DATELINE: 14 October 2002

AUDREY MESTRE DIES DURING FREE-DIVING RECORD ATTEMPT

Audrey Mestre, one of a handful of world record breaking free-divers, died on Saturday 12 October in the Dominican Republic while attempting a 561 ft (171m) breath hold dive.
Mestre was attempting to beat the 160m No Limits world record set by Tanya Streeter earlier this year in Turks and Caicos. She reached her target depth, but was pulled from the sled by her support team of scuba divers and brought back to the surface. Her rescuers attempted to give her gas to breathe during the ascent. She was underwater for 9 minutes 44seconds, and was pronounced dead from drowning by the medics who attempted to resuscitate her, shortly after being brought to the surface.
28-year-old Mestre was one of the brightest stars of the free-diving scene and was married to free-diver 'Pippin' Ferreras. Pippin was among the spectators while the tragic events unfolded.
Speculation is rife that the sled had developed a technical fault which interrupted her ascent. The International Association of Free Divers (IAFD) who were responsible for overseeing the dive issued a statement saying that they believed that something had hit the sled.