Diver Death in Waterton National Park, Alberta on August 24, 2013

[RayKay]

RCMP investigating death in Waterton National Park | CTV Calgary News

RCMP is working in conjunction with the Calgary Medical Examiner after a man was found dead in Waterton National Park on August 24.


A 56-year-old male from Calgary was scuba-diving with a group of other people in Upper Waterton Lake.


He was found unconscious in the water by one of the other divers in the group.


Although he was brought to the shore immediately, resuscitation efforts did not work and he was declared dead.


The investigation is continuing into the cause of death.


His identity has not been released.

Waterton Park is on the Alberta, Canada side of the border, adjacent to Glacier National Park in Montana, and is located about 3.5 hours south from Calgary.

The deceased was on a drysuit course with a Calgary dive shop (I am not naming it at this time as it has not been said in the media). They were diving in Cameron Bay on Upper Waterton Lake. The deceased was found unresponsive at 30 feet with his reg out of his mouth. I have not heard anything about anyone observing the deceased to have been in distress before he was found. Another diver (who is also a paramedic) was diving at the site (not part of the course) and worked on the man when he was brought out of the water. I have been told the deceased was given oxygen when he was brought out of the water.

Cameron Bay is a popular dive site. It is a deep wall dive. It is a rocky shore entry but it gets deep very fast (over 200 ft at least in that area). Weather conditions Saturday were very warm, but it was also very windy (not unusual for Waterton). The lakes were quite choppy (whitecaps). Water temps at this time of year are in the mid-high 50s or so (not sure what it was in Cameron Bay on Saturday), but there is a thermocline in Cameron at about 70 feet. Visibility was great there this weekend for this area.

 

[MauiDiver17]

I hadn't heard about this until now. I know they haven't released his name yet but condolences to his family.

 

[Derat]

Global says he was found at 25ft... deep enough for some squeeze but not very deep... Sad story.

 

[RayKay]

Calgary man dies while scuba diving in Waterton

Mounties are investigating after a 56-year-old Calgary man died while scuba diving in Waterton National Park over the weekend.
The man was scuba diving with a group of about 10 people in Upper Waterton Lake near Waterton Park Townsite on Saturday afternoon when he was discovered unconscious in the water by another diver.
It’s estimated he was unconscious for “a short period of time” before he was brought to the surface on a nearby shore, said Const. Grant Bulford with Waterton Park RCMP.
There were several groups scuba diving in the area at the time. Some people tried to call 911 but the cell service is very poor in some areas, Bulford said.
“I was patrolling in the area and was flagged down and advised of the emergency,” he said. “Ambulances were also dispatched.”
The man was taken to Cardston Hospital where he was pronounced dead.
Bulford said the man had experience scuba diving. The cause of death has not been determined.
The man’s family has been notified, but his name has not been released.

Cell service really can be unreliable there; there is a lot of interference from the mountains. Cardston is about 55 km (1/2 hour) away but there is a fire hall right in Waterton, and Pincher Creek is around 55km away as well. I am not sure where the ambulances were actually dispatched from.

There is also a video here: Waterton scuba diver death shocks community | Globalnews.ca but there are some errors in that it implies the diver who began rescuscitation efforts was one of the "group" the deceased was in. Also, it looks like they are taking a video of the site on Monday, when it would normally be pretty empty of regular tourists, never mind divers. Waterton itself was still incredibly busy all weekend (including with divers) so to show it completely empty as if that was the case after the incident is a bit deceptive.

 

[Dthomas]

While I agree discussing accidents can better inform divers and prepare divers in that safety may take a greater role at the onset of any dive - I believe discussion should be based on factual information and not on speculation. Until a complete investigation has been concluded and results released speculating on what might of happened has the potential to cause unjust finger pointing and suspicion on those in the water at the time of the accident and a Dive Club/Shop in the case of a course or sponsored dive.

At this point in time there are still too many variables to account for and I believe that making presumptions based on those variables might cause more harm than good. Remember during these hard times friends and family members of those involved are searching for answers themselves to help explain this difficult time and personally I feel we as a diving community should respect that and not jump to finger pointing and making gross presumptions of what might have transpired.

I feel deeply sorry and my heart goes out to the family of this diver. May God Bless them during this phase of their lives and give them peace during this hardship.

