A 23-year-old woman vanished 65 feet below the ocean during what was supposed to be a routine scuba lesson. Now, months after her body was found off the coast of Argentina, her diving instructor is facing a criminal charge.
Thiago Nahuel Pocovi, 26, has been charged with manslaughter in connection with the death of Sofia Devries, who disappeared on Feb. 16 while taking part in a scuba diving lesson near Punta Cuevas Historical Park in Chubut, Argentina, according to reports from La Nacion, Todo Noticias and El Chubut.
Devries had reportedly been diving to advance her scuba certification alongside her partner and other divers when the outing turned into a desperate search mission.
Pocovi, who was leading a group of seven divers at the time, allegedly violated safety protocols and regulations that govern professional diving instructors, prosecutors said, according to La Nacion.
The criminal investigation into Devries’ death was formally opened on Monday, July 6, by Judge Marcela Pérez Bogado, Todo Noticias reported. Pocovi appeared at the hearing virtually from Buenos Aires.
With the court’s ruling, Argentina’s Public Prosecutor’s Office will now continue investigating the case and determine whether Pocovi should face trial, according to Todo Noticias.
The dive took place in Golfo Nuevo, near the Hu Shun Yu 809 artificial reef. The site is a well-known destination for divers and was created after a fishing vessel was intentionally sunk in 2017 to form a habitat for marine life, according to Dive Magazine.
But what began as a certification dive quickly became a nightmare.
According to Argentinian station Radio Rafaela, Devries disappeared during the underwater lesson. A search and rescue mission was launched, but she was not found alive.
Her body was recovered two days later, about 65 feet beneath the surface, near the area where she was last seen.
The tragic case has now shifted from a recovery mission to a criminal probe, with authorities looking closely at whether the young instructor’s alleged failures played a role in the deadly dive.
