Canadian Diver in Critical Condition - Yongala wreck dive mishap

[String]

You didn't address my point; you criticize the low level of competency of OW courses, but a dive to 100 ft is, by definition, beyond the competency of an OW diver.

Not necessarily. Ive come across divers of that level who would be more than competent at that depth in those conditions. I've also come across others with more advanced certs i wouldn't let anywhere near it.

Is there no responsibility of the crew of dive boats to check the competency of their customers for a given site?

Hopefully not - whatever happened with personal responsibility. If people are adults let them decide what they want to do.

In this case, it's very simple: if you have no AOW card or higher, you either dive with a professional or you don't dive to 100 ft.

AOW card doesnt make you competent just as not having one doesnt make you incompetent.

What is the purpose of having these certification levels if people ignore them?

To make people feel better and provide guidelines about what sort of diving they're likely to be comfortable doing.

Letting her dive with her non-professional husband on a 100 ft dive was inconsistent with guidelines for her certification.

Firstly, they're guidelines. Nothing more. Secondly, how do you know the husband wasn't more than capable of accompanying the diver? Just because he hadn't paid an agency a fee to do another course doesn't make him a bad diver.

Personally, I would be a little wary of someone who worked a dive boat and who viewed a 100 ft wreck dive in a strong current as "not hard" unless someone had "crappy skills". Such machismo might induce people to dive sites beyond their abilities (come on, it isn't hard! or are you too crappy for this site?!).

The most important thing for anyone to do is for the individual to work out their own level of comfort and ability and dive to within that. People need to stop relying on other people to tell them. 100ft isnt very deep, visibility there is often excellent. It sometimes gets currents and chop. That's isn't difficult and shouldn't be difficult to anyone with common sense and basic skills.

How is someone new to a site, or to diving like Tina Watson, to know what is a "hard" dive?

The same way any of us do when diving a new site. You take local advice on the site, the layout, the hazards and make an informed decision based on your own skill level as to whether to dive it or not. A qualified diver should be able to appraise a site based on a detailed brief and decide if they feel its within their limits or not.

Where does a new diver go for guidance regarding their ability to dive a site?

If in doubt ask an instructor or someone with experience of the site. If still in doubt, pay an instructor to go with you.

Should she listen to her husband, who never did the dive and whose motives were unclear?

His opinion is just as valid as someone else. Why WOULDNT she ask?

Should she listen to Scuba Diving magazine (which rates it beyond her experience)

Basically no. Magazines are completely worthless for detailed site briefs and write articles to cater for the lowest common denominator of person the majority of which will never even go to that country yet alone dive it.

There isn't an operation, or a dive site, that can't bite the best of us in the kiester.

However with basic skills and common sense nearly all of those potential problems can be eliminated, reduced or coped with safely.

 

[Donna Smith-Billard]

Hello there Scuba Katt and a great big thank you to you for taking the time to write up the scuba diving accident of the 31 year old Canadian.As she is a very special friend of mine and I am now sitting with her mom so far away in Glace Bay ,Nova Scotia Canada while her dad is taking the two day flight to Townsville to see his daughter you cannot imagine how good it feels to find out anything about the incident .Just a little update on her conditon...the treatment she has received has been second to none ,everyone involved has been very encouraging and helpful.At this time she has responded to the news that her dad is on the way by squeezing the nurses hand .She has shown some movement with her limbs and has been in the decompression chamber three times.By all accounts she is in the best place to receive the best treatment possible. Thankyou to any and all who have Erin in their prayers and if there is anyone else out there who has anything to share it would be very comforting to hear from you and help us feel a little closer to Erin. respectfully Donna Smith-Billard

 

[DandyDon]

Welcome to SB. I'll see if we can get this moved to the right thread...?

 

[TonyH]

I was one of the divers on the boat the day this incident occurred. I think some of the posts in this thread are harsh on the skills of the diver, Erin, and on the staff. Also some of the specifics of the Yongala dive are not accurate.

The Yongala lies at less than 30m on a relatively flat seabed. Most of the dive is at around 20 to 25m. On that day there was current, but it was less than we were briefed to expect - it was not difficiult to swim against, but it was there. The water temperature was 21C. Visibility was only about 10m - it was necessary to swim down a few metres to see the wreck, but this had been planned, and descent/ascent was along the mooring line. Penetrating the wreck is prohibited by law.

