The Ministry of Employment’s Occupational Health and Safety Division will begin an investigation into the claims that there weren’t enough resources to assist the Japanese tourist who drowned while snorkelling at a prominent resort in Sigatoka early Tuesday morning.
An eyewitness who does not wish to be named had earlier told fijivillage News that 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 underwater for about 10 minutes.
They say two guests of the resort where one was a doctor, performed CPR and claimed 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 understand that they met the truck in the medical centre on the way to Sigatoka Hospital and took the man to the hospital.
The Ministry of Health has yet to provide a response to these claims regarding ambulance services available at the Coral Coast.
The resort says their team responded swiftly and professionally to the situation, doing everything possible to assist. They also sincerely thank the two medical professionals who were on-site and made every effort to help.
Police investigations are continuing.
