23-Year-Old South Korean Diver Dies After Regulator Comes Out During Okinawa Dive

A 23-year-old South Korean woman has died following a scuba diving incident off Shimoji Island in Okinawa, Japan, after the regulator she was breathing from came out of her mouth underwater.

According to Okinawa broadcaster QAB, citing the Miyakojima Coast Guard, the woman had travelled to Miyakojima with her younger sister and joined a diving trip on 18 September. The group departed Hisamatsu Fishing Port at around 8:30am and began diving off the western side of Shimoji Island at about 9am.

At around 11am, the regulator in the woman’s mouth came out for a reason that has not yet been established. Local reports say she became panicked underwater.

An instructor supplied an alternate regulator and assisted her to the surface. She was brought aboard the dive boat but subsequently lost consciousness.

CPR was carried out as the boat returned to Toguchi Port, according to local newspaper Miyako Shinpo. Emergency services transported the woman to Miyako Hospital, where her death was confirmed shortly after 2pm.

Miyako Shinpo reported that conditions in the area at the time were sunny, with a north-easterly wind of around five metres per second and waves of approximately one metre.

The Miyakojima Coast Guard is investigating the circumstances of the incident, including why the regulator came out of the diver’s mouth. Okinawa TV, reporting through FNN, also reported that authorities were investigating the circumstances surrounding the breathing equipment coming out.

There is currently no verified information establishing that the regulator malfunctioned or that an equipment defect caused the woman’s death.

Following the incident, the Coast Guard reminded people taking part in diving and other marine leisure activities to check their equipment before entering the water, monitor their physical condition and participate in group activities rather than diving alone.

Shimoji Island forms part of the Miyako Islands in Okinawa Prefecture and is surrounded by a number of established recreational dive sites. The reported incident occurred off the island’s western coast.

The Scuba News will update this report if the Miyakojima Coast Guard releases further findings about the circumstances of the fatality.