North Carolina diver dies on Duane - Florida Keys

[DandyDon]

It's easy to confuse the city names. The man was from Mooresville NC, but I don't know if he was experienced at diving the more challenging wrecks off of Morehead City, NC 300 miles away. The Duane has a long and interesting history: USCGC Duane - Wikipedia

Man dies in hospital after scuba diving on popular wreck off the Florida Keys​

A North Carolina man died in the hospital after losing consciousness on a scuba diving trip off the Florida Keys Monday morning, according to the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office. Perry Lane Anderson, 65, from Mooresville, was diving the Coast Guard Cutter Duane — a 327-foot long ship intentionally sunk off Key Largo as an artificial reef in 1987 — when he suffered a health issue, the sheriff’s office said. Other divers helped him back to the Rainbow Reed Center commercial dive boat around 9:40 a.m., and the crew immediately began CPR, said sheriff’s office spokesman Adam Linhardt. Linhardt said it’s not immediately clear if Anderson lost consciousness in the water or once he was on board the boat. Medics on shore took Anderson to Mariners Hospital in Tavernier, where he was pronounced dead, Linhardt said. Autopsy results are pending, but the sheriff’s office does not suspect foul play, Linhardt said.

 

[PSD Diver99]

What outfit was he diving with? It states he was placed on board of a Rainbow Reef boat but it was unclear to me if that was the boat he was off of. I dove the Spiegel the week prior with Rainbow Reef they did a great job throughout. Is there any additional information regarding what caused the event? Condolences to the family.

 

[wgw04024]

I've been on a RR boat when a diver (in our group) had a medical emergency on either the Duane or SG. They did a great job of stabilizing her and getting to land ASAP.

 

[gamon]

The thread title is very misleading.

According to the article he died in the hospital not on the wreck.

 

[wgw04024]

Very misleading might be a bit over dramatic... It simply says he was pronounced at the hospital, which is generally SOP.

DandyDon: Keep up the good work!

 

[Johnoly]

The thread title is very misleading.

According to the article he died in the hospital not on the wreck.

Only a licensed medical doctor can officially determine 'death'. That official may only be available at the medical facility and not on the actual dive boat nor the shore transfer. This is also why compressions continue until well after the event, even if it is tragically apparent otherwise.

 

[DandyDon]

The thread title is very misleading.

According to the article he died in the hospital not on the wreck.

It's challenging to get the whole story in a headline. I try to keep them interesting but honest. Sorry about the misunderstanding.

 

[DandyDon]

I received a message from a diver who was on the same boat ride and the same dive who wants to share his observations anonymously. Excerpting...

I was on the boat and in the water with the gentleman who died and I would like to add the information people are curious about... It certainly was an extremely difficult situation, unexpected as it was my first ever dive in Key Largo...which...has been a bucket list destination for me however it was obviously much worse for the others.

The dive boat was the Tropical Odyssey from Rainbow Reef. The ocean that day was reasonably calm however the current was very strong, especially at the surface. The gentleman was diving as part of a large group on a diving trip, one of which was an EMT who was able to provide care to him immediately when he got back on the boat along with the crew. The incident happened on his descent, about 20ft down. Whatever happened he was unconscious at that point and was brought out of the water the same way. His equipment visually appeared fine, there was still gas in his tank when the sheriff removed it from the dock.