There was another drowning that happened this morning, around 10:00, in the area of Hol Chan off San Pedro. 72-year-old American doctor, Mona Bhatti, left Ambergris Divers dock around 9:30 with three other tourists, the boat captain, and a divemaster. They went across the reef and began diving. About ten minutes later, the divemaster noticed that Bhatti had begun to ascend, and he followed her up to the surface. When he got to the top, he saw the captain gripping Bhatti's hand to keep her head above water.

Bhatti was urgently administered CPR and oxygen but, it was too late, she was unresponsive. The crew returned to town and Bhatti was transported to Ambergris Hope Clinic where she was pronounced dead on arrival. The incident has been classified by police as sudden death while they investigate.

Channel 7

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Female tourist dies while scuba diving on Ambergris Caye

The police’s official report indicates that Bhatti and three other persons went out on a diving tour with a local tour operator in San Pedro. The tour proceeded across the reef, and when they arrived at the diving site, they all entered the water, except for the boat captain.

The divers were asked to dive in pairs. When they commenced, Bhatti and her diving partner were at the back of the group. The report reveals that after ten minutes into the dive, Bhatti began to ascend to the surface. The divemaster immediately deployed his safety device to the surface to indicate that a diver is going up. This is so the boat captain can be on the lookout for the diver. The divemaster and the rest of the divers ascended as well to check on Bhatti. The boat captain was holding her hand to keep Bhatti’s above the water. She was unresponsive, and CPR and oxygen were administered. The crew immediately headed to San Pedro and took Bhatti to the Ambergris Hope Clinic, where she was pronounced dead on arrival.

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sincere condolences to her family.