EXCLUSIVE
Last Thursday, Kay Phillips and her husband Linden beamed as they boarded their flight from Melbourne to Bali alongside members of their local diving club.
The Indonesia trip was the latest overseas diving expedition the Mildura Deserts Divers Club, from north-west Victoria, had taken together over the past seven years.
But tragedy struck as the group of around a dozen embarked on their first dive on Saturday at Manta Point, a popular diving spot near the island off Nusa Penida.
During the dive, Ms Phillips, 67, became short of breath and fainted while trying to get back into the boat. She never regained consciousness.
Now her heartbroken husband faces the daunting task of bringing his wife’s body back home.
Photos posted online show Mr Phillips ashen-faced as he ventured out for dinner with fellow divers on Sunday night in Nusa Penida, just hours after losing his wife.
Daily Mail understands arrangements are still being made to transport Ms Phillips back to , where she will undergo an autopsy.
Mr and Ms Phillips were experienced divers who had been part of their local dive club for more than a decade.
During that time, the group have travelled extensively to explore different waters, from Queensland and South to the Phillipines and Papua New Guinea.
In a Facebook post last year, members of the group affectionately joked that the Phillips were always running behind schedule, with some divers posting a photo captioned: ‘Waiting for Kay and Linden’.
Ms Phillips responded: ‘We are always last in and last out’.
On Saturday, Ms Phillips and her husband are understood to have checked in with Two Fish Divers 90 minutes prior the tragedy unfolded, police told local media.
The couple had registered for the trip before they boarded a boat with the 11 other tourists to travel to the scenic location.
Ms Phillips and others received a briefing about the dive and their equipment was checked by tour guides en route to the diving spot.
Their equipment was checked again upon arrival and the divers were given the all clear to head into the water.
But just eight minutes later, Ms Phillips resurfaced after she reportedly began to experience a shortness of breath and told a dive guide that she was finding it ‘hard to breathe’.
Ms Phillips collapsed and lost consciousness while being assisted back onto the boat.
The crew administered CPR before she was transported to the nearby Nusa Medica Clinic but couldn’t be revived.
Klungkung Police spokesperson Agus Widiono said her body was sent to Sanglah Hospital, in Denpasar, for further examination.
‘The victim’s body was sent directly to Sanglah. [The] information is that the family will conduct an autopsy on the victim in [their] home country,’ Mr Widiono said.
It’s understood the couple were staying at the Pandawa Hotel in Nusa Penida.
Ms Phillips was due to celebrate her 68th birthday in November.
A Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade spokesperson confirmed the department was ‘providing consular assistance to the family of an n who died in Bali’.
‘We send our deepest condolences to their family and friends at this difficult time,’ she said.
‘Owing to our privacy obligations we are unable to provide further comment.’
Manta Point is one of the southernmost dive sites in Bali and is surrounded by high cliffs.
The popular tourist destination, which is famous for catching glimpses of manta rays, is only recommended for experienced divers.
The water is around 15 metres deep and the currents along with the sea conditions can be very rough.
The visibility underwater is also low and the water temperature is colder than at other locations.
Ms Phillip’s death occurred just one day after another Aussie died in Bali after a horror motorbike crash.
n couple Thomas Cossins, 30, and Jasmine Sparreboom were on the holiday island to attend a friend’s wedding when they went out for a ride on Friday morning.
The couple had left Seminyak about 6.30am to travel to Canggu where they met up with another rider, before they headed to the mountains near Gitgit.
According to a friend, Mr Cossins, an experienced bike rider, was in full riding gear and rounding a bend on a Kawasaki Ninja when he lost control and slammed into a concrete pillar. He couldn’t be revived and died at the scene.
Indonesia is the top overseas holiday destination for Aussies after the country overtook New Zealand as the preferred place for short-term trips.
Around 1.37 million ns visited Indonesia in 2023 compared to 1.26 million people, who visited New Zealand, according to figures from the ABS.