 

[RayKay]

While I agree discussing accidents can better inform divers and prepare divers in that safety may take a greater role at the onset of any dive - I believe discussion should be based on factual information and not on speculation. Until a complete investigation has been concluded and results released speculating on what might of happened has the potential to cause unjust finger pointing and suspicion on those in the water at the time of the accident and a Dive Club/Shop in the case of a course or sponsored dive.

At this point in time there are still too many variables to account for and I believe that making presumptions based on those variables might cause more harm than good. Remember during these hard times friends and family members of those involved are searching for answers themselves to help explain this difficult time and personally I feel we as a diving community should respect that and not jump to finger pointing and making gross presumptions of what might have transpired.

I feel deeply sorry and my heart goes out to the family of this diver. May God Bless them during this phase of their lives and give them peace during this hardship.

I removed my "speculations" as to possibilities that I made based on the information available. I agree there are still too many variables to be certain in any one direction though there are some possibilities raised. My intent was not to finger point, if it came across that way, and assigning blame is certainly not my goal. I have no doubt those involved are very shaken up right now.

However, I expect that even after a "complete investigation" there will never be many findings released as to what actually happened. Perhaps there may be a determination as to the cause of death, but I would be surprised if there was any public release as to what led to the cause of death. Which is why the A & I discussions can at times be frustrating and end up with no real conclusions. There are lessons that can be learned in any incident, but those lessons are often going to be based on speculations because the only one who truly knows what happened in a case like this is no longer here to tell us about it.

 

[diversteve]

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A ScubaBoard Staff Message...

Unconfirmed speculation has been removed pending official notification/verification

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[decompression]

He was a friend of our distant family. I was in BC at the time and only heard now. Like many, I know very little and hope, but not expect, to learn more soon. If anything, please dive safe.

 

[blowingbubblesisgay]

I removed my "speculations" as to possibilities that I made based on the information available. I agree there are still too many variables to be certain in any one direction though there are some possibilities raised. My intent was not to finger point, if it came across that way, and assigning blame is certainly not my goal. I have no doubt those involved are very shaken up right now.

However, I expect that even after a "complete investigation" there will never be many findings released as to what actually happened. Perhaps there may be a determination as to the cause of death, but I would be surprised if there was any public release as to what led to the cause of death. Which is why the A & I discussions can at times be frustrating and end up with no real conclusions. There are lessons that can be learned in any incident, but those lessons are often going to be based on speculations because the only one who truly knows what happened in a case like this is no longer here to tell us about it.

If lessons are truly learned upon speculation, then one must speculate on the ENTIRE spectrum of possibilities. Not ones convenient for ones own purposes. One could speculate that everything went as planned and that the only lesson to be learned is that no matter the training, experience, policies, procedures, etc, that we put in place nothing can be done to prevent ALL incidents. I haven't seen THAT speculation yet. We are human, and in being human, we are fallible. But we are also resilient--from the family and friends of the departed, the rescuers on shore who were there to support the lake rescue, and to the students and instructors of the class who started the dive with a new friend but also started the rescue and resuscitation of the patient. The cohesiveness of strangers to come together for the sole purpose of saving and honouring a single human life is amazing. Don't ruin it with bull****.

 

[redacted]

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A ScubaBoard Staff Message...

Unconfirmed speculation has been removed pending official notification/verification

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Why is speculation being removed? Why not remove the condolences as that, not speculation, is a violation:

In addition to the TOS:

(1) You may not release any names here, until after the names have appeared in the public domain (articles, news reports, sheriff's report etc.) The releasing report must be cited. Until such public release, the only name you may use in this forum is your own.
(2) Off topic posts will be removed and off topic comments will be edited.
(3) No flaming, name calling or otherwise attacking other posters. You may attack ideas; you may not attack people.
(4) No trolling; no blamestorming. Mishap analysis does not lay blame, it finds causes.
(5) No "condolences to the family" here. Please use our Passings Forum for these kinds of messages.
(6) If you are presenting information from a source other than your own eyes and ears, cite the source.
(7) If your post is your hypothesis, theory, or a "possible scenario," identify it as such.
(8) If your post is about legal action that concerns a mishap, use the Scuba Related Court Cases forum.
Thanks in advance,