The boat had 10 customers and 4 staff: 1 skipper, 2 instructors, a dive master. We were split in two groups: one instructor took the 5 more experienced divers, the other two staff took the 5 less experienced divers.

Erin, the diver who is currently in a critical condition, was in the less experienced group and was doing her PADI "Deep Dive". She received additional briefing on the boat, and it was planned she would go to 30m with the instructor, at the start of the dive, and then rejoin the rest of her group.

I was in the advanced group, we entered first, and halfway through the dive I heard the boats "General Recall" - the skipper banging a weight belt against the dive ladder in a certain pattern. When we returned to the boat two of the crew and a customer were performing CPR on Erin. They told us she had completed the deep dive training at 30m, returned to the group at 20m, and then "freaked out". They said she removed the reg from her mouth and acted strangely. The instructor tried to replaced the reg but she removed it again and faught the instructor; eventually swallowing water and drowning.

By the time they got her to the boat she was dead. No pulse. No breathing. They started CPR and EAR.

During the 20minute trip back to the shore she started breathing and her heart restarted; she was put on oxygen. Paramedics and police were waiting onshore, and she was flown to Townsville Hospital. I understand that 3 days later she is still in a coma in intensive care. She had no pulse for such a long time that I fear for her brain function, and we can only hope she will recover fully.

For my wife and I, and all of us on the boat, this is a great shock to see that a healthy, fit, young woman can drown like this. The conditions were not difficult. She was with an instructor and other divers. Yet it happened.

I cannot explain what I saw. This is not a training issue with the diver. Nor were the staff incompetent. On a short dive to 30m I would not expect DCI nor nitrogen narcosis. This was not a difficult dive, nor physically demanding.

And yet, she drowned.

For all divers I can only hope we find out what happened, so we can learn a lesson from this incident. And I hope I have corrected some of the statements I have read in this thread. I can imagine this is a very trying time for Erin, her family the diving staff, and her buddies.

 

[DeepSeaDan]

I was one of the divers on the boat the day this incident occurred. I think some of the posts in this thread are harsh on the skills of the diver, Erin, and on the staff. Also some of the specifics of the Yongala dive are not accurate.

The Yongala lies at less than 30m on a relatively flat seabed. Most of the dive is at around 20 to 25m. On that day there was current, but it was less than we were briefed to expect - it was not difficiult to swim against, but it was there. The water temperature was 21C. Visibility was only about 10m - it was necessary to swim down a few metres to see the wreck, but this had been planned, and descent/ascent was along the mooring line. Penetrating the wreck is prohibited by law.

The boat had 10 customers and 4 staff: 1 skipper, 2 instructors, a dive master. We were split in two groups: one instructor took the 5 more experienced divers, the other two staff took the 5 less experienced divers.

Erin, the diver who is currently in a critical condition, was in the less experienced group and was doing her PADI "Deep Dive". She received additional briefing on the boat, and it was planned she would go to 30m with the instructor, at the start of the dive, and then rejoin the rest of her group.

I was in the advanced group, we entered first, and halfway through the dive I heard the boats "General Recall" - the skipper banging a weight belt against the dive ladder in a certain pattern. When we returned to the boat two of the crew and a customer were performing CPR on Erin. They told us she had completed the deep dive training at 30m, returned to the group at 20m, and then "freaked out". They said she removed the reg from her mouth and acted strangely. The instructor tried to replaced the reg but she removed it again and faught the instructor; eventually swallowing water and drowning.

By the time they got her to the boat she was dead. No pulse. No breathing. They started CPR and EAR.

During the 20minute trip back to the shore she started breathing and her heart restarted; she was put on oxygen. Paramedics and police were waiting onshore, and she was flown to Townsville Hospital. I understand that 3 days later she is still in a coma in intensive care. She had no pulse for such a long time that I fear for her brain function, and we can only hope she will recover fully.

For my wife and I, and all of us on the boat, this is a great shock to see that a healthy, fit, young woman can drown like this. The conditions were not difficult. She was with an instructor and other divers. Yet it happened.

I cannot explain what I saw. This is not a training issue with the diver. Nor were the staff incompetent. On a short dive to 30m I would not expect DCI nor nitrogen narcosis. This was not a difficult dive, nor physically demanding.

And yet, she drowned.

For all divers I can only hope we find out what happened, so we can learn a lesson from this incident. And I hope I have corrected some of the statements I have read in this thread. I can imagine this is a very trying time for Erin, her family the diving staff, and her buddies.

...PANIC.

