3 Divers lost on the Spiegel Grove

[CAPNJAK]

When Stephen and I found the first diver he was nuetral in the water with his torso just above the main deck and his lower body in the space below, he was half way through a cut-out in the deck. His regulator was out of his mouth, motionless and unresponsive. He was facing an exterior cut-out about 10ft in front of him. The three stage tanks were off his right shoulder just behind him about 6ft away just inside the next forward compartment. When we began our extraction he was not entangled in anything, his guage showed 0 air. As soon as we got to the surface the coast guard instructed us not to touch his equipment and let them have him. I remember seeing a line hanging down from the level above us and it appeared to be chaffed through right at the level of the main deck, this could have been an old line and not belonging to these guys, I do not know. If I remember correctly I do recall this diver having a finger reel hanging off his equipment.

I hope this paints a better picture for you all!
It is rather vivid in our heads.

Joe

 

[Ayisha]

Thank you, Capnjack. I'm sorry you had to go through that...

H2Andy, I believe that tridacna answered those questions. He said that none of the 4 divers used a line.
He alluded to them all using an old line that was in place - this seems to be the mysterious line/broken line that people keep referring to.

...All divers carried reels. None used it.
Lesson 3. Do not use someone else's old line...

I think our questions have pretty much been answered now... Thanks to all the witnesses/confidantes to this tragedy...

 

[Missdirected]

do you know why he didn't use the stages?

This makes me think of the attachment in post 375. So close and yet so far away. :sad:

CapnJack, thanks again.

 

[H2Andy]

I think our questions have pretty much been answered now... Thanks to all the witnesses/confidantes to this tragedy...

i have one last one ... why if the diver found partly out of the wreck came so close to the stages didn't he grab from them?

and yes, thank you to all the people who have shared their facts with us

 

[ReefHound]

i have one last one ... why if the diver found partly out of the wreck came so close to the stages didn't he grab from them?

There is no way to know the answer to that. If he was in panic at that point he may not have even seen them. Or the silt in that room may have been a bit stirred up but would have cleared quickly.

 

[Missdirected]

There is no way to know the answer to that. If he was in panic at that point he may not have even seen them. Or the silt in that room may have been a bit stirred up but would have cleared quickly.

It was still silted when the final two bodies were recovered.

 

[H2Andy]

yes, the room where the two bodies were recovered were silted

however, the room where the single diver was found does not appear to have been silted

i think ReefHound is probably right that by that point he was so stressed and/or out of control that he probably just didn't see the stages. he was just fixating on "getting out of there"

 

[paulwall]

yes, the room where the two bodies were recovered were silted

however, the room where the single diver was found does not appear to have been silted

i think ReefHound is probably right that by that point he was so stressed and/or out of control that he probably just didn't see the stages. he was just fixating on "getting out of there"

Or perhaps already unconscious, and just "floated" into that position.

nuetral in the water with his torso just above the main deck and his lower body in the space below, he was half way through a cut-out in the deck.

 

[BryceM]

Here is a follow up story from keysnews.comhttp://keysnews.com/288521841219689.bsp.htm

 

[H2Andy]

Or perhaps already unconscious, and just "floated" into that position.

the way i am envisioning the room from the descriptions, he would have had to enter the room horizontally ...

but we'll never know