Police who attended an emergency call to a local charter vessel where a tourist died did not have up-to-date resuscitation techniques credentials.

An internal inquiry was launched by Police into whether on-duty marine Police were properly qualified in resuscitation techniques, known as CPR, after American Barbara Massover, 53, died on August 20.

Ms Massover was snorkelling off the Sundeck 2 catamaran with her family at Mangrove Bay when she became unresponsive.

Two crew from the vessel tried to save her life by performing CPR and the Police's Marine Unit were on the scene quickly — though they did not take over the CPR.

General Manager of Charter Bermuda Limited and owner of Sundeck 2, Beez Evans, told The Royal Gazette his staff chose to continue CPR until they reached Emergency Medical Technicians at Watford Bridge. He also commended the Police for their swift response and their involvement in getting Mrs Massover to land.

Despite their efforts Mrs. Massover was pronounced dead at 4.24 p.m. by an on call physician.

In a tape recorded interview Mr. Evans also claimed the Marine Unit officers were without proper qualifications, something confirmed by Police, yesterday, in a press conference.

Last week Mr. Evans said: "It is very possible that some of them might be expired.

"One crew member spoke to the Marine Police and she said one of them said he was not trained in CPR. I am taking everything at face value so I believe what she said.

"[The crew member] said one officer was not trained to do CPR and another officer said it was out-of-date."

Yesterday, Deputy Commissioner Michael DeSilva said: "As part of our inquiry, we recognised that CPR training for our marine officers lapsed. It was an oversight in as much as the first aid qualification and the CPR qualification were dealt with as one. We have done a review and, to address these issues, our officers will be undertaking the necessary training in the next few days. No direct complaint was made to us about our officers' conduct; in fact, we have received a letter praising our officers' efforts."

He noted that if Sundeck 2 staff had been unable to do CPR the Marine Unit would have stepped in as they have received training. He added that they would be protected from liability due to recently passed Good Samaritan legislation.

He continued: "In relation to allegations that our officers were unprofessional in dealing with the medical emergency that occurred on the Sundeck 2, we can report that, as a result of our enquires, our officers acted in a most professional manner when they attended this incident.

"The officers have been commended for their professionalism by the husband of the deceased and we have since received a copy of an e-mail addressed to the Editor of The Royal Gazette rebutting comments attributed to the owner of the Sundeck 2.

Last night The Royal Gazette Editor Bill Zuill said this paper stands by its original story.

"At no time did the story state that the officers concerned with the Sundeck 2 were unprofessional, and it was this newspaper that reported the husband of the late Barbara Massover's praise for the Police and all concerned.

"What the story did raise was concerns that the Marine Police officers present were either not qualified in CPR or that their qualifications had lapsed. The Police have now confirmed this and plan to redress the situation, so our story has had a positive impact.

"With regard to Mr. Evans' claims that he was misrepresented in the story, I can confirm that I did receive an e-mail to that effect and he posted similar comments on our Facebook site. I offered to meet Mr. Evans and asked him to provide specifics of where he felt he had been misquoted or misrepresented. He chose not to do so.

"I also listened to the tape recording of the interview our reporter conducted with Mr. Evans. I felt the story fairly represented what he told us.

"Mr. Evans was at pains in the interview to state that he was not criticising the Police's handling of the incident, and I believe that sentiment was fairly conveyed in the story."