 THE north Wales quarry that claimed the life of a Merseyside man is not regarded as dangerous by the British Sub Aqua Club. Jason Dean, 31, a civil engineer, failed to resurface from the 110m waters during a routine dive at the Dorothea quarry near Penygroes, Caernarfon on Saturday. Mr Dean (pictured), of Earlston Road, Wallasey, became the seventh person in the past two years and the 21st in the past decade to have died in the former slate pit. But the BSAC only advises members to avoid the site, regarded as the best inland diving in the country, on legal grounds. Jim Watson a technical adviser at the Ellesmere Port-based organisation, said: "As far as Dorothea is concerned there is nothing inherently dangerous with the quarry. "The owner doesn't want anyone to dive there unless they have his written permission and therefore it is technically trespass to dive there, but it is not inherently dangerous." Mr Watson said that at the National dive centre in Chep-stow, the only other UK site of comparable depth to Dorothea, there had been no fatalities. He added: "At this managed site over the past 12 months there have been no such incidents which might suggest that this helps. There are of course certain factors to consider and mainly it is the depth." Mr Dean, who also climbed regularly, was to have dived off Anglesey with his friends but the trip was cancelled due to the bad weather. Friend Mathew McNeil, 32, who swam with his friend on Saturday, said Mr Dean was not reckless . He said: "It was just a routine 12-minute dive in a deep part of the quarry that somehow went wrong. He was sinking and I was following him but he didn't resurface. "Jay was an experienced diver and was advanced open water certified. We all knew about the reputation of the quarry. We discussed the dangers of course, but this is all part of the adventure. He knew the pitfalls." | 
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