DATE: Wednesday, November 5, 1997           TAG: 9711050451

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B6   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS 

DATELINE: PALM BEACH, FLA.                  LENGTH:   28 lines

IN FLA. MISHAP, BOAT PROPELLER KILLS VA. DIVER

A recreational diver from Virginia was killed when she became entangled in a boat propeller.

Janice A. Henne, 65, of McLean, Va., was with 17 other divers on a charter dive trip off Palm Beach on Monday.

Henne made one dive in 90 feet of water and then took a break on the surface for an hour and 20 minutes with the other divers. When she surfaced she had some blood in her mask, indicating a sinus squeeze, not uncommon for divers, the Palm Beach County sheriff's office said.

The Temptation, owned and operated by Gold Coast Charters in Riviera Beach, then went to the Breakers Reef for a second dive.

Twenty minutes later, two divers surfaced and were picked out of the water. As the captain placed the boat in gear to pick up other divers, ``he heard a thump, thump,'' said the report.

A diver who also heard the noise saw Henne in the propeller and tried to free her but could not.

An autopsy was being conducted to determine if she had any medical condition which could have caused her to stray into the propeller. KEYWORDS: FATALITY ACCIDENT BOAT

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