Canadian scuba diver dies in Riviera Maya

Playa del Carmen, Quintana Roo -
For the second time in 90 days, a Canadian citizen has died while scuba diving one of this area's most well known cenotes, natural sinkholes which dot the local landscape. The accident occurred Thursday.

Martín Joseph Simard, whose hometown has not been reported, was diving cenote Chac Mool with a group of foreign tourists escorted by an experienced guide, according to the regional press. He experienced problems with his regulator and signaled the guide that he need to surface. By the time they did so Simard was choking and vomiting. First aid was applied and emergency help was summoned, but Simard was dead by the time paramedics arrived.

Cenote diving accident claims Canadian scuba diver in Tulum, Mexico

In less than 10 months popular Riviera Maya sinkholes have claimed four lives


This YouTube video of Cenote Kalimba clearly illustrates the lateral positioning of oxygen tanks*

(First published on MGRR's main page Feb. 12, 2013)
*Updated Feb. 18 - victim's identify confirmed*
Tulum, Quintana Roo -
A Canadian man died here yesterday while scuba diving in Cenote Kalimba.

He was identified as 52 year old Bernaid Rieds‡. No hometown was listed by Spanish press sources.

The Yucatán peninsula is world-famous for its cenotes (see-note-ees) - water-filled sinkholes or pits. They're a part of the natural landscape, and a major tourist attraction. But they are not without risks.