diving accident in Anilao

[wershwie]

More than nelsondejesus' post above, it's important to mention that, in the Philippines, it's NOT common to dive without a dive master or dive guide. We're actually VERY spoiled divers. There are a few resorts that allow divers to go in without a dive master/guide as long as they have a buddy. One of which is Planet Dive. The only other resort I know and tried that does this is Dive & Trek. Otherwise most of the other resorts I've stayed at in Anilao always require divers to go in with a dive master, unless they're certified solo divers.

We've done the no-DM thing a few times, my buddies and I, but I really think that divers certified here in the Philippines can easily get in trouble if they do it on their own without that much experience in Twin Rocks (the dive site). Like I said, the currents over the weekend were nice enough for a gentle drift dive, but for relatively new divers, that would've been a hell of a ride. If it was true that they were doing an intro dive, though, then they definitely should have had a dive master. I wonder how true that rumor was.

 

[ruffybiazon]

This tragic accident should be throughly investigated, for the sake off those who dive in Anilao, particularly that site.

I dive in Twin Rocks and don't find it to be a particularly difficult site. I've had several friends who did discovery dives in that site. My own kid and his cousins did their check out dive there.

It's been mentioned that the two divers might have been newbies, which possibly could be an explanation to what happened. I did my own research (by simply googling the names of the deceased, and it appears that they, or at least the man, was not a newbie.

The man was obviously in good physical shape. Apart from being policeman, he apparently is into mountain climbing, cycling, marathons and yes, diving. I found a link to his Multiply site where he posted photos of his dives in Anilao, Fortune Island, and even Malaysia. There's one photo album titled "Boracay Diving Course September 2005", which would mean that he's been diving at least five years. The link to his site is zaldy's Site

As for the woman, I found links to her twitter account which make appear that she's into diving as well. She had a tweet dated Sept. 9, 2010 which said "Wants a Suunto D6" and another tweet dated Mar. 27, 2011 saying "I should be diving.." . Of course, this isn't conclusive proof that she is an experienced diver. But it shows that she is already into diving or at least very interested in diving. That is relevant in determining her mindset as she entered the water that fateful day.

Going back to the necessity of finding out what happened, knowing that they were not a pair of newbies who recklessly went into the water by themselves could help lead the investigation to the proper direction. It goes into the question of the role of dive resorts in carrying out measures and policies which enforce safety of divers. It could help determine if there are certain conditions in that site that divers should know about in order to avoid or prevent such mishaps.

 

[CUTEBALDDIVER]

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[Matthew]

I'm not familiar with this area, and wonder why the fact that the two people were diving without a guide was worthy of mention? Is this a particularly dangerous or tricky area, or a place where you need to know something they wouldn't have known, to dive safely?

(I ask this because there are sites in my locale where, if you get in the water at the wrong time, you could quickly be in a world of hurt.)

Twin rocks is but a slope. It is true that the current can be tricky at times (though manageable), especially the strong ebb current mentioned by nelsondejesus, which can sweep a diver into the deep blue if he is not constantly aware of his surroundings. It is common for unfamiliar divers to get blown off the site and away from the exit point but, IMO, the current by itself is not likely to kill a diver, much less 2, who has/have been properly taught only the very basic OW diving skills and procedures.

There seems to be a notion that diving without a DM is unsafe. This may be true in some cases, possibly including the subject accident, but to me, one who automatically assumes this to be the cause even before the divers' background and the circumstances of the dive are determined, ignores more important questions, such as "Are they qualified to dive twin rocks?" or even simply "Are they qualified to dive?" I believe there is a sequence of events that has to happen before "one hell of a ride" deteriorates into a tragedy like this. I hope we can find out what those events are. Then we can argue whether or not getting a DM is the best way to address the problem.

 

[Matthew]

Per a forwarded text message last night, the source of which seem to be reliable, the 2nd body was found "lying facedown, tank with 2000 PSI, computer reading error/alarm, all equipment working, no air in BC, reg off his mouth."

