Autopsy to pinpoint cause of diver's death

By Jamie Komarnicki

Investigators have few details about why a Calgary man died in a diving mishap at a popular Banff lake.

The 41-year-old's family have been notified of his death and have asked that his name not be released.

The man was diving in Lake Minnewanka on Saturday. When the diver didn't surface as expected from a 30-minute dive, his companions and others began a grid search.

RCMP Const. Mathieu St-Denis said the man was a beginner.

"He did some dives before, but he was still a student with instructors. He was fairly new," said St-Denis.

An autopsy is set for Tuesday.

"It will decide if he died from a drowning, lack of oxygen, or if he had a medical condition under the water," said St-Denis.

A member of the diving group found the man and brought him to the surface more than an hour after the search began.

On Sunday, local divers expressed sadness over the death.

"We just express our condolences to the family and anybody that was involved," said Greg McCuaig, vice-president of Underwater Outlaws, a social club for Calgary divers.

McCuaig dives at Lake Minnewanka dozens of times each year. It's a popular spot due to its proximity to Calgary and the ruins of a village that was submerged after a dam was built in 1941.

Saturday's diving incident is a difficult reminder of the dangers of the underwater activity, he said.

"The biggest thing is everybody realizing it's not a completely safe activity," McCuaig said. "Just making sure we're diligent working with our buddies and our team and our training."

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