Instructor removed unresponsive from pool - Queensland, Australia

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DandyDon

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One kilometer high on the Texas Central Plains
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Got over the paywall with a nice ladder...

Man fighting for life after being pulled from Tobruk Pool

GRAVE fears remain for a man who was pulled unresponsive from a Townsville pool on Saturday afternoon, as he remains in a critical condition in hospital.

The 29-year-old dive instructor was pulled from the water at a local public pool on Saturday afternoon.

Emergency services were called to the Tobruk Pool at The Strand at 1.20pm on Saturday on reports a man – who had been involved in a diving course at the pool – was under the water.

Initial reports indicated the man had taken off his air tank, and had been practising freediving in the pool before another person noticed he remained underwater and raised the alarm.

It is believed the man was conducting a diving class at the time of the incident.
When the man was pulled from the water, he was reported to be unconscious and not breathing.

Townsville Police District Duty Officer Senior Sergeant Matt Lyons said a doctor at the pool began CPR on the man before paramedics arrived.

According to Sergeant Lyons, first responders spent about 40 minutes doing CPR on the scene until the man was transported to Townsville University Hospital in a critical condition.

At the time, a spokeswoman for the hospital said the man was on life support.

On Sunday night, a Townsville Hospital and Health Service spokeswoman told the Bulletin that the man remained in a “critical” condition, but could not provide any further details.

Sergeant Lyons said officers from the Forensic Crash Unit and WorkSafe were investigating the circumstances of the incident.
 

Townsville Diver Dies Following Diving Accident At Local Pool​

After four days on life support​


Townsville Diver Dies Following Diving Accident At Local Pool.
A Townsville diver has died four days after being dragged from a pool unconscious after practicing free diving.

Emergency services arrived on the scene where they performed CPR for around 40 minutes at the Tobruk local pool on Saturday.

Upon arrival, emergency services found the man unconscious and not breathing.

The 29-year-old was then transported to the Townsville University Hospital in a critical condition.

The man was believed to have removed his tank to practice free diving when he became unconscious.

The man was placed in an induced coma with the decision being made to switch off his life support last night.

The tragic incident is still being investigated by both the police and Workplace Health and safety.

The coroner is currently waiting on an official report.
 
40 minutes CPR on site by EMS before transit to hospital seems a bit long.
 
I wouldn't know any EMS procedures. It sounds like that they tried their best for days.

What caused it? I've noticed that some divers don't know that freediving after scuba to depth can cause Nitrogen bubbles, but he couldn't have had much of a Nitrogen load from pool diving. Shallow water blackout leading to drowning?
 
I do not really understand what they mean when they say "The man was believed to have removed his tank" if "It is believed the man was conducting a diving class"...

What does it mean? He removed the tanks underwater or out of the water? I guess the second, but then what was he showing to the students? And what were the students doing during the freediving session of the instructor?
 
If he was freediving after removing his cylinder and ascended without exhaling he could have embolized. This used to be a skill in the YMCA and SEI OW class. Remove all gear, ascend to the surface, then within 30 seconds dive back down and don the gear. We got told we could no longer do it after a student practicing in a pool in Texas I believe got killed. The instructor who was in the pool at the time was working with another student and was sued for not supervising him. Some of the details now are hazy because it was close to ten years ago but at the time there was a lot of anger about this. It is a fun and great confidence building and task loading skill that if taught correctly and approached with the respect it deserves had students grinning from ear to ear. However, done incorrectly, yeah, it will kill you.
 
I thought about this scenario, but I also believe it is a bit unlikely given the diving curriculum typically taught nowadays
 
40 minutes CPR on site by EMS before transit to hospital seems a bit long.
This not odd. It he presented with a workable rhythm. The Hospital can't do anymore than an Ambulance. If you can get a pulse back before transport it make it a lot simpler. CPR in a move truck has been shown to be very ineffective. Our normal time before even thinking about transport was 20 min. After 20 min we would start to work towards transport.
 
40 minutes CPR on site by EMS before transit to hospital seems a bit long.
This not odd. It he presented with a workable rhythm. The Hospital can't do anymore than an Ambulance. If you can get a pulse back before transport it make it a lot simpler. CPR in a move truck has been shown to be very ineffective. Our normal time before even thinking about transport was 20 min. After 20 min we would start to work towards transport.
 

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