Wrongful death suit is filed over drowning at the Grotto dive site

A wrongful death lawsuit was filed last week before the Superior Court over the death of a 62-year-old Chinese woman who drowned when she was about to scuba dive but fell into the water while crossing large rocks at the Grotto dive site in Marpi last May.

Wu Yang and Linyu Zhang, as personal representatives of the deceased, Zhao Xia Yang, are suing Summer Nana Corp., Ocean Free Corp., and Wave Dive Trip.

Wu Yang and Zhang, who are in China, are the daughter and mother of the deceased, respectively.

Summer Nana and Ocean Free are corporations in the CNMI. Wave Dive Trip is a company organized in Hong Kong.

Wu Yang and Zhang, through counsel Colin M. Thompson, are also suing 50 unnamed co-defendants.

The plaintiffs asked the court to hold the defendants liable for negligence. They are demanding unspecified damages and a jury trial.

According to the complaint, Zhao Xia Yang went to the Grotto on a guided scuba diving tour on May 6, 2018.

The Grotto is a dive site that consists of a pool of water at the base of a long flight of stairs, and has three underwater openings that lead out to the open ocean.

At the time of the tour, Thompson said, the Grotto was dangerous because the weather was windy and the water turbulent.

The lawyer said despite the turbulent sea and adverse conditions, and despite the inexperience of Yang, the group of tourists, led by Summer Nana and Ocean Free, descended toward the Grotto pool.

He said a tour guide working for Summer Nana and Ocean Free instructed Yang and the other tourists to enter the Grotto pool by crossing slippery and uneven large rocks.

Following the instructions of the tour guide, Yang allegedly attempted to enter the Grotto pool by crossing the large rocks. Thompson said Yang and the tour guide slipped while traversing the large rocks and both fell into the pool.

The tour guide was pulled to safety.

Thompson said a bystander attempted to reach for Yang, but the water was too turbulent, and the waves swept her away and underwater to her death.

Thompson said Summer Nana and Ocean Free were negligent as they failed to follow proper procedures in conducting a guided scuba diving tour of the Grotto.

He said Summer Nana and Ocean Free also failed to provide adequate safety instructions, failed to follow proper safety and emergency procedures during the tour, failed to resolve Yang’s problem after the fall, and took her on a tour which was dangerous and far above her ability.

Thompson said the actions of Summer Nana and Ocean Free, choosing the Grotto on that day in spite of the adverse weather and dangerous water conditions, were negligent and in disregard of the personal safety of Yang.

He accused Summer Nana and Ocean Free of being fly-by-night operations that had a bad reputation among dive professionals on Saipan and that Dive Trip knew about this.

Thompson said Dive Trip knew that Summer Nana and Ocean Free did not follow necessary standards and was uninsured and employing uninsured instructors.

Thompson said if Yang had been provided this information by Dive Trip, she would not have taken the guided scuba tour from Summer Nana and Ocean Free.

According to the report of the Department of Public Safety, witnesses said that when it was the victim’s turn to cross to the big rock, she and the diving instructor fell into the water and toward the right side of the rock.

DPS said a bystander was able to pull the instructor to safety. When the bystander reached for the victim, a wave came and swept her toward the rocks.