64 year old solo diver dies. Bonaire

[Steelyeyes]

"Kralendijk - A 64 year old man got into trouble on Monday afternoon after he went diving alone. This happened during a shore dive near a diving school in the Hato district.
The scuba diver was a certified solo diver and experienced. According to the police the diver came to the side in pain and an ambulance was called.
Diving school employees came to the aid of the diver. The diver was resuscitated on shore, but to no avail."

Translation button on upper left.

Duiker omgekomen na soloduik |Bonaire.Nu

Duiker omgekomen na soloduik

bonaire.nu

Another news source Live 99, all in Papiamento stated that the man was a tourist.

From the photos the site was The Cliff, which is where one of the other incidents occurred, not that there is anything wrong with that site.
Personal note. Yesterday my wife and I were just in the water on the way to an outer reef to hunt lion fish. Two divers were returning on the surface. One was a middle aged woman and the second looked to be in his 60s, like me. He had his mask on the back of his head and looked tired. I was thinking he might need some help but he managed to get to shore on his own. He did speak to my wife a bit to warn her about the current. We were wary but to be honest there really wasn't much current on the main reef either in the shallows or out off of the drop. We got to the outer reef and still the current was barely detectable. I'm starting to think that people have just been idle too long and at our age that's just not going to work out.

 

[Steelyeyes]

I found some more information about this incident by word of mouth from a local dive instructor. It was this man's first dive after arriving on the island. He was certified in self reliant diving. He chatted with the staff at the shop at the shore entry. He was going out to do a buoyancy check. If that was good he'd continue the dive. His issue happened during the buoyancy check over the sand before the reef. I dived that site a couple of days ago and that spot is only 15 feet deep. He was only in the water for a few minutes before things went south.

 

[Jonn]

Always tempting to jump on solo divers who run into trouble but it doesn’t sound like a buddy would have helped much here. He apparently made it to the surface alive, called for help, and somehow died on the shore? Guessing heart attack or other random medical emergency.

 

[Steelyeyes]

Always tempting to jump on solo divers who run into trouble but it doesn’t sound like a buddy would have helped much here. He apparently made it to the surface alive, called for help, and somehow died on the shore? Guessing heart attack or other random medical emergency.

That the best guess most of us here have had about the whole cluster of divers we've lost recently.

 

[rmorgan]

As a general matter, I would like to see more information about diving deaths. I learn from every one. I understand there may be privacy concerns, but COD and circumstances should be made public. In addition to the two (or more) recent deaths off of Bonaire, a diver from a liveaboard failed to return to the boat after a Saba dive last November, and I’ve been unable to find any follow-up about what happened. Dandy Don and others are great about putting what they can here, and DAN publishes vignettes, but is there any sort of centralized reporting/information source about SCUBA deaths?

 

[Bob DBF]

...is there any sort of centralized reporting/information source about SCUBA deaths?

Unfortunately no. Considering how hard it is to get any information, it would be a frustrating job.

 

[rmorgan]

Unfortunately no. Considering how hard it is to get any information, it would be a frustrating job.

As far as I‘ve seen, ScubaBoard is the principal source of information, so at least we have us. Thanks to those who post what they find.

 

[drrich2]

Always tempting to jump on solo divers who run into trouble but it doesn’t sound like a buddy would have helped much here.

And particularly good in this scenario is there's no buddy stuck wondering the rest of his life if he 'should've noticed something' or had he done something differently this man might still be alive. That's an awful weight I'm glad is on no one.

 

[Steelyeyes]

And particularly good in this scenario is there's no buddy stuck wondering the rest of his life if he 'should've noticed something' or had he done something differently this man might still be alive. That's an awful weight I'm glad is on no one.

When I finished my rescue course I asked my instructor if she ever had to rescue anyone. She said, "Once".

It was her long time dive partner on a dive at 60 feet in dry suits. He had a cardiac issue and was gone before she got him to the surface. I'm sure there was guilt there even if there was nothing that could be done.

 

[RDF in CA]

As a general matter, I would like to see more information about diving deaths. I learn from every one.

Ditto.