Florida: Diver found dead in Estero pond

Please register or login

Welcome to ScubaBoard, the world's largest scuba diving community. Registration is not required to read the forums, but we encourage you to join. Joining has its benefits and enables you to participate in the discussions.

Benefits of registering include

  • Ability to post and comment on topics and discussions.
  • A Free photo gallery to share your dive photos with the world.
  • You can make this box go away

Joining is quick and easy. Log in or Register now!

I still don't think this is a typical dive related incident.

It sounds to me more like someone at work using equipment not trained to use and a death resulting in that.

I think you can just start a thread saying "ditch your weights in an emergency" and not attach this article to it.

Only my opinions though of course.
 
I agree. I am a newbie and I always get the rolling eyes when I want to check my (experienced) buddy's gear. I am not a rescue diver (yet). I check them anyway....
 
This was a commercial dive, and OSHA regulations were ignored
 
I agree. I am a newbie and I always get the rolling eyes when I want to check my (experienced) buddy's gear. I am not a rescue diver (yet). I check them anyway....

If I were you, I'd have a serious talk with your buddy or find a new one. If your buddy is that opposed to making sure everything is in working order and where it's supposed to be, how can you count on them in an emergency?
 
If I were you, I'd have a serious talk with your buddy or find a new one. If your buddy is that opposed to making sure everything is in working order and where it's supposed to be, how can you count on them in an emergency?
A good one would appreciate the safe approach.
 
After being a regular reader of this webite for two years it seems the most common theme in most of the deaths is "diver was found with weight belt on".

Probably because it's a good idea to keep your weight belt on when diving.

Most fatalities also occur with gas still in the divers tanks. Removing that gas will not help avoid the accident.
 
After being a regular reader of this webite for two years it seems the most common theme in most of the deaths is "diver was found with weight belt on".
Truly, many accidents end fatally because the diver in distress failed to dump weights in an emergency. My home bud and I drill on that first dive of any trip - practice dive trip or real one, but the first time I reached, I did fumble finding the release. :shocked2:
Probably because it's a good idea to keep your weight belt on when diving.

Most fatalities also occur with gas still in the divers tanks. Removing that gas will not help avoid the accident.
:idk:
 
I have yet to see the followup on this, but likely it was a medical emergency.
 
Update from Estero worker’s drowning was accidental, report says | The News-Press | news-press.com

Not that it actually tells what happened....
The employee of a company hired to survey erosion along a lake inside the Stoneybrook Golf and Country Club community died from an accidental drowning, according to a Lee County Medical Examiner report.

The report, released June 6, states that Hugo Soto-Catalan, 29, of Estero, drowned while scuba diving in the lake April 21.

The autopsy showed that while mud was found inside his mouth and tracheobronchial tree, it did not appear to interfere with his breathing. The report states that pulmonary congestion and mild cerebral edema — both associated with drowning — caused his death.

No drugs or alcohol were found in his system, according to toxicology reports.

Shortly after Soto-Catalan’s body was pulled from the lake, the Lee County Sheriff’s Office ruled his death an accidental drowning.

He was working for the Fort Lauderdale company — Erosion Barrier Installations — at the time of his death. That company remains under investigation by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

Because OSHA has an open investigation into Soto-Catalan’s death, Les Grove, OSHA’s area director, would not comment on the case.

“We have six months to complete our investigation,” Grove said Friday. “Statutes require investigations to be completed within six months of the (accident).”

OSHA, which aims to reduce workplace injuries and fatalities, can pursue criminal misdemeanor penalties when a willful violation of an OSHA standard results in a worker’s death.

The maximum penalty is six months in jail.
 
There was mention of water mocassins in the OP, is it possible he was signalling distress due to snakebite?
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/teric/

Back
Top Bottom