Unknown Tourist dead, Dive Master ill - Ambergris Caye, Belize

[clownfishsydney]

From what I saw on Death of Tina Watson - Wikipedia, it looks like there might be more than one side to that story (I mean, beside the "the case was laughable" story).

Not an accurate depiction of the whole event. Not sure who wrote it, but I have attempted to correct it a few times but it keeps getting overturned.

 

[John Bantin]

Always know what you're breathing: https://www.undercurrent.org/members/UCnow/dive_magazine/2008/TheBaaniAdventures200807.html

 

[rmorgan]

After reviewing all the evidence (and only I and less than five people other than the prosecutors have seen it all), I have no doubt that it was a tragic accident that would never have happened if Mike Ball Expeditions followed their own code of practise.

I'm sure that's true.

 

[DandyDon]

Always know what you're breathing: https://www.undercurrent.org/members/UCnow/dive_magazine/2008/TheBaaniAdventures200807.html

"Error 401: Authorization Required"

If you want to quote from your paywall-protected site, please quote the text.

But I do hope you correct this myth. The other divers tanks were likely filled at different times or dates.

It's unlikely CO poisoning was the culprit since that would have been due to a faulty compressor
installation and affected more tanks. All the other divers appeared to have no problems.

 

[tursiops]

Various dive ops (or even countries, like the Cayman Islands) may default to always doing a SS,

I have tried to find a document that supports a Cayman Island (CITA) requirement for safety stops, but cannot find one. I am probably wrong.
I can only find (attached) the CITA Watersports Operations Guidelines, which recommend a safety stop, and the Clearly Cayman (LCBR and CBBR) Guest Registration Agreement which requires a safety stop (page 5 question 5) on all dives.

 

[ibj40]

​

For those who are subscribed to undercurrent, was there any new information in their article or more of the same?​

Belize Diving Death; Always Test Your Air​

While divers know to analyze their nitrox before a dive, they may not think it important to analyze
compressed air. But, with operations producing all sorts of mixes these days, one should analyze
both nitrox and air.

This was borne out by an incident in Belize on June 11 when two nitrox divers became ill during a
benign 60-foot dive. Initial reports tell that the Belizean divemaster leading the group was
recovered by a woman in the group breathing straight air, who successfully administered CPR at the
surface. The other diver, a US citizen, appears to have made an uncontrolled ascent leading to
embolism and death after he became unwell at depth. He sank back down from the surface to the
seabed.

The content of their tanks are suspected of either being contaminated with CO or having a
too-rich oxygen mix, leading to toxicity at depth. The dive operator was Ambergris Divers, which
has not responded to our request for more information.

It's unlikely CO poisoning was the culprit since that would have been due to a faulty compressor
installation and affected more tanks. All the other divers appeared to have no problems.

It's more likely that the nitrox mix is suspect. This can happen especially if the nitrox is made
by partial pressure blending (when neat 02 is added to a tank and then
topped up with air) rather than de-nitrogenizing air through a membrane system. CO analyzers tend
to be expensive and complex to use- but anyone can buy a personal nitrox analyzer They can cost
around a couple of hundred dollars (Vandgraph, Divesoft, etc). Always check to know what you're
breathing- even if you think you're getting straight air.​

- John Bantin

"Error 401: Authorization Required"

If you want to quote from your paywall-protected site, please quote the text.

But I do hope you correct this myth. The other divers tanks were likely filled at different times or dates.

See my verbatim quote of Bantin’s article that I had previously posted.

 

[boulderjohn]

See my verbatim quote of Bantin’s article that I had previously posted.

Did you post one for the follow-up article to which Don was referring?

 

[ibj40]

Did you post one for the follow-up article to which Don was referring?

Sorry, I thought the link (actually didn't follow it, my bad) was the recent article.

I followed the link (I am an Undercurrent subscriber), so here is the article from the most recent link (the article itself is from 2008).

