Four commercial divers killed near Mexico City

[BladesRobinson]

4 Divers Die While Doing Maintenance Work on Valley of Mexico Water System
Investigation opened by Attorney General's Office


MEXICO CITY -- Four Mexican divers employed by a private firm died on the weekend while performing maintenance on this capital's water infrastructure, the Mexico state Attorney General's Office announced Sunday.

A spokesman for the state AG's office told Efe that an investigation had been opened into the incident to determine why the men died while they were working on an underground pipe 1.4 kilometers (0.87 miles) long.

On Sunday morning, after on Saturday beginning the search for the four divers in the Cutzamala System that carries water to the Mexican capital, the bodies of three of them were found beneath the town of Almoloya de Juarez, and a few hours later the body of the fourth member of the dive team was found.

The state AG's office identified three of the men as Juan Escaamal Llang, 36, Cayetano Cordoba, 43, and Manolo Diaz, 45.

The group, who worked for the company Buzos Especializados Industriales, based in the southeastern state of Tabasco, had been working since Friday on the water system's Well No. 5.

Drinking water is supplied via a system of 150 kilometers (93 miles) of Cutzamala System canals and pipes, which began operating in 1982, to more than five million residents in the Valley of Mexico, where the capital is located and which is one of the most densely populated areas in the country. EFE


http://www.diverescueintl.com/

 

[Rick Murchison]

I hate these... almost always, it's "Valve xyz, which should have been tagged OUT, wasn't."
Hate it.
Rick

 

[widget]

I dont quite understand this scenario. As a commercial diver of 20 years experience I have worked on underwater (but never underground) pipe systems, but this dos not make sense.

Could someone maybe explain to me how this pipe system works, info is a bit scetchy on the copy (actually non-existant), but I am assuming the divers were unable to return to the entry / exit point for some reason, is it possible they were sealed off by a valve been closed, or is it possible they could get lost - not knowing the system its difficult to understand, but it sounds like a terrible lapse of surface controls.

 

[JohnsIsland]

Rick,

It is tough when the cause was failure to lock out a valve. I don't know if the fact the deaths were preventable or lack of care when people don't lock out, but failure to lock out frustrates me.

I live an hour from the Roza irrigation siphon that claimed the lives of four in 1997. Thinking about these situations, I realized my frustration level when confined space rescue crews die is even higher than when someone fails to lock out and they die. This scenario is what happened at Roza. Two divers go in. Close to an hour later, whent he first two divers have not returned, they dispatch a rescue crew. Rescue crew rushes into the situation, and they die. Really frustrating and sad. And unessecary. By the time the rescue crew went it, it should have been a recovery mission.

Jeff

 

[Zinc]

 

[james croft]

That is why a don't do that kind of diving where there are pressure differentials. As I diver I am always getting requests to go change or repair a valve, gate or remove debris at an overflow. Things can go wrong in a blink of an eye. Without all the safety protocols present it will be the last job you will ever do.

 

[Wayan]

Accidents like these should not happen. It is very prudent and important to have a good surface team / coordinator to ensure that all valves are locked out and no one is able to open / operate.

 

[Rick Murchison]

I hate these... almost always, it's "Valve xyz, which should have been tagged OUT, wasn't."
Hate it.
Rick

Hey gang, I'm not saying I know what happened here... I'm just saying that most of the time it's some valve getting messed with that shouldn't be messed with, and, when that happens, most of the time it's because some vialve was overlooked in the tag-out.
If anyone knows for sure what actually happened to these four unfortunate fellows I haven't heard yet.
Rick