People's range of panic response can vary widely. This lady's panic cycle may have started at any time after she left surface, or even on the trip out, culminating in full-blown, irrational acts & behaviours at the point described.

It would prove interesting to replay the tape of this day to look for signs of problems in this person from the point of leaving the dock. Rescue training teaches you to look for such signs in people, and sometimes they're evident, sometimes not. Sometimes, the first sign of panic can be at the point of "freak-out". As I stated, the range of response varies widely.

I wish to express my sincere wishes for a full & speedy recovery for the young lady.

Regards,
DSD

 

[wallardyce]

I read this article in the local Townsville newspaper today, and since I couldn't locate it online, I thought I would type it up for you. It's a dive incident at the Yongala wreck 90km southeast of Townsville (where Tina Watson was "murdered" by Gabe Watson). I've not heard any updates on this lady's condition. My thoughts go to her friends and family, and hope for some positive news soon.

"CANADIAN SCUBA DIVER IN CRITICAL CONDITION AFTER ACCIDENT AT YONGALA
by LEONIE JOHNSON
A Canadian scuba diver is fighting for her life in Townsville Hospital after a diving accident at the Yongala shipwreck yesterday morning.

The 31 year old woman's dive instructor had to pull her to the surface after she experienced difficulty diving about 10.30am. Yongala Dive staff administered CPR to the woman, who wasn't breathing when she was pulled from the water. They transported her using a dinghy to the Alva Beach boat ramp, near Ayr, where they were met by an ambulance about 10.45am.

Ayr paramedics transported the seriously ill woman to Ayr Hospital. Due to her critical condition she was airlifted by the Emergency Management Queensland Rescue Helicopter to Townsville Hopsital.

Last night she was in a hyperbaric chamber in a critical condition. The tourist was scuba diving with a group of international and Australian tourists at the popular Yongala dive site, about 89km southeast of Townsville. A Queensland Police Service spokesman said the dive group entered the water about 8.30am. He said the woman had 'experienced difficulty' before being brought to the surface.

The woman's next of kin have been informed of the accident.

Dive company Yongala Dive declined to comment on the incident when contact by the Townsville Bulletin yesterday. Police were yesterday making routine enquiries into the incident.

The Yongala has been the site of several diving incidents duringthe past eight years, including one death.

DUring a three year period, from 2000 to 2003, five people had to be airlifted to Townsville Hospital from the Yongala after suffering medical problems while diving. Most were causd by the bends or decompression sickness.

The most recent death was that of 26 year old American woman Tina Watson. She died on October 22, 2003, while diving on the Yongala shipwreck on her honeymoon. Her husband Gabe Watson was recently charged with the murder of his wife after a coronial inquest was held into her death."

If any of her friends or family are on this board, please know that Townsville Hospital is well-renowned for its Diving Medicine, and they will be doing everything possible to assist in her recovery.

Regards

Thank you very much from some of her family and friends in Canada

 

[Puffer Fish]

I was one of the divers on the boat the day this incident occurred. I think some of the posts in this thread are harsh on the skills of the diver, Erin, and on the staff. Also some of the specifics of the Yongala dive are not accurate.

The Yongala lies at less than 30m on a relatively flat seabed. Most of the dive is at around 20 to 25m. On that day there was current, but it was less than we were briefed to expect - it was not difficiult to swim against, but it was there. The water temperature was 21C. Visibility was only about 10m - it was necessary to swim down a few metres to see the wreck, but this had been planned, and descent/ascent was along the mooring line. Penetrating the wreck is prohibited by law.

The boat had 10 customers and 4 staff: 1 skipper, 2 instructors, a dive master. We were split in two groups: one instructor took the 5 more experienced divers, the other two staff took the 5 less experienced divers.

Erin, the diver who is currently in a critical condition, was in the less experienced group and was doing her PADI "Deep Dive". She received additional briefing on the boat, and it was planned she would go to 30m with the instructor, at the start of the dive, and then rejoin the rest of her group.

I was in the advanced group, we entered first, and halfway through the dive I heard the boats "General Recall" - the skipper banging a weight belt against the dive ladder in a certain pattern. When we returned to the boat two of the crew and a customer were performing CPR on Erin. They told us she had completed the deep dive training at 30m, returned to the group at 20m, and then "freaked out". They said she removed the reg from her mouth and acted strangely. The instructor tried to replaced the reg but she removed it again and faught the instructor; eventually swallowing water and drowning.

