Carbon Monoxide kills SSA diver - Australia

Please register or login

Welcome to ScubaBoard, the world's largest scuba diving community. Registration is not required to read the forums, but we encourage you to join. Joining has its benefits and enables you to participate in the discussions.

Benefits of registering include

  • Ability to post and comment on topics and discussions.
  • A Free photo gallery to share your dive photos with the world.
  • You can make this box go away

Joining is quick and easy. Log in or Register now!

DandyDon

Colonoscopy Advocate
ScubaBoard Supporter
Messages
53,628
Reaction score
7,816
Location
One kilometer high on the Texas Central Plains
# of dives
500 - 999
A warning has been issued to divers after a South Australian man using a “hookah” breathing device suffered carbon monoxide poisoning and drowned.

State Coroner David Whittle issued a public statement on Wednesday after opting not to hold an inquest into the 31-year-old’s death.

He found the man had died of carbon monoxide toxicity with drowning after failing to emerge from the water while diving with friends from a boat.

Whittle said the man had been using a “hookah” device which supplies air to a diver via a hose from a compressor fuelled by a petrol engine.

Hookah diving uses a long hose called a down-line, to deliver air to the diver under the water, so they do not need to carry a tank - it combines the free-moving elements of snorkelling with the breathing capabilities of scuba diving.

Two members of the group had attempted to use the “hookah” device but returned to the boat because it was providing insufficient air.

After further checking, the man dived into the water alone.

His friends tried to bring him to the surface due to a change in the weather but found him unresponsive. They performed CPR but he could not be revived.

The hookah system was inspected and found to be “generally poorly maintained, with significant faults”.

Its pressure relief valve and regulators were not operating correctly and an air quality test found the unit was delivering a high level of carbon monoxide.

“The exhaust pipe of the petrol engine was in a poorly ventilated part of the boat and the intake pipe for the air compressor was just above the engine exhaust,” the statement issued on Whittle’s behalf said.

“The exhaust was the source of the carbon monoxide delivered to the deceased diver.

“The State Coroner wishes to alert persons using hookah systems of the necessity for safe ventilation of engine exhausts and placement of air intakes, as well as the need for regular expert maintenance and servicing.”

The coroner’s office did not release details about the man’s identity or when he died.
 
Exhaust in the close vicinity to the intake for the compressor... that sounds like a great idea. Sucks for this guys family
 
Exhaust in the close vicinity to the intake for the compressor... that sounds like a great idea. Sucks for this guys family
Boat exhausts can be deadly to swimmers and divers hanging out in the water behind the boat, and then there is the station wagon effect in cabins. Air Pollution: Asia’s Two-Stroke Engine Dilemma.
 
Useless website and report as does not even say when this happened.
 
Useless website and report as does not even say when this happened.
Yeah, I like dated articles. My high school journalism class taught me to use Who, What, Where, When, and How. It does currently say "Updated 1 day ago."
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/perdix-ai/

Back
Top Bottom