The promontory at Manza, Okinawa (Photo: Shutterstock)
By Mark ‘Crowley’ Russell
A Taiwanese scuba diver and his instructor, also from Taiwan, have died in a cave in Okinawa, Japan.
The two men, said to be in their twenties, were reported missing at around 3 pm on Sunday, 31 August, while diving off Manza Beach in Onna Village, centrally located on Okinawa’s eastern coast.
A search operation was mounted by Japanese Coast Guard units from Nago and Ishikawa, and the two men were located, unresponsive, in a cave at a depth of approximately 30 metres.
Both men were taken to hospital where they were pronounced dead.
The two men have been identified as a 28-year-old Taiwanese tourist with the surname Chang, and a Taiwanese instructor, 24, who was a resident of Okinawa.
The incident occurred during their third dive of the day, accompanied by three of Chang’s friends who reported that the two disappeared approximately 10 minutes into the dive.
No official explanation has yet been given for the two men’s deaths. The Japanese Coast Guard has launched an investigation.
Manza is a popular dive spot in Okinawa, but most dive shops require an Advanced Open Water certification or equivalent due to the strong currents that are sometimes present in the area.
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Crowley (known to his mum as Mark), packed in his IT job in 2005 and spent the next nine years working as a full-time scuba diving professional. He started writing for DIVE in 2010 and hasn’t stopped since.
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