A Japanese tourist has drowned while snorkelling at a prominent resort in Sigatoka early this morning while allegations are being made that there weren’t enough resources to assist the man.
Divisional Police Commander West, Senior Superintendent of Police Iakobo Vaisewa says the 50-year-old drowned at 8am today.
He says they have received a report of the incident and are investigating it.
An eyewitness who does not wish to be named says the man was having trouble with the tides, and stayed at the reef break, signalling for help where staff and guests saw him but the staff seemed unaware of what to do and no one came to his aid.
The person says after a few minutes, the dive team got their boat and went out to the reef to locate the guest and it is estimated the man was under the water for about 10 minutes.
They say two guests of the resort where one was a doctor, performed CPR and claims there were no defibrillators or any medical equipment at the resort.
The eyewitness says an ambulance was called at some stage during this event but he was transported to the Sigatoka Hospital in the back of a pick-up truck.
They claim the ambulance came about 10 minutes after they left and understands that they met the truck in the medical centre on the way to Sigatoka Hospital and took the man to the hospital.
The resort says their team responded swiftly and professionally to the situation, doing everything possible to assist.
They say they also sincerely thank the two medical professionals who were on-site and made every effort to help.
The resort says they are working closely with local authorities, and a full investigation into the circumstances surrounding the incident is underway.
They say they are unable to release any further information at this time.
The resort adds they are deeply saddened by this tragedy and are fully committed to supporting the affected family.
