A coronial inquest has begun into the death of Ardebby Oh Chua, who drowned while on a snorkelling tour near Port Lincoln during 2017.
Ms Chua was visiting South Australia from the Philippines and took part in a Swim with the Sea Lions tour.
After 40 minutes in, she was found five metres from the group unresponsive and with her face down in the water.
There were 19 guests and four crew members onboard the Adventure Tour Charter when it visited a reef near Blyth Island.
Counsel to the Coroner Emma Roper opened the inquest at the Port Lincoln Magistrates Court with an opening statement, before the court viewed the location where Ms Chua drowned.
She said Coroner Naomi Kereru might hear from witnesses who said guests struggled to perform CPR on Ms Chua because there were no hard-surfaced flotation devices, and no resuscitation equipment in the first-aid kit.
Variables to consider
The inquest will determine whether there was an appropriate risk management policy in place and if staff provided adequate training to the guests and if they had the necessary equipment to be safe.
It will also determine whether clear instructions were given to the guests if they were to get into trouble, and if the location of the tour negatively affected the guests' swimming ability.
Ms Roper said the inquest could make recommendations about whether legislation should impose legal requirements on business owners who operated recreational swimming activities.
It will go for three weeks, and the court will hear witness accounts from crew members, passengers and the former owner of Adventure Bay Charters, Matthew Waller.
The court on Monday will hear from Professor William Ledger, who is the head of obstetrics and gynaecology at the University of New South Wales.
His wife, Catherine Ledger, is a retired nurse and she will also recount the incident to the court.
The couple took turns performing CPR on Ms Chua.
