Ice Diving claims two lives

[scuba_katt]

Sorry for the long post, but saw this on another dive site this morning, was wondering if anyone knew of these two men.

My condolences to their family and friends.


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"Double death under the ice"
27-January-2003 @ 11:16:14 PM
LOWDEN, Iowa — The bodies of two Quad-City area men who apparently died in an ice-diving accident were found early Sunday.

Kevin Michael Petersen, 31, and Tracy Michael Humphreys, 30, were discovered about 9:45 a.m. Sunday.

Petersen and Humphreys had planned to go ice scuba diving Saturday at Wendling Quarry, 2080 160th St., about three miles southwest of here, according to the Cedar County Sheriff’s Department. They were dropped off but did not appear when their ride came to pick them up. The driver waited for several hours for the divers, then called for help.

Emergency personnel, including the Lowden Fire Department, Cedar County Sheriff’s Department, Bettendorf Fire and Rescue, the Special Operations Response Team and Dive Operations searched the area. The divers’ personal gear and clothing were discovered near two holes cut in the ice.

Divers made several attempts late Saturday to find the two men. The search was called off about 1 a.m. Sunday because of extreme weather conditions.

The search began again at 7:30 a.m. Sunday with members of the Lowden and Wheatland fire departments and the Cedar County Sheriff’s Department. Petersen and Humphreys were found underneath the ice about 275 feet out into the quarry. They were pronounced dead at the scene by the Cedar County medical examiner’s staff. The bodies were transported to St. Luke’s Hospital in Cedar Rapids, where autopsies have been scheduled.

Mark Poulos, scuba instructor for Sentry Scuba out of Moline, is a certified ice diver and an ice diving instructor. He served as a technical adviser Saturday night at the quarry.

“Mostly your rescue people around here do the ice diving. It’s used primarily for rescue and recovery,” he said.

He said that ice diving requires special training, and death is rare if proper procedures are followed. “It is very beautiful if you do it properly. The water is clearer (during the winter) in most lakes than in the summer time. Actually, it’s warmer under the ice than it is on top. It’s at least 33 degrees under the ice, and you’re not dealing with wind chill.

Divers cut triangle-shaped holes in the ice, he said. “It’s easier to get in and out because you’ve got the point there, and you can put your hands up on the ice to help you get out. And having someone on the outside also helps you get in and out.”

With proper equipment, people can stay under about 20 or 30 minutes.

“The major problem with diving under the ice is that you have to watch for hypothermia,” Poulos said. “Hypothermia happens when the core temperature of your body dips to a point where it starts affecting your other organs. It affects your internal organs, and it can kill you. It just numbs you completely,” he said.
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I've never done anything as wild as Ice Diving. Anyone want to share their experiences? I know it would just be speculation, but what could have caused both men to have trouble?
:tribute:
Once again, my thoughts go to their loved ones.

 

[metridium]

No mention if they were using lines....

or even ice certified.

 

[scuba_katt]

that it didn't mention their qualifications....


I also found it unusual that they didn't have anyone on surface watch (or "ice watch" - I don't know what you call it when there's no surface to watch for bubbles).

I also thought it strange that their "ride" waited for several hours before getting help.

But then again, I may be naive - I'm not Ice-Specialty trained, nor am i well-informed on the subject in general.

 

[AzAtty]

The divers’ personal gear and clothing were discovered near two holes cut in the ice.

I don't know how to interpret this statement. Does that mean their DIVING equipment was found near the holes? On the ice or under the ice? If the equipment was found on top of the ice, it's possible that they never donned the gear. In that case, maybe one person slipped into the entry hole and pulled the other in with him. Or perhaps one person fell in, and the other jumped in to save him. It seems sort of implausible, but it could happen that way.

The article doesn't mention whether the bodies were found 275 feet from the entry holes, either. If the bodies were found that far from the entry point, in calm quarry waters, that wouldn't necessarily explain how the bodies moved so far from the entry point (unless they both started swimming under the ice). But maybe the divers trekked out that far on the ice to cut their entry holes. The paucity of facts in the article make it difficult to form good conclusions.

