Indian Tourist Dies While Scuba Diving at Molasses Reef Near Key Largo

Abhinav Lamba, a 43-year-old tourist from India, died Wednesday morning after going into distress while scuba diving at Molasses Reef off Key Largo, the Monroe County Sheriff's Office confirmed. He was found submerged at approximately 25 feet of water around 11 a.m. and could not be revived despite immediate rescue efforts.

According to Monroe County Sheriff's Office spokesman Adam Linhardt, the crew of a commercial dive boat spotted Lamba in distress before he went beneath the surface. Crew members located him underwater, brought him aboard their vessel, and began CPR immediately. Paramedics met the boat at shore and transported Lamba to Mariners Hospital in Tavernier, where he was pronounced dead.

Autopsy results are pending. Detectives do not suspect foul play, Linhardt said, and the investigation remains ongoing. Officials have not released details on whether medical issues or diving conditions contributed to the death.

Molasses Reef sits within the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, roughly seven miles offshore from John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park. The site is among the most heavily trafficked dive and snorkel destinations in the Upper Keys, drawing visitors to its shallow, clear waters and protected sea life. Fishing and collecting are prohibited within the Sanctuary Preservation Area, and mooring buoys are used to limit coral damage from anchors. Mariners Hospital, which received Lamba, operates a civilian hyperbaric chamber and has handled previous diving emergencies from the Upper Keys.

Lamba's death is the second fatal scuba diving incident in the Florida Keys within a week. On March 13, five days earlier, Lonnie Higgins, a 71-year-old man from Columbia, Missouri, died after diving at the Eagle wreck off Islamorada. Higgins had been traveling with his wife, Arlene; a church-affiliated message described the couple as longtime road travelers who had spent months together in a motorhome, and called his death "tragic and unexpected," asking for prayers for Arlene and the family. The Monroe County Medical Examiner's Office says foul play is not suspected in that case either, and that investigation also continues.

Officials have not released additional details about either incident, including whether medical issues or diving conditions may have contributed to the deaths.