Tourist Dies in Fiji

[Jax]

That's a very responsible way to live, alibi.

 

[DandyDon]

how the hell can you lose your buddy underwater and you surface without him ? HOW is possible ?

I understand that you can lose some1 underwater...but to realise that one is missing at the end of the dive when they count heads

We don't get very factual information as a rule, as news stories just aren't reliable, but one speculation based on the story as presented is that they really were not buddy diving. Sounds like a group dive without buddy protocols. All too common.

Or, maybe buddy pairs were organized but that pair failed. Also too common, but we really don't know.

Whichever - the best way to prevent such is good buddy protocols.

 

[sydney-diver]

This was reported on national nine news tonight. Only one side of the story was reported (the families, the dive operation declined to comment). It was reported that the deceased diver was left by herself on the bottom by a dive master who returned to the boat for some reason (possibly to get an extra cylindar but no reason was given as to why they'd do that). When a search was made she was found uncouncious on the bottom.

 

[toefa]

Hi Sydney-Diver, i caught the end of the story tonight so did a bit of a search to find out more and this is the article that nine news has put up.

Family search for answers after scuba death

 

[DandyDon]

Hi Sydney-Diver, i caught the end of the story tonight so did a bit of a search to find out more and this is the article that nine news has put up.

Family search for answers after scuba death

Thanks. Speculating some based on that one news article, and we know how loose they tend to be gathering facts, still - it sounds like maybe the couple were doing Resort dives, as they were not buddied like you would expect of a Scuba Certified BF & GF on vacation together. Excerpting below...

If we were to take this article as factual, then it sounds like they each had dive staff buddies, and if her's left her below, that would be wrong for a DM on a Resort course dive. It's expected that the Operator would keep quiet pending the investigation and any threat of actions.

It just keeps going back to basics of safe OW training, but then it sounds like they were not OW certified from this. I started with a Resort dive in the Caribbean, having no idea how dangerous that was, thinking I was just fine with the rental gear and my marginal understanding of how it worked - but at least my DM did stay with me and worked my BC for me at every step.

A Sydney family is struggling to find answers after a young woman died while scuba diving in Fiji.

Amy O'Maley, 28, from Terrey Hills, had been paired with a dive master while diving around the coral reef at Beqa Lagoon on December 29 when she became separated from him.

The guide resurfaced apparently to change his air tank and she was left alone amid strong currents, according to boyfriend Dale Kennedy, who was in Fiji holidaying with Amy.

"That's when panic stations happened for me," Mr Kennedy, who was waiting on the dive boat, told Nine News.

"I was just searching for Amy, searching for her bubbles."

Amy was found 18m down.

 

[pspeirs]

I think that before anyone can make a call, one important question needs needs to be asked, was she a certified diver and how much experience did she have. I'll assume she was certified because she was with a dive controller, not an instructor and there was no mention on being in a group or class.

Having said that, on a trip to Fiji last year I was involved in a conversation with a dive controller on holidays from England who was employed by a Padi school on one of the islands. He had been taking students down and instructing them, but they did not have an instructor on the island. They were bringing one across on the boat to sign the students off the following day.

It really comes back to how the students are taught and what they are taught. Students should be taught the importance of a buddy system but should know how to be self reliant enough to realise that if they're low on air to come to the surface, and I feel divers should be forced to go through a regular update in order to keep their certification valid.
Either she had really bad training or there was something else going on that we are not aware of yet.