At about 18:00 local time on 01/25/2014 a diver surfaced and was calling for help. He had found a snorkeler unconscious underwater. He brought him to the surface and other divers assisted with CPR. The was in a wetsuit and snorkel gear only and there didn't appear to be anyone else with him. None of the divers or groups from SCC recognized him. An ambulance came (very quickly - within 4-6 minutes of the initial call) and the EMS worked on him and took him away.
Does anyone know anyone else about this incident?
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Fellow divers:
I was one of 2 RNs on the deck when this man was pulled in to shore. There were a few Dive Professionals present. I was on my day1 of vacationing. I did not do CPR due to a back injury - but I did coordinate the rescue effots on shore. I will clarify as much as I can comfortably:
1. He was probably NOT a snorkeler. He appeared to be a Free Diver from another resort, using the beach at Scuba Club for Free Diving Apneic Exersizes. He was wearing free diving fins and wetsuit, he had a weight belt ON, he had a mask and snorkel with him on the deck when pulled out of the water. He was late 40's to early 50's, thin, silver hair.
2. He was ALONE in 25 ft of water. He had been observed by some divers 8-10min before the event, on his knees doing exersizes. When the divers came back to check on him they found him unconcious on the bottom. He was brought to the surface, towed to shore, hoisted to a cement dive patio. At that time he was white and his pupils were fixed and dilated. There was no pulse and no respiration. He was white (not cyanotic).
3. 911 was called and FULL CPR was started immediately on deck. Oxygen was applied via non-rebreather mask. FULL CPR was continued vigorously until the local medical staff of 2 placed him on a board, and into an "ambulance" and they departed the scene. At the time of transport he still had no pulse and no respirations on his own, there was evidence of water in the lungs, his pupils remained fixed and dilated. His fins, and snorkel kit, were left with the Scuba Club Dive Shop - as is customary when there is a rescue/recovery incident.
4. There was no family or friends available at the scene. He had no ID. We did not know which resort (other than Cozumel) he was staying at.
5. We "heard" at SC the medical professionsals constinued care at the local hospital, to no avail. My understanding is this poor unfortunate fellow dive brethern did infact pass away.
My sincerest and deepest condolences to his family, friends, and co-workers. Please know those vacationing at SC exhausted EVERY avenue available at the time to save this gentleman. RN's are taught to do root cause analysis to determine possible ways that an outcome might be better in a similiar circumstance in the future. I spent many hours the night of the 25th in my bed doing just that. There was nothing more we could have done, no faster response or more thorough care we could have provided. His passing touched everyone on the deck that day, and he was surrounded by MANY caring fellow divers.
PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE take from this the need to be a responsible diver at every level in every circumstance. DO NOT dive alone, it is a buddy sport, it is an extreme sport, and it is a dangerous sport. And again, my condolences to all who were touched by this tragedy...
Desertgal145
---------- Post added February 3rd, 2014 at 07:55 PM ----------
Ok a little more on this, and it is commentary. My commentary. It amazed me how fast things happened once the diver is out of the water. CPR was started immediately.
My one critique of the situation is that no one took control of the situation. There were a lot of divers not involved in the rescue standing around looking and quite frankly in the way. If you are not involved and assisting, stay away. i know it's human nature to see what all the commotion is about but give the divers that are performing the rescue room to work and keep a clear path for EMS and the professionals from the SCC Dive shop. Someone senior, more senior than me, needed to take control of the situation and direct traffic.
---------- Post added January 27th, 2014 at 08:55 AM ----------
I was at SCC, I and did witness this first hand but was on a flight out Saturday night.
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So, I the RN, have a few responses. 1. A code is NOTHING like TV. 2. You have health professionals in a life or death situation who have never set eyes on each other that have to come together in a country who's medical care is nothing like ours...to do EVERYTHING right...under the scrutiny of several
onlookers who have no reference other than a loved one in a hospital or a TV show! 3. Someone senior was ME, and the control I took was from 32 years of seasoned RN work. I couldn't bend to do CPR - my compressions would have been ineffective. So I announced that I was a 32 yr RN and I started barking. Then there was no further need to bark! I designated a firefighter to do compressions. I then designated the RN standing next to me to do breathing. The instructor who did not pull him in for diving alone took over - and I allowed it. The gentleman was not going to recover despite our best efforts, and we knew that as he was pulled from the water! SO, the best case scenario was to allow the Dive instructor(s) who pulled him from the water, feeling guilty that they didn't harass him for diving alone when they saw him IN the water, to give it whatever aid THEY had...because they WERE going to walk away from this! Additionally, the onlookers would see a very PASSIONATE attempt out of dive leadership. That was appropriate for the situation. 4. I sent one of those IN THE WAY divers to get pen and paper to record. I sent another to the dive shop to get O2. I sent another to assure EMS or the like was on the way, I had another one sit by his head and yell at him to come back...over and over...so he knew someone wanted him to come back...because he had no friends or family there. I sent yet another to check the crowd for family. The remainder stepped back out of terror! 5. A code, in a public place, like a resort, where people are partaking in the sport someone is dying from in front of their eyes, is NEVER as organized as our stress and rescue class...EVER! And lastly, 6. Death is NEVER easy, quiet, pretty, painless, comfortable. We come in as hard and we go out hard. The body fights it every step of the way. It is the separation of the spirit and the body - and regardless of the external appearance, or what you see on TV, to most it is jarring. Most of the people who viewed that event were traumatized in some small or big way. A HUGE heap of compassion is in order
I am unapologetically critical of your post because a man died, and those of us who had arrived 1 hr before, and were ready to relax after days of travel, were propelled headlong into a worst case scenario in a foreign country where there are no rules, in front of a scared and gawking (and critical) audience. To the eyes of the less or non-experienced (or less senior) that event seemed disjointed and confusing. To the professionals it was all pretty much the way those things go...fast, loud, with arms and clothes and words flying.
I am SO SAD for his family, friends, co-workers, and fellow travelers loss. I am so sad that despite my best replays (over and over - we sort after for root cause analysis to assure we learn from every event) of anything we could have done different to engender a good outcome, the man was gone before he was found. I am sad that a fellow diver brethren lost his life alone underwater on my watch - vacation or not. And, I am sad that it will be hard for so many when it replays thru their minds.
Please, walk away from this experience less critical of those who were doing their best for a man they never knew in an impossible situation. And, send love to his family.