 

[melissawest]

this is a sad news But this wouldn't stop me from diving in twin rocks this weekend Let's all be S.A.F.E divers

 

[boljakool]

Per a forwarded text message last night, the source of which seem to be reliable, the 2nd body was found "lying facedown, tank with 2000 PSI, computer reading error/alarm, all equipment working, no air in BC, reg off his mouth."

I would appear like Zaldy attempted to slow down Midori's ascent and stabilize her. According to some witnesses, they saw both divers surfacing then the guy sunk back and never to re-surface. I have learned from an instructor friend that Zaldy is about to start his Rescue course. He has many logged dives (we can see from his Multiply page) and is a very good diver. He must have attempted to help Midori, but since her BCD was inflated both of them went up at a fast rate. They could have both passed out at the surface. Now since Zaldy could have been trying to control their ascent, he did not inflate his BCD, and this is why he sunk back to the bottom after surfacing. We may not know what caused the fast ascent. But this accident is surely a sad news to hear.

My prayers for both their soul and sympathy to their families.

 

[wershwie]

Ah, that's definitely one theory. I was wondering about whether the officer made it to the surface at all, because my initial theory was something random happened to the officer (i.e. spasm, heart attack, stroke, seizure, etc.) and the less experienced female buddy didn't know how to handle it. She may have rushed up to the surface to find help without considering the consequences of her swim, and that gave her DCS which eventually led to her demise at the surface.

I hate to say this, but noone is ever safe in any dive. And, at the end of the day, we are all responsible for ourselves. However, no matter how safe we try to be, there are some random attacks that happen to the healthiest of athletes, and right now that's what I believe happened.

Details from one of the divers who helped in the rescue mission:
1. Officer had about 70 dives, and was very familiar with Twin Rocks.
2. Female buddy was AOW certified, albeit just 13 dives.
3. Current, that day in particular, was stronger than usual, but is not strong enough to be disturbing. For the more experienced divers, it was probably good for a gentle drift dive. (I was diving in Anilao that same weekend and can attest to this, even diving at Twin Rocks after the officer's body was recoveredd)
4. Female buddy was found unconscious at the surface about 30m from the shore after their afternoon dive. Her dive comp logged max depth at 28m, but what also got their attention was that she ascended real quick from 18m to 0m. She still had 1500-1800psi of air in her tank. The divers tried to revive her and rushed her to the hospital, but she didn't make it.
5. Officer still had 2000psi of air in his tank when he was found near the sunken outrigger boat along Twin Rocks the next day. The rescue divers weren't able to secure his dive comp before his body was taken by the police.

In other discussions there was a theory that they were probably doing their deco stop when a down current hit them and made them panic. However, there was no mention of an obvious deco stop based on the female buddy's dive comp, and a down draft from a safety stop would've been glaringly obvious through her dive profile. They both still had more than half their tanks filled with air, too, so the deco stop theory doesn't quite fit well.

If they were both found at the surface at one point, then they could have indeed passed out at the same time due to DCS, and that the officer sunk back underwater. The error reading on the officer's dive comp may hep confirm this as he would have shot up and descended too quick for all standards versus the female buddy's dive comp that was still working.

Unfortunate and tragic as this was, I hope we do get all the answers so we can learn from the incident.

 

[Matthew]

The random attack theory makes the most sense to me as well. Having that much air in their tanks suggests that they did not, or were unable to do much to resolve the problem and to rescue themselves. Whatever happened, they never had a chance.

Regarding the form of DCS that could have caused them to pass out, correct me if I'm wrong, I don't believe that a fast ascent from 18m after a short dive (2000 and 1800 left in tanks) to 28m is likely to bend 2 divers quickly and severely enough to instantly render them unconscious and/or debilitated enough to be unable to establish positive buoyancy at the surface and keep the regulator in the mouth. It is more likely that he/she/they suffered AGE from ascending with closed airway/s. But then again it seems unlikely for the experienced guy with 70 dives to hold his breath while ascending, even if stressed.

As to the error reading on the policeman's computer, it is obviously because of being at depth overnight. I hope they can still retrieve the dive profile.

Now a suicide pact theory suggested earlier by a PPD elder doesn't seem too far-fetched to me. I do hope we get more answers.

 

[Joe Cool]

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