An investigation has been launched by the Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) into the death of a diver in Orkney.
Rescue teams recovered the body of Paul Smith, 70, from Scapa Flow last month following a multi-agency search.
The diver, from Greater Manchester, went missing during a dive near the wreck of the German battleship SMS Markgraf on September 28.
A team of Royal Navy divers were drafted in to help Police Scotland search for Mr Smith; who was found dead almost three weeks later.
MAIB probe death of diver in Orkney
Officials from MAIB have now launched an investigation to establish how the 70-year-old diver died.
In a notice, published on their website, investigators confirmed they are working to establish whether the diver was struck by a vessel whilst underwater.
The notice reads: “A passing dive support vessel struck a recreational diver making an underwater decompression stop in Scapa Flow, the Orkney Islands, Scotland, resulting in one fatality.”
A large-scale air and sea search was launched shortly after 11am on Thursday, September 28 after a diver failed to return to a vessel in Scapa Flow.
Lifeboat crews from Stromness and Longhope search the water alongside local vessels in the area as coastguard teams from Kirkwall, Hoy and Stromness assist on the ground.
Rescue helicopters from Inverness, Stornoway and Sumburgh also took to the air to begin searching overhead.
As darkness fell, the search was called off.
Mr Smith’s body was recovered close to the island of Cava on Monday, October 16.
Second diver dies in Orkney
Last week, a 58-year-old male diver died and another was hospitalised following an incident at Scapa Flow.
The pair were taken aboard a local vessel before being transferred to Houton Pier.
The man’s death was being treated as ‘unexplained’.
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