Limburg divers drown off Italian coast; were "semi-pro"

Two Dutch divers drowned on Sunday in the Gulf of Genoa, near the northern Italian city of Genoa. They were diving to the sunken oil tanker Amoco Milford Haven.

The two divers, two men aged 46 and 53 years, both belonged to the Limburg diving club Duurkerkers, Hart van Nederland reports. Duurkerkers is an association for amateur divers. Chairman Joel Simons told the newspaper that the two men had followed several diving courses and that they were semi professionals. "Our diving club is more about the simpler work. Most members are recreational divers These men were practicing another sport: tech diving in which they, for example, experimented with gas mixtures in the air cylinders".

According to the Dutch Under Water Sports Association, they may have come into trouble with the gas mixtures in their air bottles and decompression. "It is necessary to mix gas mixtures so that you can resurface in a good way", chairman Jack de Vries said to Hart van Nederland. He does not want to speculate on the cause of the accident, which is currently being investigated by the Italian judiciary.

the sunken oil tanker lies at a depth of about 80 meters. It caught fire in 1991 and sank off the coast of Arenzano, near Genoa. The Amoco Milford Haven has been a popular destination for divers for years. There are regular diving excursions to the 334 meter long ship from the marina of Arenzano.