Coroner's Findings No. 2

[verona]

Thanks iwood for your Barrington post. Out of interest I looked up one of the others that was referred to, viz:

http://www.courts.sa.gov.au/courts/coroner/findings/findings_2004/walker.finding.htm

There are lots of issues in this one, too. But the bit that caught my attention was when the deceased ran out of air. He took another diver's reg, then that diver took another diver's reg, who then used her octo. So you had three divers all hooked up. They then proceeded to ascend in a chain one after the other rather than at the same level in a circle. This seemed to cause the victim to lose his mouthpiece, bolt for the surface and suffer a CAGE.

There were medical issues in this one, too, but it seems odd that the second diver didn't use his octo but instead took diver 3's reg. And the chain thing was madness.

All easy to say when you're on dry land. Panic does strange things to people. But you can't help but think that a lot of these accidents are preventable.

 

[Diver0001]

....snip....

And the chain thing was madness.

....snip...

Given that they somehow got themselves into this position, it would have only taken a few seconds to sort that out before making the ascent. Remember, stop, breathe, think, do. And don't forget, when you're making an air-sharing ascent you hold on to each-other.

Also, this recommendation from teh report should be repeated

6. The recreational diving industry should conduct an awareness campaign among its member organisations and the diving public about the dangers of diving with certain medical conditions, the need for regular medical examinations at least every two years, the need for absolute honesty during such examinations, and the responsibility a diver has both personally and to his or her diving colleagues to ensure that he or she is fit to dive.