Teenage diver search called off

[Charlie99]

i am juz wondering how did this occur? the boy has ascended to the surface, BC was inflated so how could he drowned?

Among the infinite number of possibilities is that

He and his father surfaced downcurrent from the boat;

the people left on the boat had trouble starting the engine,

the father decided to swim to the boat (or alternatively, ignores his son while trying to attract attention of other boats)

and by the time he started up the boat and/or got attention of other boats the son had drifted out of sight.

The son dies of exposure/hypothermia before being located.

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Pure speculation, but one scenario that fits with what has been reported so far.
It is amazingly easy to lose sight of a diver on the surface in rough water.

 

[Lonefox]

Given the comments in this news report, which state that it's believed he was "pulled under"
Family's tribute to diver son (From South Wales Argus)
And that he was found only 500 yards from the location he's most likely to have been diving.
It seems that it was most likely he was overweighted, lost buoyancy for some reason, and didn't drop his weights.

 

[String]

do they release the inquest for general public?

Yes. Coroners court findings are public domain. Usually take about 12-24 months for them to be heard and concluded though.
The short distance from where he want missing to being found does hint at sinking/negative buoyancy. With large tidal range and very strong currents there anything not heavy on the bottom would have moved a lot further.

This does really emphasise 2 things though - dont get separated on ascent and its really unforgivable to separate on the surface.

 

[DandyDon]

This does really emphasise 2 things though - dont get separated on ascent and its really unforgivable to separate on the surface.

The obvious to be is Get Positive! Drop the weights if needed. How many ever practice that after OW? So many bodies are found with weights on.

 

[String]

Inquest has been unusually fast and the report is out:

BBC NEWS | England | Devon | Diver, 14, sank after air ran out

A 14-year-old boy died on a diving trip when he ran out of air and sank, an inquest heard.
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But he then lost buoyancy when the air ran out and he was dragged under.

A police diving expert said Louis' air tank would have given him only two minutes more than the 20-minute dive and an open verdict was recorded.
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Police diving expert Pc Peter Gough said the boy only had a nine litre cylinder compared to his father's 15 litre tank and so would have had just 22 and a half minutes at the 20m (65ft) deep seabed.

He said it was not possible to work out exactly how long he had been there because his father was not carrying a dive computer.

He said once his air ran out he would have had no buoyancy because of the weight of his kit.

An open verdict was recorded into his death of Louis, a qualified open water diver.

Maybe useless reporting but lots there dont make sense. Ive never seen a 9 litre cylinder and even if that is true the time quoted is an SAC of 31litres/minutes which is enormous, well over twice you'd expect from someone on a routine non stressful dive.

Also, if positive on the surface then air or not wouldnt matter - you dont just sink.

No mention of if the boat had VHF or other safety devices (but that isnt the mandate of the inquest to investigate) or if the boat was moored. If it was a commercial operation it would be relevant but it wasnt in this case.

FWIW an "open" verdict basically translates to "we dont know". Not really a finishing conclusion.

 

[Lonefox]

No dive computers, surfacing on an empty tank, overweighted, diving deeper than recommended for his qualification.
It seems like this was a recipe for disaster from the outset. Also, why did he not drop his weights ?
Such a waste of a life, and imo totally avoidable.

 

[Rick Murchison]

... Ive never seen a 9 litre cylinder ...

Standard AL 65. Used one last night.
Rick

 

[Rick Murchison]

... why did he not drop his weights ?...

Most fatalities don't. If they did, they wouldn't be fatalities, most likely.
Rick

 

[MarkUK]

Standard AL 65. Used one last night.
Rick

Might be a standard size out Stateside, but over here, you tend to get seven-litre, 10-litre, 12-litre and 15-litre, so unless they got hold of a US cylinder from somewhere (highly unlikely), I'd be tempted to agree with String on a bit of dodgy reporting.

Does seem wholly avoidable. Witnesses said he was on the surface and leaning back in his BCD 'as he'd done at the end of other dives'. If he was leaning back in an inflated BCD on the surface, how'd he sink? Unless he was trying to oral-inflate and pressed the deflate button, air escaped the jacket and he sank. Oral inflate and dumping weights are two easy ways of ensuring you stay on the surface, but too many times panic sets in and these two simple exercises are not done, often with tragic outcomes.

Mark

 

[seco divemaster17]

the news said that the boy was ok diving, if that is so then why didnt the boy lose his weights and help with keeping him up were ever on ecould see him ?plus it sound like he may be under the water too