Bermudian and American authorities are still trying to work out how a highly-trained US parajumper lost his life in a straight forward operation in ideal conditions when his boat capsized on Friday night off St. David's.

Marine and Ports Director Ron Ross said a 16-foot inflatable craft carrying two parajumpers had flipped over after it turned 90 degrees as it was lowered by crane from the Malaysian tanker Amal Belia after the pair had tended to a sick crewman.

One crewman jumped clear, but it is thought Air Force Sgt. Doug Eccleston, 35, went under the inflatable as it hit the water. His body was found at 12.30 a.m. on Saturday more than three hours after the accident, three miles east of Bermuda -- about a mile from where he had entered the water.

Mr. Ross said the boat had flipped because it was being dragged sideways to the Amal Belia which was sailing at a very slow 2.1 knots.

Mr. Ross said the airman's inflatable Zodiac craft became skewed as it was lowered the 36 feet into the water.

He said: “It was swinging around sideways. They tried to unhook it but water came over the top.

“Something went wrong but we don't know exactly what went wrong. It appeared to be a straightforward operation but it didn't turn out that way.”

The two men in the water were fully-equipped specialists.

Mr. Ross said Sgt. Eccleston had an inflatable life jacket on. He added: “I can't say whether it was inflated.”

He said the sea was about three-6 feet high with winds of five to ten knots.

“They were ideal conditions.”

Mr. Ross said Bermudian rescue authorities could not have done any more to help find Eccleston.

He said the pilot boat St. David's, which had the sick Philippine crewman on board, picked up one of the parajumpers and hunted for Sgt. Eccleston before three marine Police vessels and pilot boat St. George's arrived to help.

However Harbour Radio said the three marine police boats arrived 30 minutes after being scrambled while the pilot boat St. George's took more than an hour to reach the scene.

Mr. Ross said: “It was a good response given the resources.”

He said marine police don't have crews on overnight. He said: “Everyone was at home. It was from a dead start.”

But he said, with water temperatures of 72 degrees the parajumpers, who were wearing wet suits, would have very, very good survival chances.

He said: “It was an extremely intense operation, the most intense I have ever been involved in. The search was given everything we had. An air Force officer was at Harbour Radio coordinating.”

He said both pilot boats and marine police boats were equipped for life-saving operations and staffed with trained crew.

The parajumpers C-130 plane also helped in the hunt while other planes were scrambled from the US, but had to be sent back when the body was found.

An autopsy was carried out on Saturday morning by King Edward VII Memorial Hospital pathologist Dr. John Obafunwa before Sgt. Eccleston's body was flown home to Patrick Air Force Base Saturday night.

Police have yet to confirm how Sgt. Eccleston died and US authorities are also staying tight-lipped.

Last night Air Force spokesman Lt. Col. Ken Warren could not say how Eccleston died, whether he had any obvious injuries or whether his life jacket was inflated.

American radio ham Albert Harmon, 58, listened to the operation from his St. George's Club room during his annual break in Bermuda after noticing flares around the East End on Friday night.

He said: “I heard the survivor being interviewed about the operation by a military official.” He said his colleague had pencil flares and a helmet. They said the motor on the Zodiac was idle at that time, which was probably good news.

“He said they had left the boat together but then he was asked if he saw Sgt. Eccleston after that and I think the answer was no.

“My guess is he must have bumped his head - falling out of a boat is part of the business, it's no big deal. The water was moving slowly - Harbour Radio said there was a drift of one to two knots.”