Scuba diver dies in wreck

A British holidaymaker has drowned after becoming trapped in a shipwreck during a scuba dive.

The body of Dean Herne, 31, from Stoke-on-Trent, was found on Tuesday inside the wreck of the Zenobia cargo ship off the coast of Larnaca in Cyprus.

He had been in a party of 10 scuba divers diving to the ship on Monday.

A sea and air search was started after the alarm was raised when he failed to resurface.

Constable Andreas Savvides, of Cyprus police, told the Cyprus Mail that Mr Herne had been found in the shipwreck's engine room, which he apparently had tried to investigate.

He described this an "extremely risky" undertaking - even for a seasoned diver such as Mr Herne - given that visibility inside the wreck was "very poor".

He speculated that Mr Herne may have lost his bearings, panicked and removed his oxygen mask and gear as he struggled to get out.

The diver's body was taken to Larnaca hospital where a postmortem examination confirmed the cause of death as drowning.

The Zenobia has become a diving attraction since it sank in 1980 with 104 articulated lorries on board.