Missing diver found (old thread- not Northernone)

[judyo1]

Diver missing for 12 hours found alive

 

[Scott]

From the link

A scuba diver missing for more than 12 hours off the north Queensland coast has been found alive and will be winched to safety.

The man, aged 68, went to dive at the SS Yongala wreck near Russell Island, south of Townsville, by himself and failed to return.

Police were called by the man's friend yesterday afternoon, and found the man's boat moored at the dive site last night with no-one on board.

Acting Inspector Graeme Paterson said rescuers were ecstatic that the man was found alive.

"It's a huge task to search a grid pattern of the ocean," he said.

"For police and rescue coordinators to achieve such success at this time in the day, it's a really great result."

Acting Inspector Paterson said rescue coordinators set up a search pattern from the wreck, which was calculated on the tides and currents.

"I'm not sure of the exact location that he has been located," he said.

"It's a massive search, looking for a human in the ocean is like looking for a needle in a haystack.

"I imagine he'll be medically assessed to see if he is in good health condition and require any medical treatment."

Preparation the key to survival
Acting Inspector Paterson said the man had given clear instructions on his dive to a friend, including the location of the wreck and the time he was due back.

"Because of that, when he didn't meet his contact point yesterday afternoon the authorities were notified," he said.

"Through his prior planning, it allowed us to initiate that search which was obviously necessary to save his life."

PHOTO: Acting Inspector Graeme Paterson said searching the ocean was a huge task. (ABC News: Nancy Notzon)


Acting Inspector Paterson said calm conditions assisted the search and the man's ability to stay afloat and conserve energy.

"We're also dealing with warmer waters here so that's another thing that would certainly assist," he said.

"Every hour that somebody spends in the ocean their chances diminish so the fact that he's been found in the first 24 hours is amazing.

Six aircraft along with water police, volunteer marine rescue, the coastguard, police divers and a helicopter joined in the search this morning.

The Yongala is considered one of the best wreck dives in the world and is between 16 to 30 metres deep.

 

[DandyDon]

The one thing he did right was tell a friend when he should be back. Otherwise, his Lloyd Bridges approach to diving was reckless. The government there should require him to wear a PLB & Canister to save taxpayers on future searches, as I doubt he would ever get one on his on.

 

[WetPup]

Idiot. Absolute cracking idiot.

This is my local dive site. It is pure stupidity to solo dive there. The wreck is in open ocean about an hour offshore, is not far from a well known (to locals) tiger shark nursery, and is prone to ripping currents.

All the local dive ops who run trips there have very strict safety protocols in place. But sadly we get guys like this who think they know better.

Edit: I just saw an interview on tv with the rescue crew...The diver is from the Sunshine Coast, and "forgot" his PLB.

To a point I could understand solo diving in the water, but to go to the wreck without a lookout person on the boat given the fact that current there can be so strong is pure idiocy. It's not unusual to deploy your dsmb and require a boat pick up at the end of the dive.

 

[Kevrumbo]

The one thing he did right was tell a friend when he should be back. Otherwise, his Lloyd Bridges approach to diving was reckless. The government there should require him to wear a PLB & Canister to save taxpayers on future searches, as I doubt he would ever get one on his on.

Sometimes just telling a friend a float/dive plan is not good enough . . .obvious lesson learned -if you're gonna do solo diving from your own boat, then always have a PLB in a Dive Canister attached to you at all times.

Similar story but a different & tragic ending in the cold waters of Northern California from over nine years ago (and which at the time finally motivated a purchase of a PLB/Canister for my kit, which I still use today):
LEGACY OF THE DEEP / Kawika Chetron lived for his time spent at sea, and his time there spawned a treasure of ocean images

 

[Dan]

The one thing he did right was tell a friend when he should be back. Otherwise, his Lloyd Bridges approach to diving was reckless. The government there should require him to wear a PLB & Canister to save taxpayers on future searches, as I doubt he would ever get one on his on.

He has a PLB. However, he happened to clean it the day before & forgot to put it back in his gear bag. It could happen to me too. What he should have done is to thumb the dive as soon as he realized that the current is bad & he forgot the PLB, especially for diving solo.

In all of my liveaboard dives the DM will check the current first, before letting us jump into the water by looking at the surface current (ripples) & often jumping in w/o gear, just with mask (to see the underwater condition). Then he'll come back to the boat & say, "it's about 1 knot, let's go diving" or "it's about 2.5 knots, let's find another site".

I'll be there in 2 weeks. It's good to know that he was found alive after 17 hours.

 

[hargikas]

More Photos: Missing Queensland diver found alive after more than 14 hours lost at sea

 

[wgw04024]

"that's a big Naughty...." LOL Love the lingo over there.

 

[WetPup]

He has a PLB. However, he happened to clean it the day before & forgot to put it back in his gear bag. It could happen to me too. What he should have done is to thumb the dive as soon as he realized that the current is bad & he forgot the PLB, especially for diving solo.

In all of my liveaboard dives the DM will check the current first, before letting us jump into the water by looking at the surface current (ripples) & often jumping in w/o gear, just with mask (to see the underwater condition). Then he'll come back to the boat & say, "it's about 1 knot, let's go diving" or "it's about 2.5 knots, let's find another site".

I'll be there in 2 weeks. It's good to know that he was found alive after 17 hours.

You're at Yongala in 2 weeks? What date? I'm there on the 27th.

 

[Dan]

You're at Yongala in 2 weeks? What date? I'm there on the 27th.

Wow, I'd just miss you. I should say that I'll be in the neighborhood in 2 weeks. I'll be in Cairns from the 19th to 25th (boarding SpoilSport to Cod Hole), be in Gold Coast on the 26th & Sydney on the 27th. I tried to fit diving in Yongala to this trip, but my friend has other plan, unfortunately.

Yongala is still in my bucket list. May be next year. When is the best time to go there?