Shanghai diver drowns in Philippines

[DandyDon]

It sounds like his BC failed, then he failed to drop weights...

Chinese diver drowns off Verde Island

Batangas City, Batangas — A Chinese diver drowned off Verde Island in Batangas City last Saturday, police said.

Superintendent Wildemar Tiu, city police chief, said Gou Kai, 49, a native of Shanghai, China, was declared dead at St. Patricks Hospital in this city.

Probers said Gou, a certified diver who was billeted with a group at the La Laguna Beach Club in Puerto Galera, Oriental Mindoro went diving off Verde Island with six others but they all surfaced at 1:12 p.m. due to bad weather.

The victim, prober said, was not able to press and use his Buoyancy Control Device (BCD) – which was supposed to keep him afloat – and so he drowned.

Tiu said they will coordinate with the China Embassy this Monday for the proper disposition of victim’s remains which temporarily lies at Filipinas Funeral Homes here.

 

[Centrals]

Better training and situation awareness could have saved his life.
Is it really so difficult to ditch the weight in emergency?

This case and the one happened on Apo Island yesterday were avoidable.

 

[outofofficebrb]

So sad. It’s hard to say when someone starts a panic spiral what will happen. Their training and what they remember can all go out the window. Ditching weights and oral inflation of BC are self help problem solvers. Signaling a buddy would have helped too but would also endanger buddy if they don’t know how to approach the panicking diver.

 

[wgw04024]

...and where was his buddy?

 

[outofofficebrb]

...and where was his buddy?

Totally....However, to be honest, prior to taking Rescue I don’t know if I would have been able to help my buddy or know exactly how to start, especially when I was a newer diver, without endangering myself. It doesn’t mean that I would not have done anything but it might mean that I try to help and end up almost drowning myself trying to help a panicked diver. While the buddy wasn’t mentioned in the article, I would not take the omission as the buddy not having been there or done anything. Perhaps they tried and were not successful. Perhaps they tried and because he was panicked and the buddy has not received further training that it almost got them in trouble too.

 

[Dan]

“...they all surfaced at 1:12 p.m. due to bad weather” sounds like a short dive. There should be enough time to search for him before he was out of air. However, bad weather could also mean zero visibility, which makes the search impossible.

Panic diver due to malfunctioning BCD can also be hard to rescue as shown in this video. She was lucky to come to the surface alive:

 

[divinh]

She seems overweighted and/or couldn't effectively kick to ascend?

I was once told by a DM that his normal practice for ascending is to dump all the air in the BC and then use only fins to ascend. I've adopted this practice too, which means even if the BC failed, I wouldn't have noticed until I reached the safety stop. I would then normally put in some air to maintain neutral buoyancy. If the BC didn't work at that point, I would probably fin slowly and prepare to ditch the weights after surfacing.

As for dealing with a panicked diver, I would probably assess if I could approach without getting in trouble myself. I've already been in situations where an overly photo anxious diver pushed me aside, one time kicking my reg out, because he didn't want to miss a shot. (The dive op assigned him his own DM the next day.)

 

[KevinNM]

She seems overweighted and/or couldn't effectively kick to ascend?

I was once told by a DM that his normal practice for ascending is to dump all the air in the BC and then use only fins to ascend. I've adopted this practice too, which means even if the BC failed, I wouldn't have noticed until I reached the safety stop. I would then normally put in some air to maintain neutral buoyancy. If the BC didn't work at that point, I would probably fin slowly and prepare to ditch the weights after surfacing.

As for dealing with a panicked diver, I would probably assess if I could approach without getting in trouble myself. I've already been in situations where an overly photo anxious diver pushed me aside, one time kicking my reg out, because he didn't want to miss a shot. (The dive op assigned him his own DM the next day.)

That approach will get you in trouble in cold water. Your thick wetsuit is compressed and is balanced by your BCD, so when you dump your air you’ll sink like a rock.

 

[Pearlman]

Panic diver due to malfunctioning BCD can also be hard to rescue as shown in this video. She was lucky to come to the surface alive:

The video is a scary reminder of what happens once panic hits you ... the sheer terror on her face ... man!

P

 

[outofofficebrb]

I was once told by a DM that his normal practice for ascending is to dump all the air in the BC and then use only fins to ascend. I've adopted this practice too, which means even if the BC failed, I wouldn't have noticed until I reached the safety stop. I would then normally put in some air to maintain neutral buoyancy. If the BC didn't work at that point, I would probably fin slowly and prepare to ditch the weights after surfacing.

Interesting practice....I don’t ever fully dump all the air in the BC as I ascend. I slowly dump as needed as I ascend to maintain a controlled ascent. If my tank is empty enough, by the time I get to the safety stop, I have an empty BC and am neutral. I’ve mastered my weighting for my tropical diving in my usual exposure protection so have been able to do this.