A 60-year-old English tourist has died during a scuba diving trip on the Agincourt Reef, north of Cairns.
The certified diver "was seen to have his regulator out of his mouth while underwater on the ocean bottom, in 15 metres of water", tour operator Quicksilver Tours executive director Col McKenzie said in a statement.
"He was retrieved to the surface and taken on board the vessel where CPR was administered."
McKenzie said the incident happened on the diver’s second dive of the day at Agincourt Reef, where he was diving from the vessel Silver Sonic.
"The emergency helicopter drop[ped] a doctor to the Quicksilver helicopter pad where he was met by the dive boat and then assisted with CPR," McKenzie said. "After an extended effort with no response, the diver was declared dead."
The Silver Sonic has operated for 11 years and carried 230,000 divers during that time with no diving fatalities, the company said.
"We are responding to reports of a deceased man on Agincourt Reef off Cairns, police are en route at the moment," a Queensland Police spokesperson told BuzzFeed News.
The tragedy happened two days after French tourists were pulled from the ocean within five minutes of each other after having fatal heart attacks while snorkelling on the Great Barrier Reef on Wednesday morning.
On Thursday, Sydney cardiologist Ross Walker told News.com.au he believed Danielle Franck, 74, and Jacques Goron, 76, suffered stings from the tiny, highly venomous Irukandji jellyfish.
"Look at the facts here. You have jellyfish infested water, and the bite of the jellyfish stimulates a heart attack," Walker said.
"I think they were more likely all bitten by Irukandji jellyfish."