Body of Wales quarry diver was found 85m underwater

By Mark ‘Crowley’ Russell

The body of a diver that was recovered from Dorothea Quarry in Gwynedd, North Wales, on 31 May was found 85 metres (300ft) underwater, according to a coroner who opened the inquest into the diver’s death.

The man has been named by the inquest, which is being held at Caernarfon Coroner’s Court, as Tim James Waples, a 60-year-old engineer from Hertfordshire.

Senior Coroner Kate Robertson told the inquest that North Wales Police received a call at 1.37 pm on Saturday, 31 May, informing them that a diver had died at the disused slate quarry.

‘It seems that Tim Waples had been diving using equipment when he was found deceased at approximately 85 metres depth within the water,’ Robertson told the hearing. ‘He was confirmed as having passed away a short time later.’

Robertson said that a post-mortem examination had been ordered because she ‘had reason to suspect the death was unnatural.’

Dorothea Quarry – known locally as ‘Dotty’ – is an abandoned slate mine in the Nantlle Valley, situated in the mountains of North Wales. It has several flooded pits and reaches a maximum depth of 106 metres.

The quarry was used as a dive spot during the 1990s and 2000s, but the lack of safety facilities on-site supervision has claimed the lives of at least 25 swimmers and divers over the years. BSAC issued a warning against diving there following the death of a 41-year-old man in 2014.

The quarry reopened for use in 2021, and is now a strictly technical diving site managed by the North Wales Technical Divers Club.

The inquest has been adjourned while further investigations take place.

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