By Teh Joo Lin
A VETERAN dive instructor died on a recreational dive at a wreck
off the South China Sea last Saturday.
Mr Khoo Soo Seng, 68, suffered a heart attack while on a
recreational dive at the Seven Skies wreck - a popular dive site
off Pulau Aur on Malaysia's east coast.
His family told The Straits Times that Mr Khoo was familiar with
the popular dive spot. He lost consciousness while surfacing from
his dive and was surfaced by his dive buddy.
He was resuscitated on the dive boat. His breathing and pulse
resumed for a while but eventually faded away. Mr Khoo was declared
dead at Mersing Hospital.
Mr Khoo was well-known as a pioneer and veteran of the diving
industry. He was a former president of the Singapore Underwater
Federation. Since the late 1970s, he had been promoting ecological
awareness and educational programmes for divers here and in the
region, said his family in a statement.
His projects included conducting an archaeological and
scientific expedition with Russian divers in 2004 on one of
Russia's famous wrecks, the Cheluskin, which sank in 1934.