Of course, there's always the possibility of foul play, but there isn't any evidence from the article from which to draw that conclusion.

If there was an in-water problem, any of the issues relating to an overhead environment could have contributed to their deaths. It may have been a navigational issue. For instances, they may have become disoriented. They may not have marked their exit point well enough. If they were relying upon a guideline or a reel to lead them back to the entry point, maybe it became detached from an anchor point. Or maybe they weren't using a guideline.

It could have been an equipment failure like the first stage freezing up. If they did not have redundant first stages, they'd be in an air-sharing situation. Maybe they didn't have enough air to share on their way back to the exit point.

Or, like the technical advisor indicated, it could have been hypothermia. Hypothermia quickly impairs judgment, and that could have led to navigational issues such as those described above.

 

[DanL]

Don't KNOW what happened, but having just done ice dives this weekend, it seems to me that the two lost divers never had a chance.
Read another story - they were found with their scuba gear on and about 30ft apart. They had NO surface support.
So, they were probably not tethered together and probably had no lifeline back to the hole.
There was no one tending a line, keeping it taught for tug signals and ready to haul the divers in, in case of problems.
There was no one to pull them out of teh hole. Seems nearly impossible to me to get out without a LOT of help. Heavy wetsuits or drysuits and weights, combined with low dexterity due to cold and equipment make it really difficult to get out.
Without a lifeline firmly attached to a harness and a surface line tender to keep the line taught and to pull them in if necessary, they had almost no chance of getting back to their hole. You simply cannot see the hole in the ice from below given the relatively low viz in most lakes/quarries. All I've seen is a glowing circle of light above. Been within feet of the hole, and if not for the line, would never know it was there.
Seems they went under, just maybe for a short dive near the hole, thinking they could easily see it above, and then realized they couldn't see it. Probably swam around in a panic looking for the hole until the end. Very sad.

 

[djhall]

The divers’ personal gear and clothing were discovered near two holes cut in the ice.

AzAtty once bubbled...
I don't know how to interpret this statement. Does that mean their DIVING equipment was found near the holes? On the ice or under the ice? If the equipment was found on top of the ice, it's possible that they never donned the gear. In that case, maybe one person slipped into the entry hole and pulled the other in with him. Or perhaps one person fell in, and the other jumped in to save him. It seems sort of implausible, but it could happen that way.

I am fairly certain that what they mean by personal gear is the non-diving stuff, ie. bags, wallets, keys, hot coffee, etc.

 

[Big-t-2538]

Although...this may be a diver overlooking something, my thoughts and prayers go out to the family and friends. It is a loss to the diving community I hope we can all learn from...

 

[MikeFerrara]

There are rules we follow when diving in an overhead and it sounds like they broke about all of them. In recreational Ice Diving we stay within 130 feet of the hole and we are tethered to the surface and each other. The short penetration distance is consistant with the distances recommended fo cavern and "recreational" wreck diving also. Some trained cave divers do an ice dive like a cave dive. However you still have a continuouse guide line to the surface. BTW, rule number one is to have the training. We are always sad to hear of diving accidents but the fact that most (all?) are so avoidable makes me mad.

New divers need to be issued a healthy dose of respect for overhead environments from day one. New divers returning from their vacations tell me of their excursions into wrecks and coral caves following DM's all the time. When they do these dives they are breaking all 5 rules of accident analysis and are totally dependant on the DM.

Instructors,
Please show each and every one of your students the film "A Deceptively Easy Way to Die" It takes all of about 7 minutes and gets the point accross very well.

 

[O-ring]

Do you have a source for the film?

Thanks

 

[Rick Murchison]

O-ring once bubbled...
Do you have a source for the film?

Thanks

http://www.nsscds.com/bkdescrp.htm
Rick