Austrian diver fatality- Natal South Africa

[iamrushman]

condolences to his family, friends, and colleagues......

 

[archer1960]

If we want to start a new converstaion as in => As a new diver that leads me to believe that the buddy system that is discussed at length is not really followed by the average diver. Anyone else have any insight or opinions one this specific subject ?

You should start a new thread. It's not just polite, it also makes the new discussion a whole lot easier to find. Thanks!

Actually, there is already a thread on that subject, but I don't have the link ATM.

 

[Bob DBF]

If we want to start a new converstaion as in => As a new diver that leads me to believe that the buddy system that is discussed at length is not really followed by the average diver. Anyone else have any insight or opinions one this specific subject ?

A new thread could be interesting, but diving in a group without a buddy may very well be the reason that the victim was "lost" to begin with. Whether he left the group or had a medical event and the group left him, ultimately the group did not keep track of its members and one did not come back alive. This may not have caused his death, but certainly was bad practice, and we will probably never know what happened.


Bob
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When everyone is responsible, no one is responsible.

 

[ScubaWithTurk]

If we want to start a new converstaion as in => As a new diver that leads me to believe that the buddy system that is discussed at length is not really followed by the average diver. Anyone else have any insight or opinions one this specific subject ?

You should start a new thread. It's not just polite, it also makes the new discussion a whole lot easier to find. Thanks!

I apologize if anyone felt I was hijacking the thread as that was not my intention. It seemed to be a natural progression of the conversation based on the little facts we do have.

 

[EmGee]

Hi! Im completely new here on scubaboard. Though occasionally I drop by to read some news from the dive world (e.g. tragedy at Malpelo). I signed in to inform you that this man who died is an Austrian man (68) from Salzburg. Just read about the accident in the news.
The group (from Germany and Austria) were on expedition with "African Dive Adventures". A crew member of a fishing boat found a leg and parts of his suit. They suggest that the bite marks on the leg were caused by a tiger shark! Not sure whether post mortem or not.
Condolences to his family and friends!

 

[GramsciBeat]

Headline is sensationalist claptrap. It should rather read 'body recovered with bite marks'. Eastern Southern African coast is a shark diving paradise, with 1000s dives with just about all the apex critters, especially bulls & tigers, conducted without incident annually. It's far more likely - as others have said - these bite marks were post-mortem.
So what with this incorrect headline, mixing up Austria & Germany, & referring to the location by an outdated name it he info in the article may not be entirely reliable.
On buddy system, standard practice in that part of the world - including this operator the last time I dived with them - is for people to buddy up within a larger group. Normally the DM tracks the group but not always.

 

[drrich2]

I guess I do not understand this logic. I come from a military background as a Navy veteran and I don't care if I had 25 people in my group, you just don't lose one. No one gets left behind and you actively work and communicate to achieve that goal.

I do understand that a vacation diver who has never served may not have the same mentality but I feel diving is very much like the military. You have a buddy i.e. "swim buddy, battle buddy, etc" gear to keep in good working condition that is meant to keep you alive and plenty of rules and regulations.

If you are in a group with a DM (the article does not mention if they had a DM or guide with them) then it would be up to that person to make sure no one was left behind.

I agree it's not something to veer off into an extended tangent about; it's worth a quick mention if this practice is a surprise, though. People's expectations of the buddy system vary, and this really becomes an issue in a group.

Expectation 1: The buddy system exists so a redundant air source will be swimming in my vicinity, and if I am too low or air or need help otherwise, I can locate swim to my buddy for assistance.

Expectation 2: My buddy is supposed to look out for me, by frequently monitoring/checking on/glancing at me, should notice unusual behavior on my part, and should discern and intervene if I'm having a problem. It's my responsibility to reciprocate.

If these 2 guys dive as a single buddy pair with no one else around, you might not notice a huge difference if all goes well. This is especially true since one's probably navigating so the pair is naturally drawn together. In a group dive where the 1st guy has a group to follow & air backup air, and a guide's navigating, so he's not relying on (or closely watching) the 2nd guy much.

Rather than an extended debate about or condemnation of it, I suggest simply being aware this is often the reality when you get on a dive boat. Very different from a military 'unit' where members are part of a greater whole with a shared group mission, I suspect.

Richard.

 

[dmaziuk]

... In a group dive where the 1st guy has a group to follow & air backup air, and a guide's navigating, so he's not relying on (or closely watching) the 2nd guy much...

In addition, there was recently a thread on DM's responsibilities, also spun off from an accident report. The DM is not a military unit leader responsible for each member of the unit. They're more like a guide pointing out critters and perhaps watching that dumb tourists don't touch the exhibits.

 

[Bob DBF]

In a group dive where the 1st guy has a group to follow & air backup air, and a guide's navigating, so he's not relying on (or closely watching) the 2nd guy much.

At this point, diver 1 has given up being, or never was, a buddy diver regardless of what diver 2 thinks. If you are buddy diving, first and foremost you are obligated to your buddy, not the group or DM, because they are not obligated to you.


Bob

 

[oszillodrom]

From this Article (in German). From interviews with shark scientist Dr. Erich Ritter who examined the body, and with a diver who was on the dive. English summary in my own words:

Neue Erkenntnisse zum Tauchunfall in Südafrika - TAUCHEN

The deceased was still with the group when they started the ascent and encountered very bad visibility - the group tried to stay with the dive guide. When they reached the surface, they saw that he was missing [...] They assumed he had surfaced alone, as he had done on previous dives, and started the search and rescue. [...] The 68 year old had had trouble on previous dives, on one he 'bolted to the surface from 40 m, as he was not able to properly operate his BCD'. After examining the body and the bite wounds, Dr. Erich Ritter says even though the forensic investigation is still ongoing, he believes that the victim has drowned and was then bitten by a shark post mortem. The wounds are similar to other divers who have drowned and were then bitten by sharks.

Edit: from the interview with a diver from his group (Youtube link in the article):

He tried to vent his jacket on a previous dive, but inflated instead and bolted to the surface. When they checked his BCD, it seemed to work fine. His regulator blew air on another dive and he could not fix it, even though he was an instructor with 2700 dives. He was not able to communicate his problems to the other members of the team, also not on the surface. On the dive the accident happened, he severly overweighted himself to 'fix' the previous troubles he had with overinflation. At one point of the dive, he was dragging along on the bottom. He was 68 years old and not physically fit.