Diver lost 15 Jan 2013 Cozumel

[bobber2112]

Having all the dive companies band together by helping out when things like this happen would be one of the best things for safety on the island. When the call goes out, finding the lost diver should be first priority. Every dive company and boat on the water is on the radio and actively repond.

How many dive boats in the area just went off and did their 2nd dives? Almost all of them! It took hours for the military boats to get out and how many companies on the island were chasing pesos instead looking for human life.

The bottom line is...there are no guidelines for finding human life when an accident occurs? You go find them. Most of the boats went off and did their 2nd dive.

 

[Ron Lee]

Having all the dive companies band together by helping out when things like this happen would be one of the best things for safety on the island. When the call goes out, finding the lost diver should be first priority. Every dive company and boat on the water is on the radio and actively repond.

How many dive boats in the area just went off and did their 2nd dives? Almost all of them! It took hours for the military boats to get out and how many companies on the island were chasing pesos instead looking for human life.

The bottom line is...there are no guidelines for finding human life when an accident occurs? You go find them. Most of the boats went off and did their 2nd dive.

Your comment is great for a diver on the surface. But reality is that the diver may have already died. So the first line of defense...the diver's ability to solve a problem....may have failed. The second line of defense, the diver's buddy...probably failed. The third line of defense...the divemaster...either failed or could not have been in a position to prevent the death. The fourth line of defense..other divers in the group...who knows. Maybe no one was in a position to see what happened and react.

If a diver surfaces in the Palancar area, there are beaucoup boats that will come along for pickup. If that does not work...surface swim to shore.

I doubt that "chasing pesos" was a factor in this case.

Personally, I monitor all other divers in my group throughout the dive. I do not maintain "every 10 second" contact. It may be more like every five-ten minutes. There is nothing to prevent someone from going rogue and swimming down to 400 plus feet just after I make a count. It is one added layer of group safety...even if minimal.

 

[Mike]

Having all the dive companies band together by helping out when things like this happen would be one of the best things for safety on the island. When the call goes out, finding the lost diver should be first priority. Every dive company and boat on the water is on the radio and actively repond.

How many dive boats in the area just went off and did their 2nd dives? Almost all of them! It took hours for the military boats to get out and how many companies on the island were chasing pesos instead looking for human life.

The bottom line is...there are no guidelines for finding human life when an accident occurs? You go find them. Most of the boats went off and did their 2nd dive.

I don't know for sure but I suspect this depends on how an emergency is declared. I suspect Mexican Maritime law makes provisions for requiring available vessels to come to the aid of a distressed vessel.

 

[ggunn]

Having all the dive companies band together by helping out when things like this happen would be one of the best things for safety on the island. When the call goes out, finding the lost diver should be first priority. Every dive company and boat on the water is on the radio and actively repond.

How many dive boats in the area just went off and did their 2nd dives? Almost all of them! It took hours for the military boats to get out and how many companies on the island were chasing pesos instead looking for human life.

The bottom line is...there are no guidelines for finding human life when an accident occurs? You go find them. Most of the boats went off and did their 2nd dive.

The unfortunate reality is that once the diver was missed at the surface, it was probably too late for a rescue. What you describe is what you do when someone gets lost in the woods and could survive for a while. In a case like this about the best you can hope for is for the missing diver to surface somewhere, and soon.

 

[Ron Lee]

I am going to nitpick Mike's previous post. If you suddenly realize that you are alone, your first thought should not be "panic." Ideally you have enough training/experience to think instead "Geez I screwed this up. Now where did they go?"

This is where the self-reliance training/experience comes into play. I do not know if what CowBells experienced was personal apprehension or a concern for her husband. She can address that with her husband or here as she chooses. My suggestion, beyond the self-reliance issue, is that if she photographs a lot, her buddy should be beside or behind her. I do not remember if Tormentos has coral heads suitable for getting behind and out of the current, but that option, along with facing into the current and slowly swimming to minimize current-induced separation.

 

[halocline]

I'm not sure that this incident points towards the need for dive ops to change anything, quite honestly. Of course all dive ops should be constantly concerned about safety, most are, and as has been pointed out the overall safety record of Cozumel, considering all factors, is quite strong.

The thing that jumped out at me was the poster who mentioned she was on the boat with the missing diver, and that the missing diver had just finished OW class. I have DM'ed for many OW checkout dives and observed dive students that I thought would be pretty sketchy in Cozumel. These were students that passed (as almost all do...) and were heading off for their first dive vacation. I've also observed many certified divers who, quite honestly, lacked the dive skills that I personally would have thought would be necessary to pass OW class.

So, what does that indicate? If a diver passes a course that has skill X as a requirement (like removing and clearing a mask underwater) and then panics on his first OW dive because his mask floods, what does that say? Should dive instructors be held liable for passing students when they're not quite up to par? Absolutely not IMO, but I can't help but believe that there would be fewer accidents if OW classes were much more in depth and demanding. That doesn't exactly jive with the whole point of the recreational dive agencies, though, does it? I realize that PADI has some very specific standards, but there's much much more to evaluating a dive student, and of course a big part of that is the student's ability to self-evaluate. Recreational dive instructors are sometimes in very difficult positions in this regard.

This sort-of sounds like an apparent assumption that this diver's lack of experience and/or in depth training contributed to the incident. Of course we don't know that.

The inescapable bottom line is that every diver is responsible for his/her own safety, regardless of training, rules, DM policies, etc....and it's up to each diver to exercise sound judgement in diving.

 

[Darol]

fishi said:

when putting people in the water (and hopefully taking them out) is your business you need to take on some of the responsibility too. It's not all up to the diver the dive op has some choices to make too.

How true....

If I'm NOT, being judged by a New dive op, as to my skill level, it might be time to look for another, regardless of the Card Collection, or B.S. factor. Prayers, and safe diving .....

 

[Benawa]

I suppose this is way late but with the Cozumel currents being what they are. Searching at Palancar even an hour after the incident might place a lost diver one or more kilometers away from the search groups.
My heart goes out to her and her brother. Everyone makes mistakes, some pay the ultimate price for them.

 

[morecowbells]

You are indicating 100 + dives in your profile.. By that point you should be an ADV ow diver, if not in certification at least in experience. Panicking in the water over being alone... etc ...should not be an issue. Nor should being swept down walls, you should be past these things by now

Did I ever mention that I "panicked"? No. I specified that I was able to circumvent panic by memorizing skills I learned. "Terrified"? YES. While one response may evoke the other, they are NOT mutually exclusive of each other. I will never feel casual or blase about getting separated from my dive group and buddy, especially where currents are strong. I believe that with the exception of this recent tragedy, most accidents involve experienced divers who are cavalier about their skills and experience which can trump vigilance and respect for the buddy system.

 

[Ron Lee]

I am going to nitpick one element of Mike's previous post. If you suddenly realize that you are alone, your first thought should not be "panic." Ideally you have enough training/experience to think instead "Geez I screwed this up. Now where did they go?"

This is where the self-reliance training/experience comes into play. I do not know if what CowBells experienced was personal apprehension or a concern for her husband. She can address that with her husband or here as she chooses. My suggestion, beyond the self-reliance issue, is that if she photographs a lot, her buddy should be beside or behind her. I do not remember if Tormentos has coral heads suitable for getting behind and out of the current, but that option, along with facing into the current and slowly swimming to minimize current-induced separation.