accident at whitecliffe park

[nessum]

I'm pretty sure that he's actually in alright condition.

He & his buddies did an 80ft dive... they slowly ascended to 25ft where they lost track of him. At the surface he was breathing & had a pulse, but completely unresponsive & blue in colour. The ambulance was called & some dmc's from another group administered O2.

 

[Rick Murchison]

According to my count that makes five deaths this year in our waters.
What is wrong here? I haven't followed accidents closely in the past. Does anyone know how many occured in years past? Is this a normal accident rate? I hope not.

Uh, how many deaths have you had out of "our waters?" People die everywhere; a death "in our waters" means very little absent any other information. Most "in water" deaths are precipitated from the same things that sudden deaths out of the water begin with - heart attack and stroke. In the water this is usually followed by drowning, but the drowning is just because the debilitating event occured in the water. Without further information on the five it is a non-statistic.
So - at first blush? There's nothing "wrong."
We'll have to wait to see what the problem was for the case that started this thread, but from what we do know it sounds like this fellow just happened to be scuba diving when he had some other debilitating event not related to Scuba. Hopefully someone close to the area will find out and post the info.
Rick

 

[deepdiverbc]

Uh, how many deaths have you had out of "our waters?" People die everywhere; a death "in our waters" means very little absent any other information. Most "in water" deaths are precipitated from the same things that sudden deaths out of the water begin with - heart attack and stroke. In the water this is usually followed by drowning, but the drowning is just because the debilitating event occured in the water. Without further information on the five it is a non-statistic.
So - at first blush? There's nothing "wrong."
We'll have to wait to see what the problem was for the case that started this thread, but from what we do know it sounds like this fellow just happened to be scuba diving when he had some other debilitating event not related to Scuba. Hopefully someone close to the area will find out and post the info.
Rick

Since first hand information on the accidents is scarce as it usually is, I will agree that it is possible that these accidents could be caused by poor health. There is however a difference between having a heart attack out of water and having one while diving. When it happens during a dive not only are your chances for survival diminished but you are placing your buddy at risk.

The accidents may have been diver error or health related but either way four deaths in five months is too many. I hope it is only an odd statistical phenomenon but if it isn't future accidents may be prevented if divers in my area decide to take a closer look at their state of health and safety practices.

Most dives here are either near deep walls or in high current areas and all dives are in 40deg to 50deg water with bulky gear and lots of lead where vis is frequently less than 30 feet. This isn't a place that will forgive divers with poor safety skills or poor health.

 

[Lightning Fish]

Just some food for thought:

Having a heart attack out of the water, while driving, not only diminishes your chance for survival and your buddy's (passenger's), but puts a whole number of other people's lives at risk as your car flies down the street out of control.

How many people have died in Vancouver this year due to car accidents? More than four perhaps?

Where a diver's error results in their death (and maybe their buddies as well), a driver's error can result in multiple deaths.

Cheers,
Bill.

 

[deepdiverbc]

Just some food for thought:

Having a heart attack out of the water, while driving, not only diminishes your chance for survival and your buddy's (passenger's), but puts a whole number of other people's lives at risk as your car flies down the street out of control.

How many people have died in Vancouver this year due to car accidents? More than four perhaps?

Where a diver's error results in their death (and maybe their buddies as well), a driver's error can result in multiple deaths.

Cheers,
Bill.

Driving a car is not likely to cause a heart attack unlike the stresses of diving. Even gearing up and doing a short surface swim can be too much for some peoples state of health let alone fighting a current but they wouldn't have any trouble driving to the corner store.

Yes there are a lot of car accidents but there are thousands of drivers and they drive every day. I would bet that if you ran the ratio of driving related deaths this year in Vancouver it wouldn't come close to the diving stats this year. Four is unacceptable.

When a driver makes a mistake that causes an accident it is investigated. When that accident results in a death it is put under a maginfying glass. From these investigations cars are built better and other safety measures are implemented. It is unfortunate that diving accidents are not studied as closely. I don't believe in more regulation for diving but would like more information.

Some background info. The first accident this year involved friends of mine and if I hadn't been waiting for new gear I would have been on the dive as well. Two of the three divers that came back from that trip have yet to dive again. We were all touched by the incident. Two may quit, one is progressing well through therapy and I have focussed on accident prevention.

So let the debates continue. I have always believed that you will never learn anything by having a discussion with people who agree with everything you say.

Cheers
Eric

 

[lamont]

Driving a car is not likely to cause a heart attack unlike the stresses of diving.

You obviously don't drive around here.

 

[bcsean]

deepdiverbc, take a walk down to whytecliff on a busy day. Look how many people are diving. It does suck to see deaths, and I feel extremely sorry for people involved, but honestly, accidents happen, and having a heart attack doesn't necessarily mean you're horribly out of shape.

My mom had a friend who was in his late 30's in extremely good condition, worked out every day, and dropped dead on the treadmill. Turns out he had an undiagnosed heart condition. Fitness is important, as is predive planning, making sure everyone is comfortable with the dive. It's up to an entire team to decide if they're all comfortable. If your buddy is wheezing and barely able to get to the water, you may want to consider calling the dive and talking to him about his physical condition.

It sucks to see 4 deaths, but it isn't going to affect my diving career.

 

[Henry]

I'm pretty sure that he's actually in alright condition.

He & his buddies did an 80ft dive... they slowly ascended to 25ft where they lost track of him. At the surface he was breathing & had a pulse, but completely unresponsive & blue in colour. The ambulance was called & some dmc's from another group administered O2.

He was diving with his son and the uncontrolled ascent began at 60 feet. They were part of a larger group that was a non-commercial dive club.

Henry

 

[hex92]

Driving a car is not likely to cause a heart attack unlike the stresses of diving....

Happens all the time. Brett Favre's dad died of a heart attack while driving in Kiln, Mississippi last year. Kiln isn't exactly a high stress driving environment.

 

[nessum]

He was diving with his son and the uncontrolled ascent began at 60 feet. They were part of a larger group that was a non-commercial dive club.

Henry

I may be wrong but I would just like to know where you got your information?