Soldier From Palatine Dies In Diving Accident

PALATINE, IL — The body of a U.S. soldier from Palatine was recovered Monday afternoon after he was killed in a recreational diving accident off the coast of Okinawa, WGN is reporting. Staff Sgt. Matt Morgan, 30, was working as a dive instructor and was leading three other divers on a technical but recreational dive near the USS Emmons, a WWII warship that sank in 1945.

Both Morgan and his dive buddy were about to get out of the water and back onto their boat following a dive when the boat's captain noticed Morgan floating away, coast guard spokesman Katsushi Inamine told the Stars and Stripes newspaper. He then began to sink with his dive gear on. The three other divers swam after him but his sinking speed "was too fast to catch up," Inamine said.

Morgan's body was recovered in 144 feet of water around noon on Monday, according to the newspaper report.

The cause of the incident remains under investigation.

More via WGN and Stars and Stripes