uncontrolled ascent!

[xscreamsuk]

Just come accross this on the BBC web site. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/dorset/6096518.stm

Diver trawled up by fishing boat

A man diving off the Dorset coast was airlifted to hospital after a fishing boat accidentally trawled him up. The man, in his 40s, had been diving at a depth of 14m (46ft) when he was pulled up along with the fishing vessel's catch.
He started to suffer from the bends and the coastguard helicopter was sent to the boat, Shiraz, east of Portland.
The diver was taken to the specialist recompression chambers in Poole and later discharged.
Portland Coastguard said they were investigating the incident.

 

[oconnor69]

I was on that trip (see my thread http://www.scubaboard.com/showthread.php?t=164456).

We were doing a drift at grove point. When we got picked up after the dive, the guy was onboard on oxygen but didn't appear to be suffering too much but within a very short period of time he rapidly deteriorated. By the time the helicopter arrived he was in agony.

An eye opening experience!

 

[crosing]

46 feet is fairly shallow are you sure he was bent and not embolised?

 

[xscreamsuk]

I was on that trip (see my thread http://www.scubaboard.com/showthread.php?t=164456).

We were doing a drift at grove point. When we got picked up after the dive, the guy was onboard on oxygen but didn't appear to be suffering too much but within a very short period of time he rapidly deteriorated. By the time the helicopter arrived he was in agony.

An eye opening experience!

wow , thanks for the link,

 

[DandyDon]

I was on that trip (see my thread http://www.scubaboard.com/showthread.php?t=164456).

We were doing a drift at grove point. When we got picked up after the dive, the guy was onboard on oxygen but didn't appear to be suffering too much but within a very short period of time he rapidly deteriorated. By the time the helicopter arrived he was in agony.

An eye opening experience!

For any who do not want to review your posts on the other thread, I'll add them here...

I was diving at Portland (UK) today. First dive was a drift at Grove's Point. Vis was no more than 4 metres and the current was strangely unpredicatble... we appeared to go in a circle.

Anyway, upon sufacing we had to wait a good few minutes in 4ft swells before we were picked up. Once onboard the Rib we discovered another diver on oxygen. It turns out that his DSMB (with reel clipped to BCD) had been snagged by a passing fishing boat and he was pulled to the surface from 14 metres. Shortly after we got onboard he started to suffer serious pains and ended up being lifted by helicopter and spent several hours in a chamber.

As a new diver I am still playing it by the book ... my reel does not get clipped to me. After today's events, it never will be.

What similar, reinforcing experiences have you folk had?

By the way, last I heard before leaving was that he was doing fine and had a couple more hours scheduled in the chamber.

and

The diver concerned was a very experienced diver. From conversations on the boat he has been diving for over 10 years. He managed to cut the line during the ascent but unfortunately too late to prevent a rapid ascent to the surface.

The fishing boat passed way too close (around 5m) to the dive boat which was flying the alpha flag and I can only assume that they never saw the 2 metre DSMB in the swells. They were aware of what they had done however as soon as the dive boat moved on to collect the next lot of divers (us) they left.

The coast guard were very interested in talking to the fishing boat and suggested there would be a investigation into the incident.

As a relatively novice diver I don't wish to criticise folk with more exprience, but to enable newcomers like myself to make informed decisions.

Wild experience. I woud not have thought that clipping the reel would be that dangerous, but with boats and in some areas jet skis - I guess it could be.

Was it 4 meters or 14 meters? Conflicting posts there. Even for the greater depth, I am surprised at the extent of the injury?

Sounds like the fishing boat is in deep caca. :shakehead

 

[DiverLaura]

it says nothing about how deep his dive was before he was yanked up. Even so, with rapid ascent, bubbles can and do form on "shallow" dives.

pain often presents in DCS as opposed to AGE.

though if we want to be picky, AGE is a form of "Decompression illness", DCS (Type 1 and 2) being a micro gas bubble disease, the AGE being a macro gas bubble disease...

46 feet is fairly shallow are you sure he was bent and not embolised?

 

[oconnor69]

Max depth was around 20 metres. He had been down for 37 minutes and was hooked up from a depth of 14 metres.
Symptoms went from 'feeling unwell' to shaking hands to pains in arms, legs and stomach to agony in those areas all in a space of 10 to 20 minutes.