AUSTRALIA: Reef Snorkelling Deaths

75-year-old Japanese woman was pulled from the water about 2:00pm yesterday at Moore Reef, off the coast of Cairns in far north Queensland.

Queensland police said the woman was on a day trip with Sunlover Reef Cruises.

Today the company issued a statement expressing "deep sympathies to the family and friends of the Japanese woman who tragically passed away".

"Our crew have being offered support and professional counselling," it read.

The woman is the 10th person to die on the reef in the region this year and the fifth since early November.

The Association of Marine Park Tourism Operators said the majority of the victims were elderly and had pre-existing medical conditions.

Spokesman Col McKenzie said snorkelling the reef is on many people's bucket lists.

"While we are very proud of the fact we have the safest snorkelling in the world, we've got to sit down and have a really close look at all these events and see if there's anything we can do," he said.

Mr McKenzie said Workplace Health and Safety released an updated risk-briefing document in all major languages, which highlights the risks associated with snorkelling and diving.

"But at this point in time, there has been no substantive changes made," he said.

"We're at a bit of a loss as to what we can do."

Mr McKenzie said 10 fatalities in one year is double the industry average.

"Maybe we need to tweak the regulations somewhere," he said.

"We've got to be very careful that we don't discriminate by age or take a reactive position when that's not justified.

"I think it's possible that we could bring in place a rule that says that everybody over a certain age has to acknowledge that they have been told of the risks associated with snorkelling and diving."

Mr McKenzie said compulsory medical checks for divers and snorkelers would be cost prohibitive, with dive medicals in Cairns costing about $80.

"Can you imagine a million passengers being told they've got to go and have a dive medical before they get on a boat? They simply won't do it," he said.

"If they want to go and see good coral, they can go and see it anywhere in Asia as well, so we've got to be cost-competitive.

"I don't believe there would be any change in the number of people dying, they would simply die somewhere else."

In November, a 60-year-old British tourist died while scuba diving at Agincourt Reef and two French tourists died after suffering heart attacks while snorkelling together at Michaelmas Cay off Cairns.

Both had pre-existing medical conditions.

NEW ZEALAND: Two French Tourists Die While Snorkelling On The Great Barrier Reef

Two French tourists have died while snorkelling on the Great Barrier Reef.

The marine park's peak tourism body suggested both holidaymakers may have had heart attacks in a rare tragic coincidence before they were found floating near idyllic Michaelmas Cay.

The travellers, described as "elderly" by the cruise provider, had been on board the Passions of Paradise-owned catamaran as part of a group of 21 French tourists.

Passions of Paradise chief executive Scotty Garden said a third person also suffered a medical condition but survived.

Mr Garden expressed the company's sympathy for the deceased's family and friends, saying they had pre-existing medical conditions and were accompanied by a guide in the water.

Mr Garden said the company had stationed a lookout on the beach, another on the boat and two guides in the water at the sandy reef island, a little more than 40 kilometres north-east of Cairns.

"The Passions of Paradise lookout on the beach noticed a man floating in the watrer and pulled him to the sand cay where he performed CPR," he said in a statement.

"He was then assisted by a doctor on the sand cay."

After speaking to the company owner, Association of Marine Park Tourism Operators chief executive Col McKenzie said the woman was spotted face down in the water by the lookout on the boat.

"He grabbed her and dragged her onto the boat and commenced resuscitation of her but in both cases they were unsuccessful," he said.

Mr McKenzie said it was suspected they had both suffered heart failure, with the third person possibly suffering an anxiety attack.

"To have two people have heart attacks is just almost unheard of," he said.

"It may have been one after the other, it might have both occurred at the same time.

"The lookout on the beach rescued one. The lookout on the boat rescued another. Until we get the full details and people have been spoken to, we just don't know."

Mr McKenzie said Passions of Paradise was an "extremely good company", with an 80-year-old heart attack victim the only other fatality since it began operating in its 27-year history.

He said the latest deaths meant eight people had died on the reef this year, up from an average of five a year.

The Passions of Paradise website describes the area as a "world-famous bird sanctuary with a beautiful sandy beach, providing a rare opportunity to snorkel and dive straight off the beach in protected, calm waters".