St. Lawrence River recovery - Ontario, Canada

[DandyDon]

Search turns to recovery of scuba diver in South Stormont

LONG SAULT – An intense search for a scuba diver turned to a recovery around midday today (Tuesday) in the St. Lawrence River in South Stormont.

SD&G O.P.P. Sgt. Greg Smith told Cornwall Newswatch they got a call around 9 a.m. about a diver who ran into trouble at Lock 21 on Macdonell Island.

“O.P.P. received a call about a diving incident here at Lock 21. Two males were diving in the area. One of them surfaced, the other one didn’t. At that point we deployed resources to the area,” Smith told CNW at the scene.

A number of agencies helped in the search, including the Cornwall Fire Department (rescue boat), South Stormont Fire Department, SD&G O.P.P. specialized units, Cornwall RCMP (two boats), U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Canadian Coast Guard and the Joint Rescue Coordination Center from CFB Trenton with its helicopter.

Smith said, at 10:30 a.m., the search was considered a “rescue” and they have “calls in” to a couple of different dive teams to help.

“Right now we can’t really say why one of them didn’t surface.”

Around 11 a.m. the chopper from JRCC stopped flying and a number of fire department and police resources were scaled back. An O.P.P. boat clung to the south shore around the middle of Macdonell Island while two other boats were concentrating their search around the southeast end of the island off Memorial Beach.

As of 12:27 p.m., the search was continuing. Just before 1 p.m. the chopper made one more pass before leaving the scene. Shortly after, Cornwall-SDG Paramedic Services and Cornwall and South Stormont firefighters left the scene, suggesting the active search was over around 1:20 p.m.

Shortly after 2 p.m., SD&G O.P.P. closed off the perimeter of Lock 21, leaving only two vehicles – a dark-coloured Jeep SUV and a silver Toyota sedan – on the grass at the launch area. The two vehicles had been there all morning. A man in a jacket and shorts stood alone on the grass at the lock, presumably the other diver.

Around 2:20 p.m., police escorted a small car into the scene. Two women could be seen talking with police investigators and one was hugging the man at one point.

An underwater search is scheduled to continue tomorrow (Wednesday).

 

[knives]

Very sad news

 

[Divingblueberry]

That is very sad indeed.

I did that dive twice for my AOW and was planning to do it again soon. I am very curious to learn more about what happened.

 

[melanie.]

From my understanding Ron (Seaway Valley Divers) cancelled the regular Wednesday dives to go help in the recovery search. I can't count how many times I have done that dive.... sad to hear. I haven't heard any details yet

 

[DandyDon]

That is very sad indeed.

I did that dive twice for my AOW and was planning to do it again soon. I am very curious to learn more about what happened.

The news article offers very little information as usual. Maybe you can share anything you pick up locally. The story doesn't give us any clues on the accident trigger, but this remark suggests part of the problem: "One of them surfaced, the other one didn’t." I'm guessing here, but it does sound like "meet you at the bottom/surface" diving vs "real buddies dive together, all of the way."

 

[melanie.]

I wouldn't say that site is simply "stay together or come up". There is a ton of boat traffic there, and it goes pretty sharply down to hard bottom around 70 ft. Difficult current to swim against. You can't just come up if you lose a buddy, you have to make to it shore first because it would be a very, very tough surface swim (if you don't get hit by a damn sailboat). It is common here that if you lose a buddy, you finish your dive, or meet later in the shallows/on way to shore.

Here is a dive site map to explain... Depending on where they separated, it could be 10 mins to get back to shore. As the news article stated 2 vehicles parked there, I am assuming they didn't drift from one of the islands upstream and rather did their entry from the tree. I almost always enter from the exit point, its easier to swim underwater than surface. That's a 7 minute hand over hand swim to give you an idea of time against the current

 

[DandyDon]

There is a ton of boat traffic there

Yes, I flew to Montreal and drove to someplace upstream from there once (the name escapes me) for a weekend of diving. Lovely area and great diving, and I remember the warnings about surfacing with boat and even ship traffic.

 

[ajtoady]

So sorry to hear of this. My condolences to the family and those close to him.
What is not mentioned, is the river is at high levels and the current is faster than usual. I believe they have increased flow again at the power plant facility and that would also increase current being that close to the dam.

 

[alphakry]

I am very close with this diver and he is a titan in the industry... out of respect to the family, friends and co-workers, I do not want to share his identity until it's been officially announced... but this is an incredibly sad day for us and for the industry.

 

[DandyDon]

I do not want to share his identity until it's been officially announced.

Such is not allowed on this forum anyway. Very sorry for your loss.

If you can share what you learn in time, it might help others. For now, the best for friends and family of the deceased usually is talk it out with trusted friends or professionals - not stifle.