Possible death on the oriskany Nov 14, 2009

[Hetland]

There was a surface current between one and two knots, which is no strange occurrence in the Gulf, but there was a 4-5kt current under the surface current, and I almost got a free ride to Cuba. After I was recovered by my boatmates, we tied back in and the rest of our boat did their first dive. I had gone a tad too deep, for a tad too long to attempt again without a surface interval, so I watched bubbles. All of the boats arriving after us had some difficulty tying into the wreck as the divemasters were being swept from the Oriskany before getting a chance to tie in. My guys made it up, and we discussed plans for a second dive, even though the viz was crappy, and the current swift. There were a couple of charters present, and there were at least three rebreathers in the water (I'm thinking more like 5-6, but I only recall seeing three at any given time).

As we were preparing to do our second dive, a rebreather diver surfaced with the victim in the middle of our ring of boats. He yelled for help two or three times, and a divemaster from one of the charters immediately hit the water. The diver who yelled for help was supporting a rebreather diver at the surface. The victim had pink froth in and around his mask. He was not moving. The divmaster and other divers from the boat got the victim back on their original boat, and CPR was started. This happened at about 12:30 this afternoon. The victim was a 46 year old male, who was not breathing, and did not have a pulse at the time the distress call was placed. CPR had been underway for around 40 minutes by the time we left the scene, and we saw the Coast Guard rescue boat headed to the Oriskany on our way back in. The dive boat was unable to leave immediately after the incident, as they still had divers in the water.

I mentioned current because it was significant, and could possibly be a contributing factor in the incident (diver could have simply had a heart attack because of the extra work involved, or the extra work may have lead to an issue with his equipment).

-h

 

[idocsteve]

The victim had pink froth in and around his mask.

I mentioned current because it was significant, and could possibly be a contributing factor in the incident (diver could have simply had a heart attack because of the extra work involved, or the extra work may have lead to an issue with his equipment).

Wouldn't the pink froth around the mouth be indicative of an embolism...which in of itself indicates too rapid ascent and/or breath holding?

 

[rigdiver]

Wouldn't the pink froth around the mouth be indicative of an embolism...which in of itself indicates too rapid ascent and/or breath holding?

Too rapid ascent. No
Breath holding. Yes
But maybe closed airway while being brought to surface by rescuers also.

 

[Hetland]

Wouldn't the pink froth around the mouth be indicative of an embolism...which in of itself indicates too rapid ascent and/or breath holding?

It can also indicate heart failure, but I agree that lung injury from closed airway is most likely. What caused the airway to be closed is the real question. The diver could have had a seizure, heart attack, of just went to sleep on his rig, all of which COULD have been caused by the conditions (overbreathing his rig, working beyond his physical limits, distracted due to exertion and not making needed adjustments)

On a side note, I'd like to mention that the charter personnel and divers on the victim's boat really did the best job possible, there was no feet-dragging or indecision.

 

[Jax]

How deep is the Oriskany?

 

[Nixdax]

Approximately 80ft to the top of the island, 150 to the flight deck, and 220 to the sand.

 

[GLENFWB]

Can you tell us what charter they were on? If you want to wait till something official is released I understand.

It can also indicate heart failure, but I agree that lung injury from closed airway is most likely. What caused the airway to be closed is the real question. The diver could have had a seizure, heart attack, of just went to sleep on his rig, all of which COULD have been caused by the conditions (overbreathing his rig, working beyond his physical limits, distracted due to exertion and not making needed adjustments)

On a side note, I'd like to mention that the charter personnel and divers on the victim's boat really did the best job possible, there was no feet-dragging or indecision.

 

[alohagal]

I dove the Oriskany with Scuba Shack last month. We had perfect conditions. Which I guess is rare. They were unable to go out the day before or the days after. We were the ONLY boat out that day. I guess they limit how many "commercial" boats can go on any given day. May not apply to privates? Always sad to hear these things.

My avitar is from the Oriskany.

 

[Standard11]

you said he was on a rebreather, what about his CO2 scrubber being old or damaged and causing hypoxia then unconsciousness? and things snowballing from there. no matter the cause this is sad to hear and prayers go out to friends and family

 

[bamamedic]

you said he was on a rebreather, what about his CO2 scrubber being old or damaged and causing hypoxia then unconsciousness? and things snowballing from there. no matter the cause this is sad to hear and prayers go out to friends and family

There's a million things that might've gone wrong, either with his rebreather or with the dive itself, and right now, there's no way of knowing if the scrubber had anything to do with it.

Hopefully someone will chime in with further details.