Texas man dies while diving off a shipwreck in the Florida Keys
A man from Trinidad, Texas, died Wednesday morning after scuba diving a shipwreck off Key Largo, according to the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office.
Blake Willis, 64, was diving the wreck of the Benwood, a 360-feet-long ship that sank off Key Largo in 1942 after colliding with another vessel.
The crew of the dive boat he chartered, Sea Dwellers Dive Center, found him floating in the water and immediately began doing CPR, Adam Linhardt, sheriff’s office spokesman said.
The dive boat crew rushed him back to shore, where paramedics were waiting on Marina Avenue at mile marker 99.
He was taken to Mariners Hospital in Tavernier, where he died, Linhardt said.
The Benwood is about six miles offshore. According to the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, the ship lies on both coral reef and sandy bottom at depths between 25 and 45 feet.
