Here are some more details.
The diver, Anthony Lobue, was fairly experienced, having done more than 200 dives in the area, however, this was his first dive in at least three years. It was a night dive, and he did have a buddy. They became separated during the dive. A crew member found his line during the normal course of his dive, and followed the line to Lobue's body. At that time, it was only 30 minutes into Lobue's dive. He was found quite tangled, with no regulator in his mouth. The crew member cut him free and surfaced with the body.
It is not understood much more of what really caused the accident. His gear was removed from his body to get him onto the boat, and it sunk. It has not been recovered. There is no way thus to know if he had air or not, if his light was functioning, if he had a cutting device, etc. The area where he was found was searched on subsequent dives to the wreck, but no equipment was found, including his tanks and BCD.
The following is pure speculation:
30 Minutes into a dive on the Iberia, at 60 feet, is a short time. You would have to be breathing pretty hard to exhaust a full tank in that time, although panic or stress could explain that. Unless he exhausted the tank, it would be unlikely that he would have spit out his regulator. Other possibilities include accidental knocking out of the regulator during the struggle to disentangle himself, or a medical issue, like a heart attack. All these possibilities are conceivable. The coroners report has not yet been released.
Commonly, accidents like these involve a cascade of events. Unfortunately, there is little information that is known. Did his light fail, or did he perhaps drop it? Did he have a knife or other cutting device? Perhaps he dropped it and couldn't find it in the dark.
As is so often the case, it may never be determined what really happened. This is a shallow wreck, completely broken down, with no real penetrable structure. It is a common site for novice divers, and a good place for a shakedown dive. I have dived it several hundred times, and can say that it can be difficult to navigate for those unfamiliar, because it is so broken down, which is likely why he was using the line. Usually, the anchor line is tied to an easily identifiable structure, such as the engine, which gives the most vertivcal releif, or the prop-shaft, which extends unbroken from the engine to the prop, which is a good references for navigation. I don't know where the line was tied on this dive.
Part of the reason for the lack of information is because the boat Captian is somewhat shaken up by the incident, and is not talking much, other than to the authorities. He is a very competent and skilled captain, with many years of experience in the area.
I will post additional information if and when I get it.
Adam
