Fantasy Island Roatan Accident March 09

[divingsteve]

I was at Cocoview March 7-14, 2009 and heard other divers talking about an accident at Fantasy Island where a male diver in his early 50's may have had a heart attack at the surface. By the time I got to the airport I had heard several different stories. Does anyone have first hand information on what did happen and if it could have been avoided?

 

[ScubaSteve]

Well let's hope that in this case (2 days with no reply), no news is in fact good news.

 

[sub_diving_mason]

There was an accident, I was the trip lead with the diver that was involved. It was, in fact a fatality. I do not want to speculate of the cause of death since it might still be under investigation, but the outcome of the autopsy ruled the death a drowning.

 

[ScubaSteve]

After noon...check. I am sorry to hear that Harry. It is always terrible to lose one of our own.

 

[coryedwards]

All Concerned,
It was my husband, John, who died. The autopsy ruled it a drowning. His heart was fine. We were diving with Nitrox. We were on the surface swimming to the dive boat. My husband called me and said he needed my oxygen (was he disoriented???) I gave him my octo, we made it to the boat, he was taking off his fins to get in when his eyes rolled back in his head and he stopped breathing....

Was the nitrox mix off???? Can that cause confusion and disorientation??
I have received no notification of an on-going investigation.

My concern now is with the safety at Fantasy Island. The boat driver was not equipped to help me get John back in the boat. He did not know CPR. He did not know where the first aid kit was nor how to use any of the equipment in the kit.

Our trip leader was exceptional. He performed CPR on John the entire way back to the dock until a doctor was found.

Stay safe! Hi Harry!!

 

[tlt]

I am very sorry to hear about this and for your loss. I assume that you will need full tox and blood work, etc. done in order to further narrow things down. That being specifically aimed at your question about Nitrox contributing in some way. If you can you might try to post details on the dive, ie: anything that you can get, start pressure, end pressure, depth, duration, temperature, etc. I am sure someone who was there will end up posting something as well.

Sorry for your loss, I agree, that a commercial operation nothaving anything for first aid, training, etc. is not very smart, I thank John very much for his valiant efforts. Before long, lots of folks with great experience and knowledge for exceeding mine can pipe in and analyze the facts.

condolences

 

[dmoore19]

I am sorry for your loss. I am headed to Roatan the day after Christmas. I am curious if the lack of 1st aid and CPR training is common in this part of the world.

 

[Mawg]

I am sorry for your loss. I am headed to Roatan the day after Christmas. I am curious if the lack of 1st aid and CPR training is common in this part of the world.

We were there in !995, first time and last. Stayed at Fantasy Island. What a joke. Had to tote our own water to make toilets flush. A.C., main reason we stayed there, only worked half the time. We were there in June and it was hot. Dive Operation was THE worst I had ever encountered. Tanks were routinely filled to about 2500. Lots of O rings leaking. Dive Master, what a loser, would show up drunk or so hung over he would collapse in the bow of the boat. But not before announcing " The pool is open. Swim out 1000 meters that way then swim back to the boat." The reefs they took us to were not the ones we had heard about or researched. They were too far away. The ones we went to were barren . I saw one large fish the whole time we were there. It was a grouper, about 20 pounds and as soon as he saw us, he headed for deep water.

 

[d_lafleur]

I am sorry for your loss. I am headed to Roatan the day after Christmas. I am curious if the lack of 1st aid and CPR training is common in this part of the world.

I didnt check the CPR cards for the DMs or Skippers @ CocoView, which is practically across the channel from FI, however the crew I dove with seemed to have their act together. We, regardless of level of cert. were all required to do a "check out" dive before being allowed to dive.

This being said, I dont believe all of Roatan's Dive Ops are the same.


Coryedwards, I am truly sorry for your loss.

Has anyone tested his gear (regulator) since??? Seawater or secondary drowning??
We all try to learn from these.

 

[d_lafleur]

We were there in !995, first time and last. Stayed at Fantasy Island. What a joke. Had to tote our own water to make toilets flush. A.C., main reason we stayed there, only worked half the time. We were there in June and it was hot. Dive Operation was THE worst I had ever encountered. Tanks were routinely filled to about 2500. Lots of O rings leaking. Dive Master, what a loser, would show up drunk or so hung over he would collapse in the bow of the boat. But not before announcing " The pool is open. Swim out 1000 meters that way then swim back to the boat." The reefs they took us to were not the ones we had heard about or researched. They were too far away. The ones we went to were barren . I saw one large fish the whole time we were there. It was a grouper, about 20 pounds and as soon as he saw us, he headed for deep water.

1995 was a long time ago, things do change. Despite your frustration on that trip, due to the time since, I dont believe this is relevant.