Cozumel Diver Dies After 450 Foot Dive (confused initial reporting)

[Brian K]

The tourist is my friend David Key an avid extreme deep diver there’s no way he was “just swimming” in fact he went there to do a deep dive on the boat deep exposure and on David’s Facebook page David has posted past dives with them along with YouTube videos. This looks to me like some people are hiding the truth. If any of you guys can help shed some light on this with links or pages you saw the original story related to this please let me know David was a fantastic father, friend and solid guy that deserves to have the truth come out about his death

I have no facts, but I was there, on a boat with Cozumel Marine World we had just finished our second dive (Cedral wall) and we’re returning north when we came upon the boat that had the diver face down in the water with a rope around the doubles to keep him near the boat. Our boat got close enough and we (customers) asked if they needed help and they indicated yes but our boat wouldn’t let us go help. Time is a hard thing because it seemed like forever that we were helplessly doing nothing. After talking to the crew, there were other deep exposure boats coming to assist however we would stay by in case they couldn’t get him on board and needed help. There’s quite a bit lost in translation I’m sure but Apparently if other shops got involved then there was more police involvement. One of the hardest things I’ve ever done is not jump off that boat and swim over there as was it for several on our boat. However there was no rebreather that we saw… It appeared to me that the person was diving white doubles with silver stage tanks. There were one or two sling/stage tanks that were removed and pulled on board prior to the doubles being taken off the diver. The original boat had high side hull and twin engines on the back. Two other DE boats showed up that had swim decks and they finally removed the diver onto one of those boats. When they got the diver on board they shot straight across the water to the shore/pier ... our boat went underway to return to our dock. ...

Was he diving with Deep Exposure? That was the impression we got from our boat crew. There were several new divers on our boat and we there that were shaken by seeing the event. We were later told by our shop that he had a medical event during a DECO stop but that may have just been to help our people cope with it.

sorry for the loss of your friend.

 

[wedivebc]

MODS, can we change the title of this thread as it has been confirmed the diver was not on rebreather

 

[DandyDon]

MODS, can we change the title of this thread as it has been confirmed the diver was not on rebreather

Use REPORT to request Mod assistance, but I did it for you. It was never my title, btw.

 

[johndiver999]

They had an unconscious diver with a rope tied to him and he is floating face down in the water and they decided to wait for other boats to arrive before flipping him over? Is that what I am reading?

 

[Brian K]

They had an unconscious diver with a rope tied to him and he is floating face down in the water and they decided to wait for other boats to arrive before flipping him over? Is that what I am reading?

yeah, so like I said ... I don’t have the full picture.. not all the facts... but that’s what I (we) saw when we came upon the boat. Unknown if they checked prior and determined.. whatever... but the whole time we were in the area the diver was face down and no actions were being taken ... it’s uncertain how long they were like that before we got in the area... not until the other two boats from Deep Exposure arrived was equipment removed and he was turned over and put on the boat. I can say, without being too graphic that the diver appeared very hypoxic when they got him on the boat just by seeing his hands. It was a very difficult event to not be allowed to do anything about and have to watch.

 

[ReadyTo Dive]

yeah, so like I said ... I don’t have the full picture.. not all the facts... but that’s what I (we) saw when we came upon the boat. Unknown if they checked prior and determined.. whatever... but the whole time we were in the area the diver was face down and no actions were being taken ... it’s uncertain how long they were like that before we got in the area... not until the other two boats from Deep Exposure arrived was equipment removed and he was turned over and put on the boat. I can say, without being too graphic that the diver appeared very hypoxic when they got him on the boat just by seeing his hands. It was a very difficult event to not be allowed to do anything about and have to watch.

May I ask how long was the time span between you arriving on site and the other DE boats arriving on site was?

 

[Brian K]

May I ask how long was the time span between you arriving on site and the other DE boats arriving on site was?

I can say it felt like 20-30 minutes but it was probably closer to 10-15 minutes... all that is speculation because none of us were focused on the clock, only watching what was going on (or not going on). And anyone who has had an emergency knows time stands still.. in my opinion, it was all way too long. But realistically, once a determination is made that the person wasn’t viable, time doesn’t matter. Unfortunately it doesn’t seem there a true account of what happened prior to us getting in the area from what I’ve read on here so far. And We just didn’t know when we got in the area if the diver was viable or not.... but when they put him on the boat it was evident.

water temp that day was 81- 83 deg. at 60ft or less ... I just finished my logs last night and saw the temps.

 

[johndiver999]

yeah, so like I said ... I don’t have the full picture.. not all the facts... but that’s what I (we) saw when we came upon the boat. Unknown if they checked prior and determined.. whatever... but the whole time we were in the area the diver was face down and no actions were being taken ... it’s uncertain how long they were like that before we got in the area... not until the other two boats from Deep Exposure arrived was equipment removed and he was turned over and put on the boat. I can say, without being too graphic that the diver appeared very hypoxic when they got him on the boat just by seeing his hands. It was a very difficult event to not be allowed to do anything about and have to watch.

Sorry you had to witness all that.

 

[Truthfinder]

To clear a few things up... David was an experienced diver and had completed previous deep dives, caves and such in fact he had posted videos of some of his prior dives on his social media some with deep exposure. David absolutely loved the challenge of pushing the limits but was also very safety conscious and did not cut corners. He was diving with his brother who is also an experienced master diver. I do not know the specifics as to what exactly happened during his dive other than what I have posted prior and that his brother did survive. The entire reason for my initial post was prior to getting more information from his family and knowing what was being reported was not true so I wanted to get to the bottom of it. A few weeks prior to this dive David and I discussed his upcoming trip and he told me he was going on a deep dive and described the risks involved so I asked him why do it and his response was the adrenaline and excitement of doing something so dangerous that few people accomplish in their lifetime and how cool it is being down there. David was highly intelligent and a salt of the earth type of guy that will be greatly missed by his family and friends. Unfortunately for myself and some of our friends he will never know the impact he had on us and our memories of tearing up the dunes and sitting around the campfire will be cherished. Thanks to all of you that expressed condolences it’s much appreciated. Stay safe hug your loved ones and live life to the fullest!

 

[Brian K]

@Truthfinder,

I screwed up my original post and thought I was posting on one of your comments. New to Scubaboard so it was a rookie mistake.

I also acknowledge what you just posted, but again wanted to say im sorry for the loss of your friend. I know we all do this because we love it and know the risks whether we are new divers or seasoned well trained divers, but it doesn’t make it easier.

I Wish you and his family peace.