Diver sucked into nuclear power plant cooling system

[kelemvor]

Scuba diver Christopher Le Cun sucked in to nuclear plant water pipe files suit against Florida Power and Light

On July 12, 2015, Le Cun says he was enjoying a day of boating and scuba diving with his family and friends off the coast of Hutchinson Island.

"We were going from rock pile to rock pile and we saw a yellow buoy," said Le Cun.

The buoy marks three massive submerged structures, so large their silhouettes can be seen from hundreds of feet above.

"Did you have any idea what they were?" NewsChannel 5's Jared Werksma asked. "No, no clue, it actually was amazing to see," said Robert Blake.

Best friends since high school, Blake and Christopher tied their boat to the buoy and dove in to check out what was beneath while their families stayed behind on the boat.

"Were there any warnings posted anywhere?" Werksma asked.

"Nowhere, there was no warnings whatsoever," said Le Cun.

In the video (at about 4:00), it appears to show Captain Sl8r's boat, Kalyami. Kyalami Jupiter FL Dive Boat - Jupiter Scuba Diving They're a regular op in that area, certainly the divers must have planned to dive there specifically, and probably got some kind of warning from sl8r. Maybe he will comment?

 

[JohnnyC]

Delta p strikes again!

 

[Ghetto Diver]

Oh, yeah, no warnings....hmmm, wth does a yellow buoy mean again?

 

[teknitroxdiver]

That must have been a heck of a ride.

I'm not sure how accurate the Apple Maps scale is at close ranges but it shows the buoy is over 150' away from the actual intakes in this photo. Doesn't make the guy any less of a bonehead, though.

 

[Ghetto Diver]

These things own that center structure btw...

 

[wetb4igetinthewater]

Face palm. I wish stupid people would be held accountable.

 

[sheeper]

Scuba diver Christopher Le Cun sucked in to nuclear plant water pipe files suit against Florida Power and Light




In the video (at about 4:00), it appears to show Captain Sl8r's boat, Kalyami. Kyalami Jupiter FL Dive Boat - Jupiter Scuba Diving They're a regular op in that area, certainly the divers must have planned to dive there specifically, and probably got some kind of warning from sl8r. Maybe he will comment?

uh...that is nowhere near where Sl8r operates. this is up in St Lucie County. i've been there many times. pretty much have to intentionally do this to yourself....

 

[Chavodel8en]

Just an aside - the opposite (coolant exhaust pipe v intake pipe) happened to me, due mainly to my own stupidity, although I could see someone suing if they were somehow injured.

I (a tourist) was diving at Electric Beach in Oahu - so named bc of the nearby power plant.

I had read on the online guides to stay away from the front of the water exhaust pipes.

My local buddy had warned me first via email to "stay away from the front of the pipes" and then on-site had pointed out the gurgling water you could see from the surface.

Well once I got to looking at all the pretty fishes I spaced out. I thought my buddy signaling me (so my 4th warning) was merely pointing out a cool fish or something. So I swam right in front and was shot out suddenly probably ten to twenty yards, tumbling all along. Luckily no damage and actually kind of fun.

I didn't see any warning signs on the beach or on the pipes whatsoever. The reason I ignored the other warnings is because I only saw concrete blocks, which I didn't realize housed the pipes (I was on the lookout for long cylindrical pipes, but saw none - whoops). I didn't realize that by turning the corner on one of these square blocks I would be swimming into the exhaust.

Very busy dive site. No signs I believe (may have overlooked one on the beach). I could see someone losing a reg, or surfacing unexpectedly and rapidly and getting injured. The electric company may want to put up a sign, to guard against morons like me.

 

[mmmbelows]

Just a warning, but for people who want to keep expanding the responsibilities of the utility owners with complaints because they can't use reasonable caution and common sense the end results usually is a total banning of the public use from the entire area. Eventually access to the entire area is fenced off and big no trespassing signs are installed and then of course the next complaint is why the hell did they do that!!!

A lot of 'wild' places start off wild, the public good needs use of them for producing power or something, they try to make a small impact by allowing public access and put up a few signs, everything is good for decades, then somebody hurts themselves and looks for a scape goat, then fencing off and public banning becomes the only possible result and your 'wild' place becomes a story you tell to people, 'back when I was a kid, we use to jump off that cliff over there, skinny dip with the girls, drink beer and party, now the power company won't let you kids in there anymore'

 

[teknitroxdiver]

Just an aside - the opposite (coolant exhaust pipe v intake pipe) happened to me, due mainly to my own stupidity, although I could see someone suing if they were somehow injured.

I (a tourist) was diving at Electric Beach in Oahu - so named bc of the nearby power plant.

I had read on the online guides to stay away from the front of the water exhaust pipes.

My local buddy had warned me first via email to "stay away from the front of the pipes" and then on-site had pointed out the gurgling water you could see from the surface.

Well once I got to looking at all the pretty fishes I spaced out. I thought my buddy signaling me (so my 4th warning) was merely pointing out a cool fish or something. So I swam right in front and was shot out suddenly probably ten to twenty yards, tumbling all along. Luckily no damage and actually kind of fun.

I didn't see any warning signs on the beach or on the pipes whatsoever. The reason I ignored the other warnings is because I only saw concrete blocks, which I didn't realize housed the pipes (I was on the lookout for long cylindrical pipes, but saw none - whoops). I didn't realize that by turning the corner on one of these square blocks I would be swimming into the exhaust.

Very busy dive site. No signs I believe (may have overlooked one on the beach). I could see someone losing a reg, or surfacing unexpectedly and rapidly and getting injured. The electric company may want to put up a sign, to guard against morons like me.

So, you read about it online. Your buddy warned you, and visually showed you the danger zone. And underwater you come across the only man-made structure around and STILL don't guess what it might be? I don't think a sign on the beach is going to help you one bit.

It actually looks like a fun ride based on the many YouTube videos of it.