Man dies aboard Cozumel catamaran excursion

[ScubaD1veDiv@]

We witnessed a tragic event unfold while having breakfast at the Presidente pier yesterday.

A catamaran full of guests pulled up to the pier and CPR was being performed on an elderly man. Once the ambulance arrived, CPR was discontinued and the man’s body was covered in a sheet. A woman presumed to be his wife was near the victim and appeared to be understandably inconsolable.

I am not sure what happened but my guess is that a catastrophic medical event occurred. The catamaran excursion seemed to have just begun as it was around 9:00am when I arrived for breakfast to see the catamaran at the pier and all of the passengers were dry.

About an hour later, passengers were transferred to another catamaran that pulled alongside the first catamaran. The second catamaran then proceeded south for what I assumed to be the continuation of the excursion. I’m certain the mood was very dampened.

It was a sad reminder of how life turns on a dime as well as the importance of having thorough medical checkups, particularly as scuba divers.

My prayers go out to the family of the man.

 

[cicopo]

Sad to hear & I suspect your right about it being a sudden medical emergency that had little if anything to do with the tour.

 

[MaxE]

Can’t imagine what his family is going through, I’m truly sorry for their loss.

Why would they need a replacement boat if it was simply a medical emergency?

 

[GreggS]

That's terrible to hear.

Reminds me of an event at the church next door to me several years ago. A large group of the church's older members were gathering to go on a bus excursion one evening. They were standing in the parking lot talking, waiting for the bus when one gentleman suddenly collapsed and died from a heart attack. Needless to say, the excursion was cancelled.

Even my father died suddenly while on vacation at Cape Hatteras in 1987. I have a photo of me, my dad, and my 2 kids taken by my father-in-law. 30 minutes after the picture was taken, my dad was dead. And was only 3 months past his 65th birthday.

Just a couple of examples of how suddenly we can be gone from here.

 

[ScubaD1veDiv@]

Can’t imagine what his family is going through, I’m truly sorry for their loss.

Why would they need a replacement boat if it was simply a medical emergency?

I am not sure why the man’s body was not removed but I imagine that there is some sort of inquiry that takes place after a fatality involving tourists and/or perhaps the body could not be removed until a government official gave permission. All conjecture on my part. Either way, I am sure they didn’t want to not make the 30-50 passengers stay on that boat any longer than necessary.

 

[ScubaD1veDiv@]

Even my father died suddenly while on vacation at Cape Hatteras in 1987. I have a photo of me, my dad, and my 2 kids taken by my father-in-law. 30 minutes after the picture was taken, my dad was dead. And was only 3 months past his 65th birthday.

I so sorry for your loss. The only consolation is that if this were a fatal event, regardless of where he was at the time he was struck, he died doing something remarkable. I hope that was the case with your father.

I always tell my children that if I should ever die in a scuba accident to know that I went out doing what I loved and that it beat dying on a pee-stained nursing home mattress.

 

[Brules]

So sad. I cant imagine being in that situation. Prayers for the family.

 

[GreggS]

I so sorry for your loss. The only consolation is that if this were a fatal event, regardless of where he was at the time he was struck, he died doing something remarkable. I hope that was the case with your father.

I always tell my children that if I should ever die in a scuba accident to know that I went out doing what I loved and that it beat dying on a pee-stained nursing home mattress.

Thank you. And yes, although that was a long drive home that night, I took consolation in the fact that he was in a place he loved to be, doing what he loved to do (fishing), and was surrounded by family that he loved and that loved him. It's not the worst way a person can go.

 

[deepsea21]

When it's my time to go, I hope it is quick and painless and somewhere I enjoy being with family and friends around. If only all of us could be as lucky as this gentlemen was when our time comes.

 

[lionfish-eater]

Die tourist while diving




COZUMEL, July 10 .- A tourist of foreign origin, died Tuesday after diving, minutes before he was in good health, suddenly began to change his state, the deceased had a pacemaker.
Minutes after nine o'clock, the State Attorney General's Office was alerted that aboard a catamaran boat, docked at the pier of the hotel El Presidente located in the southern hotel zone, was a person without life, it was a foreign national identified as Herbert AW, 76 years old.
His wife told the Public Prosecutor's Office and the Forensic Medical Service that just at 7 in the morning, they arrived in Cozumel by boat from Playa del Carmen to do recreational activities.
He said that until then everything was fine. They both boarded a boat they hired to take a diving trip with other tourists even though her husband had diabetes, high blood pressure and a pacemaker.
He said that everything was fine, people went to the sea to dive with two guides, when suddenly her husband put his hand to his chest complaining of pain, therefore, he was taken from the sea to put him on the boat and that First aid, did not react.
An ambulance was requested, whose paramedics when they arrived at the site, attended him, but they detected that he had already died and the General Prosecutor of the State was informed of the proceedings that they had in place.
The body without life was aboard the boat, being accompanied by his wife at all times, had just passed the death, assumed that his death was a result of a natural factor.