Diver death in Mabini Batangas Philippines

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I wonder how much weight she had on her belt for her to sink 30m near where she was last seen?

Weather didn't seem to play a role in this one.
 
Please allow me to provide some details about the incident. As someone who has known her since 2005, I was once very close to the victim and her family.

The purpose of this post is to get additional insights, in-depth analysis or theories from more experienced divers.

I was there when she was found and the one to officially identify her remains. Took note of her physical state (along with about 20 people who were part of the search and rescue efforts) before she was sent for autopsy. Along with her OWSI in Sabang, we also checked her equipment state before autopsy was conducted.

Victim Profile

Certified Open Water Diver since May 2012 in Sabang, Puerto Galera. She did maybe 20 boat dives in Sabang, including Canyons, a known tricky dive site. About 5 dives in Subic with some wreck penetrations - all with me. We haven't been in touch for 3 years. From what I've heard, she stopped diving for about year and resumed in Anilao, Batangas, doing about 20 (?) more dives before the incident.

35 years old, physically well. Runs regularly and completes half marathons. Knows how to swim. Can tread water without equipment assistance.

No dive computer. Depth gauge on SPG.

Details of the Incident (Instructor, Buddy Assistant and Dive Group POV)
Disclaimer: This may be an incomplete recollection of what they told us. Further review of transcript will be made.

  • The incident happened during the 2nd day of her Advanced course. Deep Dive portion. 4th of 5 dives if I am not mistaken - a successful night dive was completed the day before.
  • 7 students including the victim. 1 instructor plus 2 (Rescue Diver) assistants
  • Planned dive to 30m, reached only about 28-29m based on what they told us and verified by the dive computer of the victim's buddy, the instructor's assistant
  • Visibility was poor from surface to about 15m, clear from 15m to 30m.
  • Went down 11am-ish. Slack water. Supposedly an easy dive. Took them 16 mins to reach target depth, followed a slope downwards.
  • Upon reaching target depth, instructor shook hands with students, congratulating them - total time spent at target depth is around 3 mins before instructor gave sign to go back up and to follow him back to the same slope/entry point
  • Instructor was at the front, victim was at the back with buddy assistant
  • Instructor saw victim finning up, signaled to assistant to follow/assist victim
  • Assistant was banging his tank to get the victim's attention and signaling for her to go back down - victim never looked at him or responded and only continued up - fast. Exact rate of ascent unknown.
  • Assistant followed victim - in the instructor's words, the buddy assistant controlled his own ascent rate for his own safety - he never caught or held the victim
  • Lost visual of victim starting at +/- 15m due to bad visibility. Assistant stopped at +/- 8m (based on dive computer) for a 1 min safety stop and to deploy balloon since he assumed that the victim was at the surface and that the victim may be reassured, upon seeing deployed SMB, that there is someone below her and on his way up.
  • After a 1 minute safety stop, the assistant continued to the surface and didn't see the victim.
  • While this was happening, the instructor continued with the rest of the students following the same entry route

Search and Recovery

The victim was found at around 10:00 AM the following morning, almost 24 hours after they lost her. She was found at about 32 meters and not far from where they touched down the previous day.

  • 150 bar left in tank
  • BCD completely deflated, BCD chest strap, waist velcro and buckle undone. BCD not leaking air.
  • Left arm halfway out out of BCD arm opening
  • Mask on forehead, aligned with eyebrows, looked to be placed there properly
  • 2nd stage out of mouth, spare properly clipped
  • Tank valve took 2 and a half turns to shut off completely.
  • Weight belt on. Buckle/belt in original position and completely shut
  • Equipment verified to be in working order. Air has not been tested by investigating team.
-----
As I have told the instructor/buddy - we will remain objective and not play the blame game. We understand that this is also very painful for the instructor/buddy and all parties agree that some things could have been done better. I'm now a DM and help manage the dive shop where the victim took her Open Water course in 2012. Please allow me to reiterate that the sole purpose of this is to get more insights and analysis. The end goal is to help better prevent the same from happening to anyone.
 
Thank you for the details. Would you know if it was her own equipment, or rental equipment? Earlier report indicated a weight belt on her. Just checking if that's confirmed, or if it was a weight integrated BC. Amount of weight?
 
Wasn't there a typhoon last weekend accompanied by a warning from the maritime guys (coastguard equivalent) not to go out?
 
Doc Ed - sir, she was using rental equipment. Confirmed it's a weight belt and not the integrated type. 4 lbs on each hip/side.

StefinSB - there was, sir - but not not so much disturbance in the area that would have stopped us from diving. I was in Puerto Galera when it happened and we were diving the entire weekend, including the days before when passenger boats were not allowed to cross from Batangas.
 
Thank you for the additional info. Most objective and concise so far. There were other reports of finding her with blood coming from her nose and mouth - is this confirmed?

Also, given the ubiquity of cameras, did anyone in the group take video/photos in this particular dive?
 
Tank valve took 2 and a half turns to shut off completely.

That could very well be the precipitating cause of her accident, may she rest in peace. Her tank valve was only partially open, since it took only 2.5 turns to close it. That means that as she got deeper, it would have gotten harder and harder to breathe and then she would have stopped receiving air at depth. She would have thought she was out of air.

It's so important to be able to reach back and turn your own valve on. Prior to that, it's a really good practice to watch the pressure gauge/computer as you take a few deep breaths and see if the pressure fluctuates. If it does, the valve could be off or only partially on.

If the valve was turned on and then off without bleeding the lines, the fill pressure will still show and someone could jump in with a closed valve. So it's also a good idea to purge the reg to revert the pressure back to 0 if the valve is closed and the tank will sit till later.

Stop, breathe, think and act is still really good advice as well as looking to your buddy for assistance, gas, and a second brain to figure things out.

This is speculation based on the number of turns to close her tank valve, but helpful things to incorporate into our routines and thinking. Sorry for your loss.
 
any autopsy report yet? is blood from nose a sign of DCS?
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/perdix-ai/

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