Diver removed unconscious - Lake Bourget, France

[DandyDon]

Lac du Bourget (Lake Bourget), also locally known as Lac Gris (Grey Lake), is a lake at the southernmost end of the Jura Mountains in the department of Savoie, eastern France. More at Lac du Bourget - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


Faits divers | Placée en caisson hyperbare après un accident de plongée

Google translated version: Placed in a hyperbaric chamber after a diving accident
(I suspect that the problem became evident at 6 meters, not 6 feet. Google translate seems to confuse that at times.)

They came from Geneva yesterday to do a deep dive in Lake Bourget. Mild weather that lent itself to the exercise from the small port of Chatillon, Chingford, for this obviously seasoned diver. But around 15 pm, when the young woman of 43 years began his ascent by decompression, it was likely the victim of a malaise. His companion felt that something unusual was happening when they were 6 feet deep. The man supported his wife to come to the surface and out of the water. Seeing that she was unconscious, he called for help.
On-site firefighters and police rushed to Chingford joined by boating gendarmerie Aix-les-Bains, Aix firefighters and the ambulance. Medicalized on site at first, she was then airlifted by helicopter Civil Security Haute-Savoie, in the Edouard Herriot Hospital in Lyon to be placed in a hyperbaric chamber.
His days are not in danger. A police investigation was opened to determine the precise causes of this accident.

 

[Martigan]

Yes, it was 6 meter: her buddy felt something was off when they were doing their 6 meter deco stop. He took charge and brought her to the surface, unconscious.

 

[Martigan]

It was a deep dive, technical. Two deco stages NX50 and NX100. It was at the last deco that she had a problem.
She is now still in the Hospital. She is not out of the wood yet. It is not clear if it is a diving and deco issue, or a health one...
No info yet.

 

[broadreach]

The divers involved are good friends and I respect their privacy, so I am rather reluctant to comment here with specific accident info. The purpose of this sub-forum however, is to learn lessons from others' misfortune, so although I am upset that my friend is fighting for her life in the hospital I still want to say a couple of things:

1. This accident happened at the very end of the dive, in very shallow water during the final ascent. Many of us let our guards down at this point in our dives. We assume that the dive is over and if we lose contact with our buddy, we assume that he/she is safe on the surface. Let this accident serve as a reminder that the dive is not over until it's over. Anything can happen at any moment. Watch out for your buddy until you are both safe out of the water.

This naturally leads to the next point:
2. Having an attentive, capable buddy on this dive saved my friend from certain death. She is still fighting for her life, but her buddy gave her this fighting chance. This reminds me to make sure that I am able to be not only attentive to my dive buddies, but also capable of performing a rescue from depth. I haven't practiced this skill in too long and this is a powerful reminder that I should practice this more often.

---------- Post added March 7th, 2014 at 02:28 PM ----------

I received news that my friend's condition is slowly improving. Nonetheless, she is still in danger and it will likely be a long, slow recovery. Fortunately, she is a very strong minded person and I am convinced that she can fight through this and recover. She most likely did not suffer from decompression sickness, but we don't really know yet what exactly caused the accident.

The dive buddy agreed to share the following details about the incident:

The dive was planned and performed to a depth of 60 meters ~ 200 feet (TX 18/38). They performed all the required decompression stops, including a deep stop at 45 meters ~ 150 feet, switch to NX50 at 21 meters ~ 70 feet and switch to Oxygen at 6 meters ~ 20 feet. The problem occurred at the end of the O2 decompression stop.

 

[broadreach]

The affected diver is well on her way to a complete recovery. She is still in the hospital, but in much better shape. If she agrees, maybe after she is released, we can get her version of the events.

The local law enforcement authorities have concluded their investigation for the cause of the accident, but did not find anything profound. One of the theories floating around is hyperoxia, but oxygen exposure was well within theoretical limits. As soon as the police releases the tanks (a matter of paperwork formality), the various gas mixtures will be re-tested and also analyzed for CO. I'm not sure where the tanks were filled, but my experience with Swiss filling stations suggest that a contaminated gas is not a very likely scenario here.

I Hope we can get some useful answers as to what caused my friend to pass out underwater, but I will not be surprised if we never find a definite answer.