TRAGEDY CAUSED WHEN DIVERS RAN OUT OF AIR - INQUEST TOLD COMPLACENCY A FACTOR

Inquest hears how divers met their fate

- WILLIAM TELFORD

TWO experienced divers died after they became trapped on the HMS Scylla wreck off Plymouth and their air supply ran out, an inquest has heard.

Andrew Harman and Mark Gallant perished but a third diver, Adam Dent, managed to escape, just as his air tanks emptied, and raised the alarm.

Despite efforts to save the men, they could not be reached and fellow divers could only watch from the surface as two streams of air bubbles petered out.

The inquest heard how "complacency" may have played a part in the tragedy and support was given for a national protocol to be drawn up to prevent similar incidents.

The inquest in Plymouth heard how Mr Harman, aged 40 and from Plymouth, and 49-year-old Mr Gallant, from Hatt, near Saltash, were among a party of divers who set out from the city on September 3, 2021, to dive on to the HMS Scylla artificial reef in Whitsand Bay. They left from Sutton Harbour on the vessel Outcast, owned by the Aquanauts diving business.

Mr Harman, a theatre lighting technician, and Mr Gallant, a computer systems analyst, were both described as highly experienced and qualified divers. Mr Harman was said to also be a dive trainer and instructor and Mr Gallant a specialist in wreck diving.