Error OOA rescue - New South Wales, Australia

[DandyDon]

One should not run out of air at 11 meters/36 feet below, but I've done it deeper. That's why we train for CESAs. I came up slowly while slowly exhaling, ran out of lung air around 10 feet but found air in my tank at the shallower depth so stopped ascending to inhale, then resumed the CESA. I had enough back gas to inflate my BC but could have orally inflated and my hands were reaching for weight releases if needed - which I practice on the first dive of every trip. I felt dumb about running out of air and my pony still off to be filled on the first day of a trip.

Diver runs out of oxygen - Northern Beaches Advocate

A diver was taken to hospital after running out of oxygen underwater at Manly.

www.northernbeachesadvocate.com.au

A diver was taken to hospital after running out of oxygen underwater at Manly.

Shortly before 12.30pm yesterday afternoon (Monday, 23 December), emergency services responded to a report of a diver being assisted to shore after running out of oxygen while underwater at Cabbage Tree Bay Aquatic Reserve, Manly.

The 67-year-old male scuba diver was reportedly at a depth of 11m when he realised his oxygen supply had been exhausted. Beginning to struggle for breath, the man rapidly ascended to the surface in 4-5 seconds.

Several other divers went to his assistance, and using a rescue tube to help keep him afloat on his back, the man was brought in to shore. They were met onshore by NSW Ambulance paramedics, including NSW Ambulance Inspector Christan Holmes.

After assessing the man, who was breathing unassisted and able to speak clearly with paramedics, a Toll NSW Ambulance Rescue Helicopter which was on approach to Shelly Beach with a medical team was called off.

The man was treated for oxygen deprivation, and after consulting with clinicians with expertise in diving injuries, it was determined the man was not suffering from decompression sickness and he was taken to Northern Beaches Hospital in a stable condition just after 1.00pm.

Decompression sickness, also known by divers as ‘the bends’, can occur when scuba divers ascend too rapidly. Gases that are dissolved within the bloodstream can emerge as bubbles inside body tissues, causing a range of symptoms that can prove fatal.

Divers diagnosed with decompression sickness in Sydney are taken to Prince of Wales Hospital at Randwick for treatment at a specialised hyperbaric medicine unit. This involves the patient being placed inside a pressurised chamber and saturated with oxygen.

 

[clownfishsydney]

One of the easiest dive sites in Sydney. To run out at 11 metres means he ran out a huge distance from the entry point. All of the bay is shallower than 7 to 8 metres. You can only get to 11 metres by heading out of the bay and to the north and then back to the east.

See my website page on the dive site: Shelly Beach