By the time they got her to the boat she was dead. No pulse. No breathing. They started CPR and EAR.

During the 20minute trip back to the shore she started breathing and her heart restarted; she was put on oxygen. Paramedics and police were waiting onshore, and she was flown to Townsville Hospital. I understand that 3 days later she is still in a coma in intensive care. She had no pulse for such a long time that I fear for her brain function, and we can only hope she will recover fully.

For my wife and I, and all of us on the boat, this is a great shock to see that a healthy, fit, young woman can drown like this. The conditions were not difficult. She was with an instructor and other divers. Yet it happened.

I cannot explain what I saw. This is not a training issue with the diver. Nor were the staff incompetent. On a short dive to 30m I would not expect DCI nor nitrogen narcosis. This was not a difficult dive, nor physically demanding.

And yet, she drowned.

For all divers I can only hope we find out what happened, so we can learn a lesson from this incident. And I hope I have corrected some of the statements I have read in this thread. I can imagine this is a very trying time for Erin, her family the diving staff, and her buddies.

My thanks to you and scuba katt for taking the time to post...very sad story, one that should never have happened.

My hopes and prayers for a recovery...

 

[aljohnston]

...PANIC.

People's range of panic response can vary widely. This lady's panic cycle may have started at any time after she left surface, or even on the trip out, culminating in full-blown, irrational acts & behaviours at the point described.

It would prove interesting to replay the tape of this day to look for signs of problems in this person from the point of leaving the dock. Rescue training teaches you to look for such signs in people, and sometimes they're evident, sometimes not. Sometimes, the first sign of panic can be at the point of "freak-out". As I stated, the range of response varies widely.

I wish to express my sincere wishes for a full & speedy recovery for the young lady.

Regards,
DSD

I just want to say thank you for clarifying what had gone wrong on this awful day. As hard as this article was to read, it gave us an understanding as to what went wrong.
I recieved the awful news of my only sibling just 4 days ago and have been waiting in agony daily for updates through my mother who is a mess on the opposite end of Canada. I cannot fly to be with her as I am 9 months pregnant.
My father is with her now and she is showing great improvement daily. She is out of the coma, breathing on her own and even walking around a bit. She was able to shower today and has absolutely no recollection of what has happened.
I am so grateful to everyone who helped in saving my sisters life and to all who have sent their hopes and prayers. Someone was listening... my new baby is going to have an autie!! Thank you.

 

[Ayisha]

That is amazing news! I hope her recovery continues to be speedy and she gets better soon...

 

[scuba_katt]

I just want to say thank you for clarifying what had gone wrong on this awful day. As hard as this article was to read, it gave us an understanding as to what went wrong.
I recieved the awful news of my only sibling just 4 days ago and have been waiting in agony daily for updates through my mother who is a mess on the opposite end of Canada. I cannot fly to be with her as I am 9 months pregnant.
My father is with her now and she is showing great improvement daily. She is out of the coma, breathing on her own and even walking around a bit. She was able to shower today and has absolutely no recollection of what has happened.
I am so grateful to everyone who helped in saving my sisters life and to all who have sent their hopes and prayers. Someone was listening... my new baby is going to have an autie!! Thank you.

Hello there Scuba Katt and a great big thank you to you for taking the time to write up the scuba diving accident of the 31 year old Canadian.As she is a very special friend of mine and I am now sitting with her mom so far away in Glace Bay ,Nova Scotia Canada while her dad is taking the two day flight to Townsville to see his daughter you cannot imagine how good it feels to find out anything about the incident .Just a little update on her conditon...the treatment she has received has been second to none ,everyone involved has been very encouraging and helpful.At this time she has responded to the news that her dad is on the way by squeezing the nurses hand .She has shown some movement with her limbs and has been in the decompression chamber three times.By all accounts she is in the best place to receive the best treatment possible. Thankyou to any and all who have Erin in their prayers and if there is anyone else out there who has anything to share it would be very comforting to hear from you and help us feel a little closer to Erin. respectfully Donna Smith-Billard

To all of Erin's family and friends, I'm so very pleased to hear that her Dad is with her now and that she is showing signs of physical recovery. I am also proud of the ScubaBoard members who have been more concerned about Erin's health rather than what skills (or lack thereof) may have contributed to the incident.

She will remain in our thoughts throughout her recovery. If there is anything I can do here in Townsville for Erin or her dad, please send me a private message.

Kindest regards