I guess my reaction to this is to think that diving has built itself up on a perception of danger. If you look at some of the shark films, you can see the producers have hyped the film's dangers to the divers. That is a common theme in diving, and something diving has had to live with for many, many years. It has also caused many tragedies, such as this one.
When I got into diving, it was not for the adrenalin rush, but to explore a biological world few can see. I found the thrill was not in doing something "dangerous," but in breathing underwater, seeing aquatic life no one has ever seen before (yes, I found a new amphipod in the 1970s, and a new commensal relationship between sculpin, the rose anemone, and amphipods on the rose anemone). It is still quite possible to literally see new life forms, new relationships, new interactions between animals and their environment; that is what "turns me on" about diving. It isn't doing something dangerous, it's being able to simply be underwater with my eyes open, seeing things.
I think we need to talk to TV producers, the National Geographic Explorer, etc., to get off the "danger" hype, and look to the positive reasons for being underwater. If we don't, these needless deaths will continue.
SeaRat