For those of you who know me you'll know I'll have plenty of thoughts on this but for now I'd like to let the story unfold and the facts come out. From what I've read thus far including the coverage on Wetpixel and Dive Photo Guide there has been a fatal attack on a 59 year old man during a shark feeding dive in the Bahamas. It appears the man was bitten on the leg, possibly by a Bull shark and although the initial event was not fatal the man later died with speculation as to cause of death being either blood loss from his injuries or an air embolism caused by a rapid ascent.
Obviously, a horrible event and one that will bring forth a lot of discussion hopefully after proper respect is given to the man who lost his life and to those who tried to save him. The devastation felt by family members goes without saying but I will attest to the fact that it will also be felt by the crew of the dive operation. Fortunately for me (and the crew at the time) my only first person account of a death to date involved a dive instructor diving solo over a deep wall. Not that the method of loss makes it any easier especially when it's a friend but, I can't imagine what it would be like if I perceived myself as being potentially responsible in some way.
As I say much more to be said on this subject as with the "MVA visits the House" story. I'll have a follow up on that subject very soon but, man, there's a lot to say!
Showing posts with label Diver SCUBA Death. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Diver SCUBA Death. Show all posts
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Tuesday, November 6, 2007
Death at Lau Lau Bay
The news papers and TV are reporting on a "SCUBA" diving death at Lau Lau Bay on Saturday. The Tribune here, the Variety here.
From these reports and a few discussions with people privy to more direct information than I it appears that the lady had either entered the water and was at the surface before deciding not to go down or that she never actually entered the water but was preparing to do so just before canceling her dive because of chest pain.
It also appears she did not make it all the way back onto the beach before collapsing and in fact was assisted from the water to the beach by the instructors where CPR was preformed.
Although extremely unfortunate this does not appear to be a "SCUBA" diving death beyond the possible contribution of physical exertion required to don a tank and walk to the edge of the reef. I've heard the lady was in her late 50's and although there may have been heightened anxiety about diving and the exertion factor this diving death is likely a sudden cardiac arrest that has no more to do with diving than someone collapsing at golds gym and saying the tread mill caused it.
The other spin as reported by the papers is that the dive instructor or the shop he was affiliated with does not have a business license to operate dive tours. This has ramifications well beyond the SCUBA industry as the Department of Immigration and Commerce are sure to be involved. It has also been suggested that the accident may have been prevented if the divers were part of a smaller group and that the dive industry needs to do a better job in regulating it's self. Although I agree with the latter point in general the first is likely just not true in this case. Not much can be done to prevent an elderly person from having a heart attack whether they are part of a one on one course or a larger group. Likely a bigger factor in this particular death was the limited and difficult access to Lau Lau bay, a result of the horrible rode conditions which would make the trip quite long for emergency response teams.
With regards to the dive industry regulating its self it appears in this case that any set of regulations on diving would likely have been ignored just as the regulations for owning and operating a business were. It also seems to me a certain amount of the blame should be focused on how this particular "business' continued to attract divers, or why business was directed their way if they were not a legal entity and why there is no safe guard in place to identify and eliminate operations that don't meet even the most basic of standards.
From these reports and a few discussions with people privy to more direct information than I it appears that the lady had either entered the water and was at the surface before deciding not to go down or that she never actually entered the water but was preparing to do so just before canceling her dive because of chest pain.
It also appears she did not make it all the way back onto the beach before collapsing and in fact was assisted from the water to the beach by the instructors where CPR was preformed.
Although extremely unfortunate this does not appear to be a "SCUBA" diving death beyond the possible contribution of physical exertion required to don a tank and walk to the edge of the reef. I've heard the lady was in her late 50's and although there may have been heightened anxiety about diving and the exertion factor this diving death is likely a sudden cardiac arrest that has no more to do with diving than someone collapsing at golds gym and saying the tread mill caused it.
The other spin as reported by the papers is that the dive instructor or the shop he was affiliated with does not have a business license to operate dive tours. This has ramifications well beyond the SCUBA industry as the Department of Immigration and Commerce are sure to be involved. It has also been suggested that the accident may have been prevented if the divers were part of a smaller group and that the dive industry needs to do a better job in regulating it's self. Although I agree with the latter point in general the first is likely just not true in this case. Not much can be done to prevent an elderly person from having a heart attack whether they are part of a one on one course or a larger group. Likely a bigger factor in this particular death was the limited and difficult access to Lau Lau bay, a result of the horrible rode conditions which would make the trip quite long for emergency response teams.
With regards to the dive industry regulating its self it appears in this case that any set of regulations on diving would likely have been ignored just as the regulations for owning and operating a business were. It also seems to me a certain amount of the blame should be focused on how this particular "business' continued to attract divers, or why business was directed their way if they were not a legal entity and why there is no safe guard in place to identify and eliminate operations that don't meet even the most basic of standards.
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