The Englishman who died off the Great Barrier Reef had been on his second dive for the day when he was found on the ocean floor on Friday afternoon.
A 60-year-old certified diver was scuba diving from the Silver Sonic vessel as part of Quicksilver Cruises at Agincourt Reef when he was found on the ocean floor with his regulator out of his mouth about 1pm.
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Snorkelling deaths 'almost unheard of'
Two French tourists have apparent heart failure at the same time while snorkelling on the Great Barrier Reef off Cairns.
Association of Marine Park Tourism Operators executive director Col McKenzie said the man was brought aboard the boat where CPR was performed, including the use of oxygen and defibrillation equipment.
An emergency helicopter dropped a doctor on aboard however "after an extended effort with no response" the diver was declared dead on scene, Mr McKenzie said.
"The dive boat, Silver Sonic, has operated for 11 years and carried 230,000 divers during that time with no diving fatalities," he said.
"Accidents like this are a tragedy for the surviving family members, the crew and the passengers."
Workplace health and safety officers were at Port Douglas to meet the vessel to begin investigations.
The death comes just two days after two french tourists died while snorkelling near Michaelmas Cay, south of Agincourt Reef, on Wednesday.
Mr McKenzie said the case was in contrast to Wednesday's incident which claimed the lives of French tourists Jacques Goron, 76, and Danielle Franck, 74.
"The one on Wednesday was two people in their mid-70s who were very unhealthy," Mr MacKenzie told AAP.
"In this instance, we've got a qualified diver who was diving in very safe, clear, warm water, and we have no idea what's caused the issue."
Mr MacKenzie said he welcomed the investigation into the deaths, but is worried about the negative attention generated by the incidents.
"What concerns me is the crazies out there, I mean we've already got people saying we should close down the marine tourism industry because we've had three fatalities in a week," he said.
with AAP