vjongene
Contributor
Date: Sep 24, 2020, about 7 am
Location: Rosalie Moller wreck, north of Hurghada, Egypt
The 100 m long Rosalie Moller wrecks rests upright on a bottom of 50-55m. A typical dive visits the deck and superstructures, and some of the coal holds, at depths of 30-35 m. Visibility is rather poor for the Red Sea, about 10 m. Almost no current during the dive, but windy and choppy at the surface.
Briefing: there was a thorough briefing before the dive. The dive guide stressed that this was a deep dive, and required careful planning and monitoring of dive parameters. Less experienced divers should stay within NDL, those qualified to do deco dives should not exceed 15 min ascent time as indicated by their computers. The ascent should be started with a tank pressure of >80 bar. Everyone was diving on Nitrox 28. Each buddy team was to deploy an SMB during their safety stop to show the RIB where to pick them up.
Victim (D.): 60 year old female, in good physical shape, PADI Advanced Diver with Deep specialty and 200 dives experience. She was somewhat apprehensive before the dive, as she was using a borrowed computer she didn't know that well and was concerned about holding potential deco and safety stops. She was also over-weighted, owing to her concerns about not ascending in an uncontrolled fashion.
Buddy (K.): 30-ish male, physically fit, PADI Advanced diver with about 50 dives' experience. Somewhat overconfident, and not always disciplined. He and the victim had been buddied up for the duration of the five-day dive trip, and this was Day 4 of the trip.
There were three other divers in the group, an experienced couple in their sixties and myself (DM, >1200 dives). We were keeping an eye on each other, but I was buddied up with the couple.
The dive: after a 10 min bumpy ride in a RIB, our group was dropped off above the wreck. One of the dive guides had tied an SMB to the wreck to provide a visual descent line. We regrouped and went to the stern, staying between 30 and 34 m. I dropped down for a quick look at the screw, and rejoined them on the deck. We then moved towards the bow. 17 min into the dive, D. and K. signaled that they wanted to ascend. D. had 90 bar left in her tank, K. had 70. They were both within NDL. We (my buddy team) decided to stay down a bit longer, as we still had plenty of air and were used to deco diving. We ascended at 25 min into the dive and took 15 min to make our ascent with deep, deco and safety stops. When we got to the RIB we saw that only K. had made it, and that D. was missing. Everyone was looking for her, as K. had lost her during their ascent. Once everyone else was accounted for the RIBs spent about 45 min looking for her at the surface.
The accident: there was only one witness to the actual accident, K. His dive log (profile) corroborates his account. When they reached a depth of about 20 m, D. signaled a cramp in her leg. K. intervened with the standard cramp relief maneuver. Apparently one of D's weight pockets was dislodged on the process and fell out. She dove after it, presumably worried that she would not be able to control her ascent. K. tried to stop her, but was too short on air to go after her. He managed to make it to the surface after a reasonably controlled ascent, but with an almost empty tank. D. never came up. The dive guides found her about an hour later, laying on the bottom (50-55m) next to her lost weight pocket. She was still negatively buoyant.
I will not comment further, I am sure there will be plenty on the forum. Do not ask for names, even of the boat.
Location: Rosalie Moller wreck, north of Hurghada, Egypt
The 100 m long Rosalie Moller wrecks rests upright on a bottom of 50-55m. A typical dive visits the deck and superstructures, and some of the coal holds, at depths of 30-35 m. Visibility is rather poor for the Red Sea, about 10 m. Almost no current during the dive, but windy and choppy at the surface.
Briefing: there was a thorough briefing before the dive. The dive guide stressed that this was a deep dive, and required careful planning and monitoring of dive parameters. Less experienced divers should stay within NDL, those qualified to do deco dives should not exceed 15 min ascent time as indicated by their computers. The ascent should be started with a tank pressure of >80 bar. Everyone was diving on Nitrox 28. Each buddy team was to deploy an SMB during their safety stop to show the RIB where to pick them up.
Victim (D.): 60 year old female, in good physical shape, PADI Advanced Diver with Deep specialty and 200 dives experience. She was somewhat apprehensive before the dive, as she was using a borrowed computer she didn't know that well and was concerned about holding potential deco and safety stops. She was also over-weighted, owing to her concerns about not ascending in an uncontrolled fashion.
Buddy (K.): 30-ish male, physically fit, PADI Advanced diver with about 50 dives' experience. Somewhat overconfident, and not always disciplined. He and the victim had been buddied up for the duration of the five-day dive trip, and this was Day 4 of the trip.
There were three other divers in the group, an experienced couple in their sixties and myself (DM, >1200 dives). We were keeping an eye on each other, but I was buddied up with the couple.
The dive: after a 10 min bumpy ride in a RIB, our group was dropped off above the wreck. One of the dive guides had tied an SMB to the wreck to provide a visual descent line. We regrouped and went to the stern, staying between 30 and 34 m. I dropped down for a quick look at the screw, and rejoined them on the deck. We then moved towards the bow. 17 min into the dive, D. and K. signaled that they wanted to ascend. D. had 90 bar left in her tank, K. had 70. They were both within NDL. We (my buddy team) decided to stay down a bit longer, as we still had plenty of air and were used to deco diving. We ascended at 25 min into the dive and took 15 min to make our ascent with deep, deco and safety stops. When we got to the RIB we saw that only K. had made it, and that D. was missing. Everyone was looking for her, as K. had lost her during their ascent. Once everyone else was accounted for the RIBs spent about 45 min looking for her at the surface.
The accident: there was only one witness to the actual accident, K. His dive log (profile) corroborates his account. When they reached a depth of about 20 m, D. signaled a cramp in her leg. K. intervened with the standard cramp relief maneuver. Apparently one of D's weight pockets was dislodged on the process and fell out. She dove after it, presumably worried that she would not be able to control her ascent. K. tried to stop her, but was too short on air to go after her. He managed to make it to the surface after a reasonably controlled ascent, but with an almost empty tank. D. never came up. The dive guides found her about an hour later, laying on the bottom (50-55m) next to her lost weight pocket. She was still negatively buoyant.
I will not comment further, I am sure there will be plenty on the forum. Do not ask for names, even of the boat.
