Accident at Lake Rawlings Sunday 05/27/2012

[Garth]

You know, I've seen that sig line too and thought it was an intriguing point, but I just now really saw it as you pointed it out this way. Thanks for that (and also to whoever actually does have it in their sig line).

+1


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[Sorrows]

Has it been definitely established that she was found with the regulator IN her mouth? That seems really strange to me. The rest of it just seems normal strange. There has to be something more to this very sad story.

The thermoclines at Rawlings can look like wavy panes of glass. The viz sucks. This can be disorienting and lead to panic, but why she couldn't just ascend I do not understand. I hope it wasn't because she was embarassed or worried she'd fail/disappoint her classmates or something like that.

 

[msg]

Perhaps we should wait for the coroners report on what may have caused her death, prior to all of the speculations as to whom may be at fault. Could more have been done to save her? Until all of the information is on the table, no one will know. It is just a sad incident, and hopefully a resolution will be made.
If blame is to assessed, then we should know the facts first, just saying, innocent until proven guilty.

 

[DandyDon]

If blame is to assessed, then we should know the facts first, just saying, innocent until proven guilty.

Blamestorming is prohibited by the rules for the A&I forum. We discuss possibilities as that's about all we get usually, and we learn from them. Official reports are seldom made available with full details.

Additionally, discussing possibilities often attracts people who do have more info...

 

[Diveva]

I was at Rawlings that weekend and can provide these additional insights

The Victim was found in 50+ ft of water, facedown Regulator out.
The Victim was found roughly 40 ft from Platform 1.
The Water temp at 50 ft was between 54 and 58 degrees
The Instructor did not have a CA
The Victim was wearing a 5m wetsuit, hood, but no gloves.

The Search for the Victim began shortly after 12:00 when a small group of divers (on shore) were notified that a diver was missing. The Victim was found, brought to the surface, and on the Dock by 1220.

Overheard and third party information
3rd party - The Diver was on OW dive 3, had completed the skills, and was beginning the "tour" portion of the dive. The instructor took the 6 students to 50+ feet as part of the tour of the Lake

3rd party - The dive computer showed 880 psi available, the BCD was in working condition, and the regulators worked properly.
3rd party - The instructor and class surfaced at approx 11:25 - 11:30 after completing a 3 min safety stop skill.
Overheard - The cause of death was drowning and a lung embolism.
Overheard - Viz were the Victim was found was near zero (speculation - the group of students had stirred up the silt during the dive)

As someone mentioned earlier in this thread, the investigation is still ongoing by the training agency, once complete I'm sure other details from this fatality will come to light.

 

[TechDeep]

I was at Rawlings that weekend and can provide these additional insights

The Victim was found in 50+ ft of water, facedown Regulator out.
The Victim was found roughly 40 ft from Platform 1.
The Water temp at 50 ft was between 54 and 58 degrees
The Instructor did not have a CA
The Victim was wearing a 5m wetsuit, hood, but no gloves.

The Search for the Victim began shortly after 12:00 when a small group of divers (on shore) were notified that a diver was missing. The Victim was found, brought to the surface, and on the Dock by 1220.

Overheard and third party information
3rd party - The Diver was on OW dive 3, had completed the skills, and was beginning the "tour" portion of the dive. The instructor took the 6 students to 50+ feet as part of the tour of the Lake

3rd party - The dive computer showed 880 psi available, the BCD was in working condition, and the regulators worked properly.
3rd party - The instructor and class surfaced at approx 11:25 - 11:30 after completing a 3 min safety stop skill.
Overheard - The cause of death was drowning and a lung embolism.
Overheard - Viz were the Victim was found was near zero (speculation - the group of students had stirred up the silt during the dive)

As someone mentioned earlier in this thread, the investigation is still ongoing by the training agency, once complete I'm sure other details from this fatality will come to light.

Thank you.

 

[t-mac]

Thanks for the post. We'll see how this sorts out but the timelines suggest that the diver wasn't discovered as missing until everyone surfaced following the safety stop. Sounds odd to me. At the latest the instructor would have noticed someone missing at the beginning of the stop and I doubt they would have hung around doing an optional 3 minute stop when someone was missing.

Other elements of this make more sense than what was previously stated here (eg, reg placement and low viz).

 

[Sorrows]

Thanks for the info, DivaVA.

What could have caused the embolism, I wonder?

 

[tursiops]

Thanks for the info, DivaVA.

What could have caused the embolism, I wonder?

"Overheard - The cause of death was drowning and a lung embolism."

Since that was an overheard on-site report, it is probably not worth much. That's why there are medical examiners.

 

[DukeAMO]

Thanks for the info, DivaVA.

What could have caused the embolism, I wonder?

I've read (on other threads in this forum) that sometimes what looks like panic/drowning may have been caused by a pulminary embolism first, followed by panic when the victim can't breathe.

It could have happened if she tried to ascend too quickly for some reason. But sometimes there's not a clear explanation of what caused it.

---------- Post added ----------

Actually, I guess it's pulmonary edema that sometimes doesn't have an obvious cause. Like this: http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/ac...eniseggs-incident-near-miss-jackson-blue.html