2 Russian tourists died while scuba diving in Verde Island in Batangas City

[Dan]

The one that was recovered had a dive profile from the computer at 95feet for 21 minutes. No air left in the tank at the surface. Basic wrist mount computer attached to left bc chest strap. Weights were still in the drop pouches on the bc.

95feet is not deep. You can even CESA with empty tank.

Rapid ascent (> 10m or 30feet per minute) could cause lung over expansion injury.

 

[Volleyball]

Very sad and finally some more info is coming out

 

[CWK]

Yeah, with modern equipment and assuming divers are are weighted within reason (eg. not 10lb negative at the surface), there's hardly ever a reason to ditch weights. If you're at depth with your BC/wing nearly full of air just to stay neutral and no headroom to get positive and ascend, you're doing it wrong. Even with my small 24lb travel wing I've probably always got 15-20+ lb of extra lift there on any dive if I need it, which is far more than the amount of lead I'll have on board (let alone the amount I can easily ditch).

For me, ditching weights in a downcurrent has a negative effect that should be avoided at all cost.

Assuming that a diver needs 8kg of weight to be neutral at the surface. Ditching 8kg of weight at depth will make that diver at least 8kg positive. This may be of assistance when fighting a downcurrent, but when you break free of the downcurrent, you go into an uncontrolled ascent with no way of getting back to neutral buoyancy. The uncontrolled ascent may be accelerated by an upcurrent which quite often accompanies downcurrents.

Being pushed down by a current to 100 or 150 feet won’t kill you, but an uncontrolled ascent from depth could.

For me, inflating a bc is a much better option for establishing positive buoyancy as you can deflate the bc to get back to neutral. This will allow you to break the ascent to offgas before surfacing.

 

[tsc]

Thanks for the max depth info. I was taken by a down current to 95 feet last month in the Maldives. The current was indeed strong,

Were the Russians anywhere near the Verde Island dive site called Washing Machine?

It would have been the pinnacle around the southwest corner of the island I believe, it was not Washing Machine. The water also was pretty rough at. 3-5 foot swells I believe. (This is mt estimat

Bottom of the Pinnacle is about 100m.

it could have been in meters, I may have misspoke calling it feet.

 

[Barmaglot]

95feet is not deep. You can even CESA with empty tank.

Rapid ascent (> 10m or 30feet per minute) could cause lung over expansion injury.

Discussions on Russian forums reference 95 meters, not feet. I would say that the chances of a Russian diver having his dive computer set to imperial units and/or Philippine authorities converting metric into imperial are very very slim - both countries are very thoroughly metric.

This makes me wonder though - what is the proper course of action if you find yourself getting swept down by a fast current, there is nothing within reach to latch onto, and the bottom is not reasonably shallow (i.e. more than 40-50 meters)? My best guess would be -

1. Do not panic, relax, stop finning to conserve air
2. Orient yourself vertically to minimize drag
3. Inflate the BCD fully and see if that arrests the descent
4. If still descending - deploy and inflate your SMB, but do not launch it
5. If still descending - keep adding air to BCD and SMB so that they retain buoyancy
6. Once the descent stops - launch the SMB, dump air from BCD, and ascend up the line at maximum reasonable rate, stopping to observe deco stops as recommended by your computer, as far as air reserves allow

Does this make sense?

 

[Centrals]

95feet is not deep. You can even CESA with empty tank.

Rapid ascent (> 10m or 30feet per minute) could cause lung over expansion injury.

LOL.
Have you ever tried it in down current?

What you do not know you do not know.
Besides Verde island, PG has couple of sites in which down current are very common.

 

[Dan]

Discussions on Russian forums reference 95 meters, not feet. I would say that the chances of a Russian diver having his dive computer set to imperial units and/or Philippine authorities converting metric into imperial are very very slim - both countries are very thoroughly metric.

This makes me wonder though - what is the proper course of action if you find yourself getting swept down by a fast current, there is nothing within reach to latch onto, and the bottom is not reasonably shallow (i.e. more than 40-50 meters)? My best guess would be -

1. Do not panic, relax, stop finning to conserve air
2. Orient yourself vertically to minimize drag
3. Inflate the BCD fully and see if that arrests the descent
4. If still descending - deploy and inflate your SMB, but do not launch it
5. If still descending - keep adding air to BCD and SMB so that they retain buoyancy
6. Once the descent stops - launch the SMB, dump air from BCD, and ascend up the line at maximum reasonable rate, stopping to observe deco stops as recommended by your computer, as far as air reserves allow

Does this make sense?

You could swim across (left or right of the down current) too,

 

[Ray and Pam]

Seems it may have been a new moon 27 Feb.

 

[Miyaru]

I remember a channel dive in the Maldives, where one of the divers did not follow instructions: pass any corner that I signal during the dive at the same depth as I do. One of the divers passed 2 meters deeper and was swept away by a downcurrent. Fortunately I managed to catch up with him at 45m/148ft (on EAN32) and drag him shallower, since he lacked the skill and stamina to fin out and up himself.

A very important skill is finning technique. The dive center's statement indicates that the two divers were unable to fin out of the downcurrent.
Nature doesn't give you a break, doesn't listen to "yes, but ..." and doesn't do empathy.
Currents will keep going, waves won't stop.
When nature throws a challenge on a diver's path like in this incident, the diver's skill level will determine the outcome.

One take-away from this incident is to improve your finning technique.

 

[TostitoBandito]

This makes me wonder though - what is the proper course of action if you find yourself getting swept down by a fast current, there is nothing within reach to latch onto, and the bottom is not reasonably shallow (i.e. more than 40-50 meters)?

Stay calm and look at your depth gauge constantly. Fin normally perpendicular to the current if the bottom is nowhere near you. Add air to your BCD while continuing to carefully monitor your depth. When you begin to ascend consistently start dumping air from your BCD to maintain a safe ascent rate. Rejoin your group if possible, or ascend and end the dive as quickly as possible after doing any necessary deco stops (if you have the gas for them). Getting pushed down very deep, even beyond recreational limits, isn't the end of the world if you're able to stay calm and ascend to shallower depths in relatively short order.

What most people instinctively do though is frantically kick against the current, blowing through their air and saturating their tissues (especially if they were pushed deep). Then they get narced super hard from all the exertion combined with depth and this compounds, until they run out of air and/or get DCS after an uncontrolled ascent.