Thread: Three Divers Die at USS Speigel Grove Wreck

3 Divers Die in Florida Wreck - Newsday.com

KEY LARGO, Fla. -- Three divers died Friday off the Florida Keys while attempting to explore a wreck of a sunken U.S. military ship, authorities said.

The group of divers descended near the USS Spiegel Grove on Friday morning, authorities said. Shortly after, the captain of the dive boat notified the U.S. Coast Guard that four divers were missing. One of the men surfaced because he started to run out of air, authorities said.

Monroe County Sheriff's spokeswoman Becky Herrin said the men were attempting a penetration dive inside the wreckage, which she described as "relatively dangerous."

"These wrecks can be very confusing inside," Herrin said. "There's a lot of places to go wrong."

One of the divers was pulled up by a diver from another boat, and was prounounced dead after being taken to a hospital. The other two never surfaced; Key Largo rescue authorities later found their bodies but were having difficulty recovering them.

A dive team planned to make another attempt to recover the bodies Saturday.

The USS Spiegel Grove serves as an artificial reef, and is one of the most popular diving spots Florida Keys. The retired 510-foot ship prematurely sank and rolled over May 17, 2002.

Such a shame

How sad.

How terrible! Were they ever able to recover the bodies?

Yes. I read a report a few days later that they did.