Tourist dies while diving on Ambergris Caye

[Ministryofgiraffes]

I'm going to step in here. The guy was diving with Ramon's. I don't dive with Ramons, but they are a 5 * op and i have been around their diveshop a lot. It's as safe and professional as any dive operation i have seen in North America or elsewhere. They dive 365 days a year with literally thousands of divers. They are also part of an american owned and operated hotel.

Unless you instruct in caves in central america and don't rigorously maintain your equipment of course...perhaps that's the basis for your statement?

I don't meant to be incendiary, but sweeping statements like that are just utter horsesh!t and as a professional you should know better. You have basically tarred an entire continent of professionals with a sweeping generalization and zero evidence......i mean.... ffs....

 

[kensuf]

My statement on the valves is simply this -- valves that are regularly exposed to saltwater get some corrosion. It's a fact of life. While I'm sure all of their valves are rebuilt during an annual VIP, I'm skeptical they are rebuilt more frequently than that. This can make some valves a little sticky.

 

[chillyinCanada]

Another thing about this that is bothering me just a bit, is that because of the way dives are conducted out of San Pedro, for the most part, the boat follows the bubbles and are always watching for early ascending divers. Of course, anyone can have an off day or moments of inattention.

I'll give an example. First, I've had 100s of dives out of San Pedro. One day, I was trailing along as our group was swimming through the groove of some finger corals. Lovely dive. I became focused on some little creature or other as is my want and when I next looked to my group, there they weren't.

Hmmm, so I should search for a minute and then ascend. On that dive, there didn't appear to be anywhere else to go except up the next groove but I still didn't see them. Then I began to ascend to look for bubbles. Just as I crested the canyon, so did the dive guide. He was beside himself.

Turns out that despite all the times I'd done that dive, I'd forgotten about the swim through, though that is neither here nor there in the premise of my story.

Upon all of us surfacing at the end of the dive, my wonderful long time dive guide and dear friend, said he'd surfaced frantic saying he'd lost me and the captsin had laughed and said, "she's right behind you"

My point being that the guy on the surface in the boat watching over us knew where we all were.
It seems peculiar to me that on that site, the watcher lost the early ascending diver.

I'd like to know the perspective of the captain of Ramon's boat that day. I wonder what he saw or didn't see.

Was he watching and then suddenly no more bubbles? Did he do a recall? Did it appear that all of the divers had regrouped?

No finger pointing here. Merely wondering

 

[chillyinCanada]

I just went back and reread the article in the first post in this thread.

Perhaps the article has been updated since the OP because while we've been speculating medical event the article says the autopsy says heart event and even names the type.

 

[Dr. Deep]

I was going to say, statistically, he probably had an MI leading to a fatal cardiac arrhythmia, and at age 68, cholesterol plaques are the leading cause of sudden cardiac death, but the article was edited with the autopsy- Dilated cardiomyopathy with chronic heart failure, which can also be caused by prior MI.

Fitness matters. Also, great way to go, in the ocean. But, from the sounds of it he wanted out of the water, not to die in it.

"An estimated 180,000–300,000 sudden cardiac deaths (SCD) occur in the US annually.[1,2] Worldwide, sudden and unexpected cardiac death is the most common cause of death,[2] accounting for 17 million deaths every year with SCD accounting for 25 % of these. The accepted definition of SCD is death that occurs within one hour of onset of symptoms in witnessed cases, and within 24 hours of last being seen alive when it is unwitnessed.[2] The majority of deaths are unwitnessed, with VF being the final underlying mechanism.[2–5] The majority of patients are found in asystole or pulseless electrical activity (PEA) and heart block is increasingly noted as an etiology." (Sudden Cardiac Death and Arrhythmias)

 

[Dan G]

Locally, it is being reported that he died of heart failure while diving.

 

[ibj40]

Locally, it is being reported that he died of heart failure while diving.

Wonder if the divers and DM mistook him clutching at his chest for the standard arm across the chest signal of out of air?

 

[Kimela]

Although I agree to a certain point, taking him to the safety stop without his buddy an leaving him there alone will probably weigh on that DM for a long time.

Since it is a safety stop, instead of leaving the diver alone, he could have sent him up so the boat crew could get him on board safely. When boat diving with a new diver, or new buddy pair, I have used this procedure, or made the stop with them, and watched them get back onboard then finished the dive solo.

Bob

I think there are the 'ideal' scenarios and then 'reality'. If YOU were the one to die, after taking the others to the surface and going back to finish solo, we'd all be saying "where was his buddy? SOMEONE should have had eyes on him until he surfaced." But those are decisions we each make, and take responsibility for our personal safety.

My buddy (husband) has opted to go back to the boat early due to boredom or b/c he's used more air than I have (it's not uncommon for me to have 1500 psi when he's at 1000psi), and I've signaled to the DM that I'm buddying up with someone else while my buddy does his safety stop. Thus far, he has made it safely to the boat. From now on, I won't take my eyes off him until I see him getting on the boat. I think I have been too cavalier, but I won't be in the future.

 

[Bob DBF]

I think there are the 'ideal' scenarios and then 'reality'. If YOU were the one to die, after taking the others to the surface and going back to finish solo, we'd all be saying "where was his buddy?

Perhaps here on Scubaboard, not among the people on the Ca boats I dive from. I normally dive solo, but when going with a group from the LDS I will buddy dive if someone's buddy sits out a dive for one reason or another, it doesn't happen a lot, but does happen. I've done the same thing for DM's I know (they don't leave the boat) when they ask. I let my buddy and the DM know the dive plan before we splash.


I also let the DM know when I'm going to do something out of the ordinary like hanging out under the boat, shooting a bag for practice, or practice a negative entry. On Ca boats the viz isn't so good that they can see what's going on from the surface.


Bob

 

[Saniflush]

My buddy (husband) has opted to go back to the boat early due to boredom or b/c he's used more air than I have (it's not uncommon for me to have 1500 psi when he's at 1000psi),

Let me know if you get in the Florida panhandle area. You and Mrs Flush aka "my pony bottle" can pair up. I hate both of you but I can't quit you.