Dive operators at Australia's Great Barrier Reef are concerned that Open Water, the Hollywood movie supposedly based on the story of two divers lost there, will give a false impression of diving safety standards.

The Australian diving industry went onto the defensive this week after news that the movie Open Water, which opens in the US in August, is likely to portray dive operators at the Great Barrier Reef as uncaring and reckless.

The pre-publicity for the movie describes the plot as follows: "A young couple goes scuba diving only to find that they've been accidentally left stranded in the middle of the ocean. Suddenly, the couple's tranquil vacation has turned into an exhausting trial fraught with terror and fear."

Col McKenzie, executive director of the Association of Marine Park Tourism Operators and spokesman for Dive Queensland, was quick to defend the safety standards at the Great Barrier Reef, pointing out that the site has an exemplary safety record. In Australia, fatalities occur at the rate of only one per 400,000 people who go scuba diving. In most other countries, including the US, the rate approaches one per 100,000. A recent coroner's investigation into the causes of deaths among scuba divers in Australia found that the majority were the result of health-related problems: heart disease and obesity.

American divers Thomas and Eileen Lonergan went missing in 1998 after a dive trip to the Great Barrier Reef. The couple's disappearance went unreported for several days, and exactly what happened to them remains a mystery, but the incident attracted international media attention.

The couple had been diving at Fish City, St Crispins Reef, from dive boat Outer Edge. It is assumed that the pair were left behind by the dive boat and perished at sea; pieces of their diving equipment were later recovered. A coroner's hearing into the couple's deaths concluded that they died at sea, probably by drowning or shark attack.

The dive boat skipper Geoff Nairn was charged with unlawful killing through criminal negligence, but was acquitted of all charges.

Relevant links
Forgotten diver incident prompts safety calls
Obesity a major factor in unfit diver deaths
RNLI launches Diving Safely pack
Maritime and Coastguard Agency (UK)

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