Rebreather Diver Dies In Turkey

[Peter69_56]

Hi to all following this forum -

It is a very sad set of circumstances that a diver has passed away in in this manner. Im sure the best intentions are in play when naming the diver concearned however the family are grieving and may not want this in such a public forum. In addition the divers were all close friend and it was a very distressing situation for all concearned .

Immediatly following the passing of the diver a coronial inquest was commenced as is law in Turkey to determine cause of dealth and any liability of the parties concearned including other members of the group. In this regard ofcourse there has been a hold on this operator taking people out whilst the Turkish authorities go through the process of ensuring there has been no foul play or negligence.

Diving in Turkey beyond 30m does indeed require specialised permits , the divers involved on this dive all had Permits to dive sites below 30m. They were returning from a 62 m dive when the diver had a heart attack due to an underlying medical condition - this is the information we have at this time regarding the cause of death.

We await finalisation of the investigation into the death of the diver and will of course keep in touch with all our clients as things develop. We've been in business for 40 years and anyone who knows Ian Lockwood would know he's as honest as the day is long- we would never knowingly deceive divers about our position.

There has been some below the belt activity by some players in the industry implying that the passing of the diver was our fault or the fault of our operators or indeed the air supplied . This is just sad and I for one think its a new low.. to leveridge the passing of a diver to increase your market share is just disgusting -

We posted on facebook to clear up many of the chit chat being raised in this forum over a week ago, when we first heard competitors were saying it was the fault of our operation and by extension us. Normally not a forum for this kind of thing however it has the best reach for immediate output to the dive industry.

Please feel free to contact Allways Dive Expeditions if you are booked with us or if your booked with someone else and wish clarity on the issue, in fact get in touch if you seek any clarity on the issue of the death of this diver or on Turkey as a destination

Thanks for the clarification. I have since had information which is similar to what you have stated here.

Also my understanding was that no other divers were bent during this incident?

My reason for the original post was that as I am going to Turkey in March 18, and wanted to be clear on the depths I was going to dive, if restricted to 30m , then it would be my breather, if >30m then OC

Also to know what gases are available. To date it hasnt been clear on whats available and costs.

 

[Peter69_56]

An update in diving in Turkey following this accident.

The Turkish Government has banned all dives below 40m, allow single tank only and no mixed gases until further notice.

So on that basis our trip in March has been cancelled.

 

[infieldg]

Well that's an education, neither Padi nor TDI let on that 40m wreck penetration dies are safer without the complication of redundancy, increased capacity and hot deco gases - I demand a refund!

 

[lv2dive]

Wow.

Restricting diving to 40m or shallower is an interesting choice! Not to mention disallowing trimix and doubles/CCR.

I'm trying to digest this! I am surprised a country would take these measures. SMH.

An update in diving in Turkey following this accident.

The Turkish Government has banned all dives below 40m, allow single tank only and no mixed gases until further notice.

So on that basis our trip in March has been cancelled.

 

[Peter69_56]

Wow.

Restricting diving to 40m or shallower is an interesting choice! Not to mention disallowing trimix and doubles/CCR.

I'm trying to digest this! I am surprised a country would take these measures. SMH.

I am disappointed that they would, however it suggests a government out of control with an industry they know little about. I believe that their recreational rules are no diving below 40m, single tank and no mixed gases. Tech divers from other countries were the exception which they perhaps tolerated. Now due to a death (appearing not actually related to a diving issue as such), their knee jerk reaction is to default back to what (they believe) is safer diving.

The sad points being that the death appears unreated to a diving incident as such, and having redundancy and mixed gases (nitrox, deco gases) is much safer than a single tank of air.

Well its their loss, as there are many places to dive in the world that welcome tech divers with open arms, Turkey clearly not being one of them.

 

[Vicko]

It's like that in many Meditteranean countries, just no one enforces those laws untill a fatality happens.
In Croatia you will now be requiered to have a portable chamber on boat for all dives over 40 meters, in Greece you are not allowed to go deeper then 35 without a goverment licence for the operation organizing it

 

[Peter69_56]

It's like that in many Meditteranean countries, just no one enforces those laws untill a fatality happens.
In Croatia you will now be requiered to have a portable chamber on boat for all dives over 40 meters, in Greece you are not allowed to go deeper then 35 without a goverment licence for the operation organizing it

Well that kills off tech diving in these areas. Clearly done by bureaucrats who know little or nothing about diving, and dont realise the financial loss to the industry in their area.

 

[dmaziuk]

To comment on financial loss you'd have to know how many people come to Croatia to go deeper than 40 metres off a boat. Plus, you never know: maybe it was a big boat op that already has an on-board chamber successfully "lobbied" the government into "regulating" out the competition... nothing to do with any accidents or incidents or ignorant bureaucrats.