went into the water to look for the woman who was missing. After about 45 minutes, they spotted her.

The Coast Guard said divers had already pulled the woman’s body from the water and into the dive boat by the time they arrived. Hesse said that wasn’t the case. She said the crew was instructed to put the woman’s body on the dive boat instead of on the Coast Guard’s boat. It was a decision, she said, that didn’t sit well with the other divers.

“Everyone started yelling ‘Coast Guard like what are you doing, how can you possibly reject someone who is obviously unconscious,’” Hesse said.

RJ Diving Ventures, which operated the charter boat, was not available for comment. In the past the company was investigated by the Coast Guard for reportedly leaving divers at seas. In this case, however, Hesse said the woman didn’t take the right steps which may have saved her life.

The woman’s death is being investigated by the Miami Beach police, the Coast Guard and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

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