Missing Toronto Divers

[amycoope]

Marie - I will do.

 

[Butch103]

This a tragedy. My condolences also to the families involved.

 

[Ayisha]

Hi Damon,

I'm very sorry that your family is going through this. Thank you for your understanding of our need to know how something like this could happen at a site many of us have been diving in before. Thanks also for your advice. I'm sure people will heed the warning signs more now.

There is also a thread about this at Ontario Diving. This thread has several pages and the most current information that we know of.

I hope there is some closure for you and your family, and you all try to rest and maintain your health and strength in the days to come.

 

[Mikey0929]

Just an update, apparently one of the bodies has been recovered from one of the OPG intakes.

No word on the second one as of yet.

 

[rcs_scuba]

TheStar.com | GTA | Body found related to missing GTA divers

 

[Warren_L]

It appears that both bodies have been recovered.

Here is the link to the Niagara Regional Police Service report: http://www.nrps.com/news/24Hours/Update%205%20Search%20Operation%20For%20Two%20Missing%20Divers.pdf

 

[diver_paula]

My heart goes out to the divers' family and friends. I am curious if the Hydro station posts when they are doing work that potentially changes the water flow. Is there a requirement for them to do so?

Paula

 

[Ayisha]

Hi Paula,
This was an early report from the Globe and Mail. Not sure what the OPG is required to post, but they stated that

Ontario Power Generation media spokesperson John Earl said that letters were sent to those who use the river to inform of them of maintenance operations and that along the river and canal, it is "clearly posted as a hazardous area and not to have swimming in the area."
We've notified the users of the river, by closing the gate it's going to have an impact on the current in both directions," Mr. Earl said. "When there is a structure in the water like that it's an area to be avoided."

Not sure who the letters were sent to, perhaps commercial boaters? There are some no swimming/diving signs in the area, but divers are known to frequently dive there. Last Sunday was a very unusual occurrence. As has been stated, divers have normally found this dive to be an easy drift dive, and would not have expected the conditions to be as they were that fateful morning.

globeandmail.com: Power plant maintenance under way when divers went missing

Power plant maintenance under way when divers went missing
JESSICA RAFUSE

From Tuesday's Globe and Mail

September 18, 2007 at 4:28 AM EDT

A recreational dive that left two Toronto scuba divers missing and presumed dead may have been complicated by a maintenance operation at an Ontario Power Generation facility that reversed Welland River's flow early Sunday morning.

The missing divers were part of a group of five, one of whom was rescued by emergency crews who responded to a call at about 9:30 a.m. Sunday after a passerby noticed someone in distress. Two other divers surfaced and made it to shore on their own.

The missing divers are said to be experienced and one had been on the stretch of river before.

One of the divers is reportedly a middle-aged high-school teacher. There was no word on the identity of the other.

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Two scuba divers missing, feared dead
"I know that families have been contacted," said police spokesman Constable Sal Basilone. "We do know who we're looking for, but we're not in a position right now to release the identities." Ontario Power Generation closed a water gate to the Welland Canal at about 7 a.m. Sunday, OPG media spokesman John Earl said.

The closing of the metal gate, located several kilometres upstream from the joining of the Welland and Niagara Rivers, where the rescue mission took place, slowed the river flow so much that the operation is thought to have reversed the flow of the Welland River, which usually flows away from the Niagara River.

Ontario Power Generation media spokesperson John Earl said that letters were sent to those who use the river to inform of them of maintenance operations and that along the river and canal, it is "clearly posted as a hazardous area and not to have swimming in the area."

We've notified the users of the river, by closing the gate it's going to have an impact on the current in both directions," Mr. Earl said. "When there is a structure in the water like that it's an area to be avoided." Niagara Regional Police continue to search for evidence and the missing divers, and are working with OPG as part of their continued investigation into the accident.

With a report from Canadian Press

My condolences to all who knew them. May they rest in peace.

 

[crispos]

I assume there will be an inquest and I hope someone finds out why the OPG didn't better publicize their plans and specifically to the dive community.

Everyone in the dive community knows Chippewa is a frequently visited dive site and probably a lot of people in Chippewa know it too. The question is, why didn't the OPG personnel know it? Or did they?

That is the least the families of the deceased deserve.

 

[Ayisha]

Some information was in the Niagara news today which addresses who was informed of the work being done that day:

Bodies of divers missing since Sunday recovered

Posted By RAY SPITERI

Posted 2 hours ago

The bodies of two scuba divers who have been the focus of search efforts since Sunday were recovered early Friday morning. Niagara Regional Police Const. Sal Basilone said the bodies have been identified as those of the two divers who went missing in the Welland River. Families have been notified, but Basilone said names of the divers will not be released.
Shortly after 1 a.m., police were notified by employees with the Sir Adam Beck Power Generating Plant that the body of an adult, dressed in a scuba diving suit, was visible near a hydro intake. A pollice source clarified the bodies were found on the hydro canal that runs from the Welland River.
To expedite the recovery effort, water flow to the immediate area was reduced. That's when the body of a second diver, also wearing a scuba diving suit, was discovered.
The bodies were taken to Hamilton General Hospital where autopsies were to be conducted Friday.
Basilone said police will continue to investigate the incident, noting post-mortem tests will help aid the authorities.
Questions remain as to how the two experienced divers became separated from their five-person group last weekend. A third diver was rescued from the water that morning, while the other two weren't aware there were problems until they got out of the water.
"The post mortem examinations will go a long way in providing answers to some of our questions, but will likely also raise further questions to be investigated," Basilone said, declining to elaborate. "Post mortem examinations are always an important piece to the investigative puzzle."
The two missing men were part of a five-person diving group from the Toronto area that ran into difficulty about 9:30 a.m., last Sunday. They had gone into the water near the boat ramp at Sodom Road.
Two divers were discovered on their own near the Weightman Bridge and a third was rescued near the hydro diversion tunnels close to Kingsbridge Park.
Police divers, firefighters and Ontario Power Generation staff had searched for the missing divers since Sunday.
Police say the water current in the Welland River at the time of the incident was reversed because OPG was conducting an operation to look at erosion in the hydro canal. It isn't known if the altered water flow played a role in the mishap.
OPG officials have said the company sent letters to residents living along the river and to nearby marinas informing them of the work that could affect the flow of the river and the potential impact on current.
Warning signs prohibiting swimming are also posted throughout the area in question.
"We will continue to co-operate fully with the authorities," said OPG spokesman Bill McKinlay. "The OPG and all of our employees would like to extend our deepest sympathies to the families involved in this situation."

bold added

Divers likely won't avoid the area forever, so hopefully they will find some better way to inform divers about imminent changes. Someone on Ontario Diving suggested that current conditions/expected changes could be posted on their website and of course, prominent timely warning signs should be posted at the usual entries when work is planned.