A British dive master died after making a rapid ascent while exploring a shipwreck off Malta last year, an inquest in the UK heard Monday.

Darrel Nicholas Pascoe, 66, from Cornwall, was diving at the popular P29 wreck on October 12 when the incident occurred. Pascoe, who was on holiday in Malta with his wife Sue, had been underwater for around three minutes with a dive buddy before signalling that he wished to surface.

The inquest, held in Truro, heard that Pascoe ascended directly to the surface without following standard safety procedures designed to reduce pressure-related injuries. Shortly after surfacing, he went into cardiac arrest, British media report.

He was pulled from the water by his dive buddy with assistance from another individual, and CPR was administered while awaiting emergency services.

Pascoe was later transported to Mater Dei Hospital in Msida, where he was pronounced dead. A post-mortem examination determined the cause of death to be diving-related pulmonary barotrauma caused by a rapid ascent. The inquest heard that this was not decompression sickness, commonly known as "the bends", which involves nitrogen gas forming bubbles in body tissues, but a different form of pressure-related injury affecting the lungs.

Thomas Grigor, consultant pathologist at the Royal Cornwall Hospital, said it was not possible to determine the exact reason why Pascoe made such a rapid ascent, noting that potential causes could include a medical episode, equipment malfunction or difficulty equalising pressure.

Grigor added that an inability to equalise pressure, which can cause severe pain, was the most likely explanation. Assistant coroner Guy Davies concluded that Pascoe, described as healthy and experienced, died from pulmonary barotrauma following a rapid ascent for reasons that could not be determined.