St. Lawrence fatality - New York

[DandyDon]

Update: St. Lawrence River Diver Dies | WWNY TV 7 - News, Weather and Sports for | Local News

A diver pulled from the St. Lawrence River just after noon Friday died, according to the Jefferson County Sheriff's Department.
A statement from the department late Friday afternoon said the death is not considered suspicious.
Earlier, Coast Guard officials told 7 News they rescued an unconscious diver from the river.

It happened shortly after noon near the southwest corner of Wellesley Island.

The Coast Guard said a man had been diving with a group and that the operator of the dive boat the group was using alerted authorities to the problem.
The man was unconscious when he was pulled from the water.

The man was taken to first Chalk's Marina, where an ambulance took him to River Hospital in Alexandria Bay.

No other information about the man's identity was immediately available.

 

[Ayisha]

The Ontario Underwater Council was informed this afternoon of this fatal accident on the Oconto shipwreck on the U.S. side of the river. We have been told that it was a U.S. diver, using a rebreather. The victim was taken to River Hospital in Alexandria Bay. The group was using a Canadian charter operator and staying at a resort on the Canadian side. His original buddy stayed at the resort and never got onto the boat due to an issue with his rebreather. We have not been told any other information at this time.

---------- Post added October 12th, 2013 at 12:28 AM ----------

The OUC has received some conflicting information, so we will try to sort it out. Here is another article that says that some information will be released on Monday:

Watertown Daily Times | Diver dies in St. Lawrence River near Wellesley Island

Diver dies in St. Lawrence River near Wellesley IslandFRIDAY, OCTOBER 11, 2013

WELLESLEY ISLAND — The death of a diver on the St. Lawrence River is being investigated by Jefferson County sheriff’s deputies, according to a release from the department Friday afternoon.
The diver’s time of death was listed as 12:12 p.m. Friday. The manner and cause are not believed to be suspicious, according to the department.
The department said in its news release that it would not identity the diver Friday, and that it would release more information about the diver’s death Monday morning.

 

[Ayisha]

Hello, Please note that the diver who stayed behind that day had an issue with his doubles, not rebreather. He got the issue resolved but the boat had left by then. He had just met the victim that weekend with a group from North Carolina.

 

[riverrat80]

Here is a link to the Jefferson County Sheriff's press release:

Jefferson County Sheriff's Department

 

[tracydr]

Wow, wonder what caused him to come up rapidly from 174 feet?
Yet another "older" tech diver. Our technical population seems to be getting into the 50-65 year age group.

 

[Beiji]

Thanks for posting the additional information, Ayisha and Riverrat80.

 

[DandyDon]

Here is a link to the Jefferson County Sheriff's press release:

Jefferson County Sheriff's Department

Cause of death was an air embolism from rapid decompression after 174 foot dive. No news on the trigger, but I guess a rapid ascent from such depth could have been a mistake or a last ditch effort...??

 

[Stoo]

The Oconto is a challenging dive. There can be extremely strong currents there, and in my experience, the current can shift suddenly with little warning. I recall one dive there some years ago where my buddy and I were caught in a wicked up-current as we were working our way up the wall from 185' It was all we could do to keep from being pushed to the surface. I think my tanks had taken on an hour-glass shape by the time we got out, we'd sucked them DRY. CO2 buildup can play a role here easily... Deco was not fun that day.

It's probably the closest I've ever come to having my butt handed to me on a dive. It's not one I'd be inclined to try now, in my advanced years.

 

[Brad_Horn]

Appears to be some additional details on this fatality listed at Deep Life Design Team: databases and analysis of rebreather accident data

 

[Mr.X]

The St. Lawrence + deeper wrecks can always be problematic given they open the locks when they need to. The currents can be massive at times and during work-related jobs we tried to dive them when there was 'less' of a current. I've also had issues on a rebreather when we used to do deep work in current. CO2 retention can be a real issue as WOB goes up as you sometimes have to grab hard onto objects, lines, swim against current for short distances etc. Tech scooters certainly help, but add to more stuff you need to drag around. Very little room for error sometimes and cardiovascular fitness is a must. Sad.

My condolences to the family of the diver.