Diver death in Lake Minnewanka, Alberta, Canada

[Roko]

A couple more details from this article:

Scuba diver dies at Lake Minnewanka - Banff Crag and Canyon - Alberta, CA

Scuba diver dies at Lake Minnewanka
Local News
By Corrie DiManno

A diving student who had been reported missing during a dive in Lake Minnewanka on Saturday was pronounced dead at the scene after being located underwater.

The 41-year-old man from Calgary, whose name is being withheld at the request of his family, was with a group taking scuba diving lessons at the lake.

The man was discovered missing from the class during their second dive of the day when all students were called back up after one diver had to surface to adjust some gear.

"This is when they realized one person was missing," Banff RCMP Const. Ylli Shala said. "The instructor went down to try and locate the victim, and when they weren't able to locate him, they called for EMS."

The missing man was found underwater at 3 p.m. and transported to shore by a search and rescue boat before being rushed to an ambulance where paramedics performed CPR.

Each of the four students had 30 minutes worth of oxygen in their tanks for what was supposed to be a 20-minute dive, and the man's diving watch, which was timing his dive and keeping track of his depth, had a reading of one hour and 45 minutes when he was recovered at a depth of 34 feet.

The RCMP are still investigating the incident.

All of the diver's equipment was rented, and will be examined as part of the investigation.

An autopsy is being held Tuesday, Oct. 12, in Calgary to determine the cause of death.

Corrie@thecrag.ca

 

[aaen]

Yup would agree with you was just stating what I normally saw at the lake when I was there diving over the past two years.

It was The Dive Shop however they all do a lot of classes at Minny as well as Two Jack. It's not uncommon to see classes from all of them at the stairs.

 

[Jim Lapenta]

WHy the hell would they be diving with 30 minutes worth of air? What were they using- pony bottles? And if diving at altitude and in cold water why would you not have full tanks for every dive? And lastly if the vis was 5ft there was no reason for separation if the divers were trained in and using proper buddy procedures.

What pisses me off more than the newspaper is people who think separation on checkout dives is OK and inevitable. It is not. You adjust ratios or teach divers to go touch contact immediately!

 

[nadwidny]

WHy the hell would they be diving with 30 minutes worth of air? What were they using- pony bottles? And if diving at altitude and in cold water why would you not have full tanks for every dive? And lastly if the vis was 5ft there was no reason for separation if the divers were trained in and using proper buddy procedures.

What pisses me off more than the newspaper is people who think separation on checkout dives is OK and inevitable. It is not. You adjust ratios or teach divers to go touch contact immediately!

You're believing what they wrote in the paper as the truth?

 

[DaleC]

And really, who cares if they say oxygen tank or air. It doesn't really matter to anyone except AR diver types. I sip on my oxygen flask all the time while trying to avoid the bents.
Where are the stairs compared to the 1912 Damsite?

 

[princessaprilia]

IJS the press has indicated that these students had oxygen tanks that would last for 30 minutes at 34 feet. What other little facts do they make up?

 

[Roko]

Where are the stairs compared to the 1912 Damsite?

The stairs are on the other end of the causeway, right by the parking area off the side of the road, where the informational plaque is.

I dove the Dam from the stairs before, but the surface swim was a pain.. We dove straight off the causeway after that.

IJS the press has indicated that these students had oxygen tanks that would last for 30 minutes at 34 feet. What other little facts do they make up?

I'd guess that's what someone told the press, and they went with it. Knowing what you're talking about just gets in the way of publishing articles quickly. As with anything in the media (or on scuba boards), a grain of salt is required...

 

[Tim_Barker]

Odds are they were diving Aluminum 80's with a full fill to at least 3,000 PSI; at least that is what most people use who dive up here. Total speculation of course...

 

[Crush]

WHy the hell would they be diving with 30 minutes worth of air? What were they using- pony bottles? And if diving at altitude and in cold water why would you not have full tanks for every dive? And lastly if the vis was 5ft there was no reason for separation if the divers were trained in and using proper buddy procedures.

What pisses me off more than the newspaper is people who think separation on checkout dives is OK and inevitable. It is not. You adjust ratios or teach divers to go touch contact immediately!

Jim,

I can't vouch for the accuracy of the newspaper report. However, doing training with a partially-filled tank is not uncommon up here. The water is very cold, so training dives are kept short. Often you can do two (or more) OW training dives on one AL80.

The water is cold and the vis can be poor, but it is the best vis you can hope for in the area.

The nearest dive shop would be located in Calgary. That is a four-hour round trip from Minnewanka to Calgary, not including filling times, if you need more air. Also, Minnewanka is located in a National Park. Parks Canada often imposes restrictions upon (or outright prohibits) the use of compressors within park limits.

 

[scubaeskimo]

As was said earlier, its probably best to wait until the results of investigation before criticizing the dive shop or the instructor - especially if you are not familiar with local conditions.