HAMILTON, Bermuda, CMC - A 55-year-old American tourist has died after a diving accident in Bermuda on Sunday, police said.

Police said Paul Latham of New Hampshire, had experienced difficulties while diving with two other people off Castle Harbour in St George's.

"He came into difficulty and began a rapid ascent to the surface. Mr Latham was placed aboard a private dive vessel which was met and escorted by a marine police vessel to Ordnance Island. A waiting ambulance transported the victim to King Edward VII Memorial Hospital where he was pronounced dead,” a police spokesman said.

The spokesman said that an investigation has started into “this sudden death”: and that a family liaison officer has been assigned to Latham’s family.

The two other unidentified individuals were treated at hospital as a precaution, the police said.