Anybody know if this is one of us?
By Rosie Gillingham
The Telegram
More than 40 years after they were abandoned, the mines of Bell Island claimed another life.
This time, however, it was a diver.
Joe Steffen of Richmond Heights, Ohio, died Sunday while diving in the submerged mine shafts of the No. 2 mines on the island site of the historic iron ore mines, where 101 men lost their lives from its opening in 1895 to the time it ceased production in 1966.
The 51-year-old was one of 10 international cave divers who were taking part in a 12-day exploration, called Mine Quest, a campaign aimed at exploring the flooded mines for the first time to discover artifacts and install permanent dive lines for future diving expeditions.
Were all in shock here and pretty shaken up, said expedition founder Rick Stanley, who was at the site when Steffen was brought to the surface.
We just couldnt believe it.
The cause of his death is under investigation by the RCMP, who arrived at the scene at around 1 p.m. Steffen was pronounced dead at the Dr. Walter Templeman Hospital.
The body came off the Bell Island ferry at 5:10 p.m. in a hearse. An autopsy is expected to be performed today.
Stanley said one of the team divers discovered Steffen and noticed he was not breathing. He said he was 20 feet down and about 100 feet inside the mine, but just 10 feet from air.
He was no where from the exit, said Stanley, who noted police have taken Steffens equipment as part of the investigation. He was right there, right there on that main (dive) line. He was virtually almost out.
Fellow team members brought him to the surface and attempts to revive him were unsuccessful.
Stanley would not speculate as to what might have happened to Steffen.
We dont know if it was health or if it was diver error, he said. Well have to wait for results of the investigation.
The diving team gathered Sunday evening at Ocean Quest diving centre, which is owned by Stanley, to console each other.
Were all together here now and were all just so sad, Stanley said. Joe was a good friend and we really feel sorry for everything thats happened.
The team which also included divers from Egypt, the United Kingdom and other parts of Canada began the expedition Jan. 29 and was to continue until Friday.
Steffen an experienced diver with more than 130 logged cave dives around the world had returned Sunday for his fourth day of diving in the mines.
In his bio on the expeditions website, Steffen is listed as an experienced technical diver. His dives in deep caves include Eagles Nest and Diepolder, both in Florida.
He has also several deep cold-water wreck dives.
Steffen was a retired police officer at the Richmond Heights Police Department and was a member of Richmond Heights city council, having been elected as a councillor-at-large in 2005.
But his passion was diving. It marked Steffens third trip to Bell Island. He visited the Bell Island ship wrecks twice before.
He was a good friend and he really loved Newfoundland and Labrador, Stanley said with a quiver in his voice. He thought it was a real special place with special people.
This is something he wanted to do out of the goodness of his heart to help build this island as a destination.
Following the teams first few dives in the mines, many were impressed, referring to it as the Titanic of cave diving and one of the last 10 wonders of the world.
The structure includes nine square miles of flooded mine shafts almost the size of St. Johns at a depth of 2 1/2 miles (1,750 feet).
At the time of its closure, Bell Island was Canadas longest continually operating mining project.
In all, 79,989,412 tons of ore was shipped to Canada, West Germany, the Unites States, Belgium and Holland.
Stanley had hoped the expedition would help launch the facility as a tourist attraction and had even applied for a product development grant through ACOA and is waiting to hear back.
He doesnt believe Steffens death will hinder the chances of achieving the goal.
I hope people dont look at it like that, he said. Were really optimistic that this is still a great product and a great opportunity.
Stanley doesnt know if the group will continue with the expedition, but believes their friend would want them to keep going.
Its like if he was a mountain climber and fell off the mountain or a race car driver and got killed in a crash. You dont stop the climb and you dont stop the race, he said.
Weve lost our mate and were all feeling his loss, but I think Joe would say go for it, guys.
By Rosie Gillingham
The Telegram
More than 40 years after they were abandoned, the mines of Bell Island claimed another life.
This time, however, it was a diver.
Joe Steffen of Richmond Heights, Ohio, died Sunday while diving in the submerged mine shafts of the No. 2 mines on the island site of the historic iron ore mines, where 101 men lost their lives from its opening in 1895 to the time it ceased production in 1966.
The 51-year-old was one of 10 international cave divers who were taking part in a 12-day exploration, called Mine Quest, a campaign aimed at exploring the flooded mines for the first time to discover artifacts and install permanent dive lines for future diving expeditions.
Were all in shock here and pretty shaken up, said expedition founder Rick Stanley, who was at the site when Steffen was brought to the surface.
We just couldnt believe it.
The cause of his death is under investigation by the RCMP, who arrived at the scene at around 1 p.m. Steffen was pronounced dead at the Dr. Walter Templeman Hospital.
The body came off the Bell Island ferry at 5:10 p.m. in a hearse. An autopsy is expected to be performed today.
Stanley said one of the team divers discovered Steffen and noticed he was not breathing. He said he was 20 feet down and about 100 feet inside the mine, but just 10 feet from air.
He was no where from the exit, said Stanley, who noted police have taken Steffens equipment as part of the investigation. He was right there, right there on that main (dive) line. He was virtually almost out.
Fellow team members brought him to the surface and attempts to revive him were unsuccessful.
Stanley would not speculate as to what might have happened to Steffen.
We dont know if it was health or if it was diver error, he said. Well have to wait for results of the investigation.
The diving team gathered Sunday evening at Ocean Quest diving centre, which is owned by Stanley, to console each other.
Were all together here now and were all just so sad, Stanley said. Joe was a good friend and we really feel sorry for everything thats happened.
The team which also included divers from Egypt, the United Kingdom and other parts of Canada began the expedition Jan. 29 and was to continue until Friday.
Steffen an experienced diver with more than 130 logged cave dives around the world had returned Sunday for his fourth day of diving in the mines.
In his bio on the expeditions website, Steffen is listed as an experienced technical diver. His dives in deep caves include Eagles Nest and Diepolder, both in Florida.
He has also several deep cold-water wreck dives.
Steffen was a retired police officer at the Richmond Heights Police Department and was a member of Richmond Heights city council, having been elected as a councillor-at-large in 2005.
But his passion was diving. It marked Steffens third trip to Bell Island. He visited the Bell Island ship wrecks twice before.
He was a good friend and he really loved Newfoundland and Labrador, Stanley said with a quiver in his voice. He thought it was a real special place with special people.
This is something he wanted to do out of the goodness of his heart to help build this island as a destination.
Following the teams first few dives in the mines, many were impressed, referring to it as the Titanic of cave diving and one of the last 10 wonders of the world.
The structure includes nine square miles of flooded mine shafts almost the size of St. Johns at a depth of 2 1/2 miles (1,750 feet).
At the time of its closure, Bell Island was Canadas longest continually operating mining project.
In all, 79,989,412 tons of ore was shipped to Canada, West Germany, the Unites States, Belgium and Holland.
Stanley had hoped the expedition would help launch the facility as a tourist attraction and had even applied for a product development grant through ACOA and is waiting to hear back.
He doesnt believe Steffens death will hinder the chances of achieving the goal.
I hope people dont look at it like that, he said. Were really optimistic that this is still a great product and a great opportunity.
Stanley doesnt know if the group will continue with the expedition, but believes their friend would want them to keep going.
Its like if he was a mountain climber and fell off the mountain or a race car driver and got killed in a crash. You dont stop the climb and you dont stop the race, he said.
Weve lost our mate and were all feeling his loss, but I think Joe would say go for it, guys.
