Two divers dead on the Great Barrier Reef

[Dan]

If I'm not mistaken, the irukandji likes to hang around on the surface, near the beach. This will be a perfect storm for the snorkellers & beach swimmers, who wear nothing but skimpy bathing suit.

Scuba divers tend to dive underwater, mostly away from the beach & wearing wetsuit. So, we are less likely to get stung by it.

I'll be around there next week, diving in Cod Hole with Spoilsport liveaboard. I'll keep my fingers crossed.

Back in 2005, I was in Cayman Brac, doing a night dive. The DM told us to jump into the water & pass 15' (5m) depth, otherwise sea wasp, attracted by the flashlights, would get you. At the end of the dive, during the safety stop, I felt stinging on the back of my neck, the exposed skin area, ending up with red dots around my neck. That's the last time I did a night dive there. Not worth the pain & itch. The same kind of itch when you get bitten by sandflies (noseeum).

 

[DandyDon]

Could it be jellyfish ? Or CO from boat ? I mean two heart attacks at same time seems a bit of a stretch.

Not CO. One might get enough on a boat ride if the boat created a stationwagon effect pulling exhaust into the cabin, but not enough to kill - but that's only my guess.

Sad event but I do wonder if there may have been some irikanji or other triggering event. I am not sure when the irikanji and box jellyfish season is. I will have to research that.

That's a rumor on the news, but you know how news goes.

Whoa. VERY impressive first thought!!

French tourists who died on the Great Barrier Reef likely stung by Irukandji jellyfish: cardiologist - World - NZ Herald News

 

[iamrushman]

sad news.....

 

[lamarpaulski]

Whoa. VERY impressive first thought!!

French tourists who died on the Great Barrier Reef likely stung by Irukandji jellyfish: cardiologist - World - NZ Herald News

Kind of like statistics...an elderly person performing moderate exercise might have a 1 in a thousand chance of a medical issue in any small time window but two independent but identical deaths at the same time would seem more like 1 in a million. Odds are probably much greater. Have to look at some common denominator. Both in the same water, breathing the same air thru a snorkel.

They probably are less able to fend off the toxins too.

 

[stillswimmingincircles]

W

Kind of like statistics...an elderly person performing moderate exercise might have a 1 in a thousand chance of a medical issue in any small time window but two independent but identical deaths at the same time would seem more like 1 in a million. Odds are probably much greater. Have to look at some common denominator. Both in the same water, breathing the same air thru a snorkel.

They probably are less able to fend off the toxins too.[/QUOT

 

[stillswimmingincircles]

would irakandji toxin show up post mortem? Would they even test for that?

 

[dmaziuk]

That was my first thought. You think 2 people suffered heart attacks at the same time and then a third person had an "undisclosed medical condition" at the same time, and all of it was coincidence? Just randomly while snorkeling 3 people at the same time has medical issues come up? Give me a break.

If you flip enough coins in the air, some of them are bound to come up tails every time. Not that they don't have more than a fair share of lovely critters down under.

 

[clownfishsydney]

The whole thing about Irukandji disease (as it was originally called) is that no-one knew what caused it. Irukandji is the name of the local Aboriginal tribe that was seen to be affected by it. Basically they were dieing without any known reason, hence, Irukandji disease. Much later it was deduced that the "disease" was caused by the Irukandji jellyfish (as it was called once discovered). This is tiny, only 10-20 mm long (less than half an inch to less than an inch). Still not a lot known about them or where or how people are affected.

 

[WetPup]

Although it is currently irukandji season up here, I admit I don't buy into the irukandji story. There would have been other evidence of an irukandji sting, not just cardiac arrest. The fact that there was a medical dr on site, plus all the crew who have extensive first aid training (with a specific focus on recognising and treating marine stings), and none of them noticed any other irukandji symptoms? Really? I have no doubt the coroners report will investigate these claims, but as it currently stands, I am hard pressed to believe it is anything other than exceptionally bad luck.

 

[WetPup]

If I'm not mistaken, the irukandji likes to hang around on the surface, near the beach. This will be a perfect storm for the snorkellers & beach swimmers, who wear nothing but skimpy bathing suit.

Sort of. Box jellyfish are found in those locations. Irukandji are mostly found out on the reef, mostly in inter-tidal zones. This is why we wear full length exposure protection even in summer when water temps are 31C.