Eight months after diver drowned, family still looking for answers

Delays in the post-mortem examinations have raised suspicions

British national James Palmer used to visit the island often, mainly to take advantage of its clean waters and warm weather to practise his favourite sport, scuba diving. With a background of over 85 dives, James knew he had found his calling and started making plans to set up a dive centre in Cyprus.

To materialise his dream of becoming a diving instructor, he took the 50-hour PADI divemaster course at the Pissouri Bay Divers dive centre this March. Part of the water skills exercises and workshops was a 400-metre swim test during which James had to swim nonstop, without any swimming aids.

The test was scheduled on March 28, about a month before James would turn 50. The sea was calm and James’ instructor was standing at the beach. At some point, she realised she couldn’t spot James anymore. She swam to the buoy that was 100 metres from the shore and back, but he was nowhere to be found.

Another instructor from the same dive centre, who was at the scene, found James’ body on the seabed about nine minutes later.

Despite efforts to bring him back to life, James was pronounced dead that Monday.

Claire Palmer, James’ wife, was meant to join her husband on the Wednesday, instead she had to learn about his death over the phone. She is at a loss as to how a strong swimmer could have drowned in calm seas, in front of two instructors without signalling for help.

“There is no medical reason why he died. He was a strong swimmer, he was healthy, he was a fit bloke,” Claire told the Sunday Mail in an interview from the UK.

It took a month to get his body home and another month before Claire could have a funeral for her husband as a second autopsy took place in England, with the cremation taking place in May.

Despite the initial delays, local investigators did not complete their report, thus the inquest in the UK was adjourned for August 8 and then November 7. But the UK Kent coroner is still waiting for documents from Cyprus. These include the histology and toxicology reports, necessary to issue a complete death certificate.

After countless phone calls by his family to the police and unanswered emails, James’ unusual death remains unexplained to this day. The fatal accident was also not reported to the media, as it is typical for diving fatalities.

A Pissouri police spokesman who worked on the case said the histology and toxicology tests “can take up to a year”. “These things take time,” he said, adding that he contacted the coroner asking him to expedite the process. Final results are expected by December according to another police source.

Meanwhile, a former coroner told the Sunday Mail that a postmortem report can be written up in 24 hours and given to the police. She explained that there have been some delays recently due to Covid but not so many months.

The unexpected slow process prompted his relatives to wonder why.

“I am suspicious. I believe there has been a safety regulation rule broken,” his 49-year-old widow said, a diver herself.

Claire believes that James should not have been swimming his course on his own but should have had someone with him in the water.

Claire gathered all her strength and boarded a flight to Cyprus in mid-September in search of answers. It was supposed to be their first wedding anniversary, but after seven years together, she had to celebrate it alone.

After talking with the police, she said she “came out actually more upset with the decisions that the government and everyone made out there”.

While in Cyprus, she also visited the beach where he died, which left her even more confused about the circumstances of her partner’s passing.

“We used to dive in Cyprus every year. We have been in that area before.”

And not knowing what happened is tearing Claire apart. “There has been no justice for my husband and I’m bloody angry,” she says.

“I want answers for my husband. I want to be able to tell my husband ‘you can rest in peace now’, but at the moment he can’t.”

His family and friends also seek closure.

LoveScuba, a network with over 45,000 members founded by James Palmer, posted a dedicated post in honour of the deceased a few days after his passing. “It is with the deepest regret and heartfelt sadness that we inform you of the death of Mr James Palmer… mentor to many other scuba divers.”

The post explained that “until the inquest the family ask for respect and simply an acknowledgement of this amazing man’s life”.

His family have stressed that their tragic loss can be a teaching lesson for other divers and help ensure that Cyprus is a safe place for the world’s divers to visit.

Cyprus Mail has contacted Pissouri Bay Divers for comment.