Fatality in Rockport, Ontario - 4/Feb/2006

[vkalia]

There is no question that this accident was preventable if the victim had just done what he was trained to do. That's a good lesson. No need to speculate any further.

I disagree.

If it was diver error [overweighted + failure to watch air = cannot surface] that was the *primary* cause (as opposed to contributory/make-things-worse cause), that's one thing - then you are right, there are enough lessons to be learned.

But I'm interested to know if there was a physiological reason that might have led to this: was he diving nitrox & if so, what blend? Did he have any medical conditions? After all, if his gear was leaking, it is possible OOA wasnt the cause of death and the tank emptied *after* his demise.

Vandit

 

[DandyDon]

For any who have not dived the area, the reason for the underwater approach along a line, rather than a surface swim then down, is probably because of the boat and barge traffic as well as river current.

I think that Floater is trying to suggest with his speculations only learning from this death so that we don't have to repeat it someday. It might have been better to "dump his weights, inflate his bc and drysuit and make a direct ascent to the surface when he realized that he didn't have enough gas to make the 20 min swim at depth." Indeed.

There is no question that this accident was preventable if the victim had just done what he was trained to do. That's a good lesson. No need to speculate any further.

Agreed... Although it would be nice to find out exactly what happened we probably never will. Theres no use critisizing the victim nor the rescuers as they did a great job. They helped the victim as much as they could without putting themselves in danger. My condolences to the family

Agreed! No need to criticize anyone, and I don't think any of us mean to criticize the victim, buddy, or rescuers. We seek only to learn from the death so as to prevent others.

I've always carried a pocket mask in my bag, and now after reading the Rescue book this week, will start carrying it in my BC pocket. One extra lesson I would agree to learn here is when finding a body in the water, if you don't know how long it's been down, and/or the water is cold - try reviving. May not help, but wouldn't hurt.

Again - not a criticism: A suggestion that we might want to keep for the future.

In that vein, equipment would be removed to aid in the attempt to revive, but the tank valve would go untouched for the authorities. But for all I know, the rescuer might be an authority...??

 

[thefrog]

I have read this post from start to finish and have learned a valuable lesson. I am from Rockport and a diver and was at the waterfront taking some pictures for friends in the Philippines. I observed their equipment and asked their dive plan . I have now kicked myself so many times for not recommending that they abort their plan of that dive. Hindsight is 20/20 but in the future I will tackfully voise my opinion based on my skills and local conditions at the time.
My heartfelt sympathy goes out to all involved.

 

[grf88]

I have read this post from start to finish and have learned a valuable lesson. I am from Rockport and a diver and was at the waterfront taking some pictures for friends in the Philippines. I observed their equipment and asked their dive plan . I have now kicked myself so many times for not recommending that they abort their plan of that dive. Hindsight is 20/20 but in the future I will tackfully voise my opinion based on my skills and local conditions at the time.
My heartfelt sympathy goes out to all involved.

Although their plan was not really workable there is no ice cover this year and it is not an overhead dive. It could have been aborted at any time with the only penalty being a long surface swim. The difficulties that lead to the tragedy are not known and could possibly have just as easily occurred if they had decided to dive the wall or conducted practice close to shore. If you had of talked them out of a trip to the Kinghorn and they decided to do the wall instead with the same outcome you would probably be feeling even worse now.

Glenn

 

[hnladue]

These guys did a perfect job considering the conditions they had to deal with. I am familar with that area and that dive site. If it were me that had a problem, I could only hope someone like these guys were around to help-but I wouldn't be shore diving to the Kinghorn on a single either! We can play 'What If' until we are blue in the face. Please remember, someone lost their life and a couple guys here will never forget what they saw. Thanks for bringing him home, JJ and AF!

 

[Cacia]

generically speaking, Heart attack is the most probable cause of divers dying in situations where they are exerting themselves, physically.

Darkstar I think summarized very well.

 

[darkstar]

For any who have not dived the area, the reason for the underwater approach along a line, rather than a surface swim then down, is probably because of the boat and barge traffic as well as river current.

Just a point of clarity about the site. It is normally an overhead environment this time of year because of ice, but this year the site is open. In summer, there is a lot of boat traffic (tourist ferry's and power boats, but no barges), but there is little if any boat traffic this time of year. The current is such that you can surface and swim to shore downstream.

 

[ParamedicDiver1]

Just some food for thought:

Brain death and permanent death start to occur in just 4 to 6 minutes after someone experiences cardiac arrest. Cardiac arrest can be reversed if it's treated within a few minutes with an electric shock to the heart to restore a normal heartbeat. This process is called defibrillation. A victim's chances of survival are reduced by 7 to 10 percent with every minute that passes without defibrillation. Few attempts at resuscitation succeed after 10 minutes. (http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=4481)

Now this was a cold water drowning to a point. But it was different than say Joe Smith who was walking on a bridge and fell in wearing jeans a shirt and coat. This was a Diver in a dry suit, that is designed to limit or better, slow down the effects of cold water. I would not have a hard time believing this divers core temp was above what would be considered severe or even moderate hypothermia...just a hypothesis. And no one can say what they would or would not do until you are there...knee deep in it.

I think the bottom line would be that any resisitation efforts would have been in vain, although trying to do it would not have been wrong either. However, if no efforts are made, then once the body is on the surface and on shore, don't touch anything. I do not support the idea of leaving the body where it was, it is not a traditional crime scene, and I seriously doubt any law enforcement officials would object to bringing the body to the shore.

 

[DeepSeaDan]

Scott....

I agree with your assessment; however, it is important to remember that unless cardiac arrest is witnessed & a timeline established, there is no knowing when, exactly, cardiac arrest occurred, thus we default to rescue / resucitative measures as an assurance that all that could be done, is done.

Regards,
D.S.D.

 

[DandyDon]

Just a point of clarity about the site. It is normally an overhead environment this time of year because of ice, but this year the site is open. In summer, there is a lot of boat traffic (tourist ferry's and power boats, but no barges), but there is little if any boat traffic this time of year. The current is such that you can surface and swim to shore downstream.

Thanks for the correction. I take it that one would still not do a surface swim to it then drop down, tho, because of river current?