Two men charged with the involuntary homicide of a 25-year-old woman from Żabbar who died tragically in a charity dive at Fra Ben, Qawra in July 2009, have been cleared by the court.

Joseph Formosa, a qualified diver, and Ivo Caruana, a diving instructor with 27 years experience, affiliated with Atlam and licensed with the Hyperbaric Unit at Mater Dei, had organised the 11th edition of the fundraising event for which Tamara Psaila volunteered to dive.

The court heard how on that fateful morning in July 2009, at around 10.30am, Ms Psaila and her boyfriend filled in a questionnaire and then undertook a medical check-up to ensure they were fit to face the challenge. These precautions were taken even though this was a shallow dive.

Before entering the water, all participants were given a briefing on the use of the diving equipment and were told what to do in case of an emergency, the court was informed. Moreover, the need for discipline under water was stressed, a fact pointed out by Mr Caruana when testifying in the criminal proceedings. The court noted that divers had been instructed to stick together in pairs, while maintaining a safe distance to allow free movement under water.

In his report, maritime expert Capt. Reuben Lanfranco had explained that the victim had probably panicked when some marine plant brushed against her skin. In her panic to reach the surface, and weighed down by the cylinder and lead belt, Ms Psaila apparently removed the regulator from her mouth and pulled down her mask. Mr Lanfranco also testified that her equipment was not faulty.

Mr Formosa, one of the accused, had also testified in court that when he had gone to the victim's rescue, having been alerted by her boyfriend, he had seen a sand cloud which had been kicked up by the woman in her panic. All this, the court heard, had occurred in a matter of three minutes or so.

Forensic expert, Mario Scerri, had also explained in his report that the victim was probably disoriented even on account of the poor underwater visibility at the time.

The court presided by magistrate Claire Stafrace Zammit, concluded that in the absence of binding regulations in respect of such underwater events, the organisers were expected to follow established measures. In this case, the court observed that each of the accused had acted diligently and responsibly.

Not only had they followed diving protocol, but they had gone a step further to ensure that each group of four participants was accompanied not only by an instructor but also by a qualified diver. The court concluded that the prosecution had failed to prove that the two organisers had not done their duty.

Lawyer Michael Tanti-Dougall appeared for Joseph Formosa. Lawyer Michael Sciriha apppeared for Ivo Caruana.