Umbilical severed at 80 meters in North Sea

[Heliumthief]

Indeed. One of the many suggestions after the event was to trial a battery-powered ‘cummerbund’ (I’ll rely on autocorrect for that one..) to attempt to keep the core warmer for longer. It took quite a lot of discussion to get people to understand that if he’d stayed warm for longer, he’d probably have died....

In my opinion, the use of rebreathers like the COBRA is the single biggest mitigation in a situation like this (bearing in mind that the chances of an incident like this happening again in roughly the same circumstances is extremely low..).

 

[TrimixToo]

The OP predates my joining SB, so I would just like to add my USD .02...

Holy, SH...er, "moly." Glad it worked out.

 

[Akimbo]

I know this is an old thread but here is a link to a newly posted YouTube interview with Chris Lemons, the diver with the severed umbilical:

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[Searcaigh]

Thanks @Akimbo, that is a pretty good interview.

 

[Miyaru]

It's been a decade since the incident happened, but it is still as intriguing as it was 10 years ago. An article was devoted to this case in a german medical magazine last January:

But still my question remains unanswered: what exact gas-mix was in his D7 bailout on his back?

 

[Akimbo]

But still my question remains unanswered: what exact gas-mix was in his D7 bailout on his back?

Normally, the bailout mix is about the same as deep mix, 0.3-0.5 PPO2. The general consensus is that the very rapid loss of heat from the skin and core due to HeO2's thermal conductivity saved his life. I have heard from several sat divers that his bailout was not even empty (meaning he blacked out before he ran out of gas) but have not seen that in a published report.

You also have to remember that a baggy hot water suit is no better than a pair of cotton coveralls when the hot water stops.

 

[edwants2dive]

I watched the full length movie on this and it was gripping and hard to watch but well worth it. The title is Last Breath. It was on Netflix but I am not sure if it is anymore.