The Baani Adventure’s Lethal Air Compressor
from the July, 2008 issue of Undercurrent​

While it is rare these days for divers to be killed by carbon monoxide poisoning, a tragedy on the Baani Adventure shows it is a threat, especially in Third World countries. A Russian diver died, two Maldivian diving instructors were hospitalized and eight other divers had to be treated for carbon monoxide poisoning in their tanks provided by the liveaboard. They were floating unconscious after a morning dive at Raydhigaa Thila reef on May 22 but according to another diver on board, the problems had started from the beginning of the trip.

Lee Findlay, a New Zealand divemaster on board as a guest, told Undercurrent that he noted several divers and one dive guide had experienced headaches in the two preceding days. The day before the accident, the dive guide had requested a filter change on the two compressors used to fill tanks, but that obviously did nothing.

Ten divers started the fatal dive. After 37 minutes, Findlay’s dive buddy rushed to the surface, saying she couldn’t breathe. When Findlay surfaced, he found most of the divers and the two guides semi-conscious or unconscious. The single bottle of oxygen on the dhoni didn’t work. While a diver did CPR on the unconscious Russian diver, 41-year-old Roman Rudakov, four crew just stood by watching. “None of the crew on either boat appeared to have any training in emergency first aid,” Findlay said. “They were completely overwhelmed by the situation.” He tried CPR on Rudakov for 35 minutes but got no response. He believes Rudakov was made unconscious by the bad air while he surfaced, and drowned while floating face down in the water.

Tests found most tanks contained carbon monoxide levels of 80 parts per million -- the maximum safe level for diving is 15 ppm. Air in Rudakov’s tank measured 150 ppm but because that was the maximum level on the testing apparatus, the actual level may have been higher.

Police said a crack in the air pipe leading to the Bauer compressor was poorly mended with duct tape, allowing contamination to enter, probably in the form of engine exhaust. They arrested the 21-year-old man responsible for filling divers’ tanks. “But it’s the owners who should be held to account rather than this young guy, who no doubt got inadequate training,” says Findlay. Other divers told Maldives newspaper Mini Van News that they discovered Touring Maldives, Baani Adventure’s operator, failed to use a carbon monoxide filter recommended by Bauer when compressors are used in conjunction with an engine. When Undercurrent contacted Maldives Liveaboards, the Adventure’s owner, booking operator Gundi Holm replied that the boat’s two compressors were serviced by MA Services Male the day before the cruise started, and both compressors were reported to be working fine.

The glaring light on the Adventure’s lack of first-aid knowledge, plus the fact that the country has no regulatory body for diving safety, made the Maldives tourism bureau organize a dive safety seminar for the local dive operators. It also plans to inspect equipment on all boats.

Maldives Liveaboards says it will start checking boats regularly, and it plans crew training in first-aid courses, compressor handling and emergency management. But Holm says it’s difficult to get well-trained crew in Maldives. “Restrictions on foreign work permits don’t allow us to bring more educated crew from abroad.” Perhaps, but training implemented by dive operators themselves is long overdue.

Holm says divers concerned about doing a trip on that boat or the Baani Explorer can cancel their bookings without any fees, and Maldives Liveaboards will refund those who already paid in full.
The Centers for Disease Control lists the most common symptoms of carbon monoxide as headaches, dizziness, weakness, nausea, vomiting, chest pain, and confusion. High levels of CO inhalation can cause loss of consciousness and death. Unless suspected, CO poisoning can be difficult to diagnose because the symptoms mimic other illnesses.

 

[John Bantin]

FYI articles in Undercurrent are free to read to anyone if they are published prior to July 2023. Just go to the home page and the pull down menu for 'articles' and 'articles archive'.

 

[John Bantin]

FYI articles in Undercurrent are free to read to anyone if they are published prior to July 2023. Just go to the home page and the pull down menu for 'articles' and 'articles archive'.

Correction: January 2023.