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Thanks to Charles Badoian for the article; --- Sunken Andrea Doria Claims Life of Another Diver by Ed Hayward Thursday, July 29, 1999 The fascinating but deadly wreckage of the luxury liner Andrea Doria claimed the life of another diver yesterday, the second dive fatality in a week in the waters located 50 miles southeast of Nantucket Island. Charles J. McGurr, 52, of Brick Town, N.J., who traveled to the wreckage on the charter boat The Seeker, of Montauk, Long Island, was reported 50 minutes overdue at approximately 11:15 a.m., said Lt. j.g. Craig M. Jaramillo, of the U.S. Coast Guard Group at Woods Hole. As a Coast Guard helicopter traveled from Air Station Cape Cod to the site, divers from the crew of The Seeker located McGurr in 180 feet of water, Jaramillo said. McGurr's oxygen supply had run out. With no hope of resuscitating McGurr, Coast Guard officials asked The Seeker to return his body to Montauk, where a medical examiner will determine the cause of death. Considered the Mount Everest of recreational diving, the 697-foot Andrea Doria sank in a relatively accessible 230 feet of water 43 years ago last Sunday after colliding with another ship. Fifty-one people died, but hundreds of other passengers were rescued by ships that responded to the stricken liner. The man was the fifth person to die diving on the Andrea Doria in the past 13 months. Since 1986, 14 divers taken by The Seeker to the Andrea Doria and other spots in the area have died, according to Coast Guard records. The vessel brings more divers to and from the wreck than other boats, officials said. ``There have been thousands of dives on the Andrea Doria,'' Brian Skerry of Whitingville, a free-lance photographer who has made 12 dives on the Andrea Doria, told the Cape Cod Times. ``And the Seeker has run the most trips. By virtue of the numbers, they experience more of the bad with the good.'' Coast Guard Petty Officer Steve Carleton said the agency would conduct a routine investigation of procedures and equipment on board the vessel. But recreational diving is not regulated. ``As soon as you go into the water, you're on your own,'' he said. Owners of The Seeker could not be reached for comment last night. Last Wednesday, Christopher Murley, 44, of Cincinnati suffered a heart attack just after jumping into the water from The Seeker. In June last year, Craig Sicola, 32, of Surf City, N.J., died after suffering decompression sickness during a dive on the Andrea Doria. A month later, Richard Roost, 46, of Ann Arbor, Mich., was found suspended face-down inside the ship's first-class bar and lounge area. In August of last year, 32-year-old Vincent Napoliello of New York City surfaced unconscious during a dive to the wreck. He was pronounced dead on arrival at Cape Cod Hospital. -- T.MAY-LA SAT TECH DIVERS/GlobeCast N.A.-France Telecom/SCDC & NEDist http://www.globecast.com = work http://pw2.netcom.com/~tleemay/index.html = home http://pw2.netcom.com/~tleemay/scdc.html = play -- Send mail for the `techdiver' mailing list to `techdiver@aquanaut.com'. Send subscribe/unsubscribe requests to `techdiver-request@aquanaut.com'.
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