A 39-year-old Malaysian tourist died during a second dive at Crystal Bay in Bali on Wednesday after signaling underwater that she had run out of oxygen. Siti Nuraini Binti Rusidi was later brought to the surface, taken toward medical help and pronounced dead on the way to Nusa Medika Clinic.
The death has put fresh focus on a dive trip that began hours earlier at Manta Bay and ended in tragedy at Crystal Bay. Police said strong underwater currents separated several divers during the second dive, and Siti was later seen with another group led by Wando Salone, who said she appeared distressed before he gave her his own breathing equipment and helped her back up.
Siti was staying at Dive Concepts Lembongan in Jungutbatu, and her group had already completed an earlier dive at Manta Bay at around 8 a.m. before traveling to Crystal Bay for a second descent at around 11 a.m. A guide noticed her coughing before the first dive, but she said she was still able to dive and the group continued.
Before the second dive, the guide asked whether she wanted to join or remain on the boat, and she chose to dive. That decision placed her in the water when the current split the group, leaving her separated before she was found by Wando’s team.
The sharpest contradiction in the case is that medical personnel initially suspected respiratory arrest, yet police said the exact cause of death had not been established. That leaves the central question unanswered even as investigators move quickly through witness accounts and the sequence of events in the water.
Nusa Penida Police Chief Kompol I Ketut Kesuma Jaya said on Thursday that the investigation was still ongoing, including efforts to determine the exact cause of death. Police have questioned the diving guides, the boat captain and other witnesses, while Siti’s body was transported by speedboat from Jungutbatu Harbour to Sanur before being taken to Bali Mandara Hospital.
