DIVING DISASTER

Scuba Diver Charged in Death of 23-Year-Old Student

Sofia Devries vanished from a diving lesson and was found dead two days later.

Diving instructor Thiago Nahuel Pocovi, 26, has been charged in the manslaughter of her student, Sofia Devries, 23, who vanished during a scuba diving lesson off the coast of Argentina on Feb. 16. Two days after she disappeared, Devries was found dead. Argentine prosecutors found that Pocovi violated safety protocols and regulations governing professional diving instructors. The Public Prosecutor’s Office is still deciding whether the case will be brought to trial. The group of seven divers led by Pocovi was diving in the Golfo Nuevo in the province of Chubut when Devries went missing. The 23-year-old took the lesson with her boyfriend in the hopes of advancing her scuba certification, according to Argentinian station Radio Rafaela. Her body was found about 65 feet below the water’s surface two days later, and an autopsy revealed she died from drowning. After the incident, Devries’ boyfriend posted to Instagram in Spanish: “We had an underwater accident and we haven’t found her since yesterday. I want to find her!”