Darrel Pascoe, from Probus, died during a diving incident off Malta in October 2024
A dive master from Cornwall died after rushing back to the surface too quickly during an incident off Malta, an inquest heard.
Darrel Nicholas Pascoe had been on a diving trip on the Mediterranean beauty spot with his wife Sue for what should have been a week-long holiday diving shipwrecks.
The inquest into the death of the 66-year-old held in Truro today (Monday, January 5) heard how Mr Pascoe and his dive buddy had only been at the bottom for three minutes, exploring the popular P29 wreck, when he signalled that he was going back up to the surface.
While Mr Pascoe’s dive buddy ascended from the depth of 30 metres, taking his time to avoid pressure problems which could lead to what is known as ‘the bends’ (or decompression sickness), the experienced diver from Cornwall went straight up to the surface without taking the necessary safety steps.
The court heard how when he reached the surface, Mr Pascoe, from Probus near Truro, was still breathing but soon stopped moving and went into cardiac arrest. His dive buddy reached him and with another they brought him back to the shore where they started CPR.
Paramedics were called and took over CPR but Mr Pascoe died that day (October 12, 2024) at the Matter Dei Hospital in Msida.
The inquest heard how it had not been possible to determine the exact reason why Mr Pascoe ascended so quickly which led him to suffer a fatal diving related pulmonary barotrauma.
Darrel Pascoe, 66, from Probus died during a diving incident in Malta in October 2024(Image: https://funeral-notices.co.uk/)
It was heard how Mr Pascoe, who had not dived in 18 months prior to his death, should have provided a medical certificate from his UK GP showing he was apt, but did not, and he chose a diving company which only relied on his previous experience as a diver rather than a medical.
However, Thomas Grigor, consultant consultant pathologist with the Royal Cornwall Hospital at Treliske, Truro, said a medical test in Malta might not have revealed his undiagnosed heart condition, adding that such condition had only probably played a minor role in his death.
He said a medical episode or an equipment malfunction or the type of gas mix Mr Pascoe had in his diving cylinders or a panic attack could all have led him to rush back to the surface.
However he said being unable to equalise the pressure whilst at the bottom, which can cause excruciating head pain, was the most likely reason behind his rapid ascent to the surface.
Dr Grigor said that although Mr Pascoe died from a diving related pulmonary barotrauma due to a too-rapid ascent, it was not what is known as decompression sickness, or “the bends”.
The bends is a specific type of barotrauma. It happens to divers when gases, usually nitrogen, mix with their tissues and become trapped. This results in gas bubbles forming in places they shouldn’t be.
He told the inquest: “It is impossible to say if Mr Pascoe would have survived the incident if he didn’t have a pre-existing heart issue.” He added that the pre-existing medical condition was unlikely to be the prime reason for him to surface too quickly.
Assistant coroner for Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly Guy Davies said Mr Pascoe had been a fit and healthy man and a very experienced diver who died on his 91st dive, making a dive master. He said it had not been possible to determine the reason behind he rapid ascend to the surface.
Using a narrative conclusion, he said: “Mr Pascoe died from a diving related pulmonary barotrauma following a rapid ascend for reasons unknown.”
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