Underwater Model Drowns 2016-05-15 - Taiwan

[jphehe]

Taiwan, Kenting national park

News (in Chinese): 為拍水下美照　伊林女模嗆水身亡 | 即時新聞 | 20160516 | 蘋果日報

A 25-year-old Taiwanese professional model, Olivia Ku, drowned yesterday during an underwater photo shoot in Kenting national park, Taiwan.

According to the news and community information, this happened at about 6 meters depth near the coast. She was accompanied by other scuba divers at the time. It seemed that she choked underwater when changing the outfit (mermaid suit). CPR was performed while waiting for the ambulance. The group she was diving with is called "Divepro".

This was not her first time modeling underwater, and she had moderate scuba experiences. The day before the incident, she went scuba to help clean up underwater garbage with friends.

It is unknown how many scuba divers were with her for the shoot, and what was the protection mechanism available for the model. Not further details are known at this time.
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If anyone has more information feel free to input.

 

[jjchang]

Some news said that she had asthma attack and remove her tank under water, and this was her second dive. But the official report said that she was drowned.
The same news medium even said that she was not certified, but had taken a lot of courses, such as Nitrox, Night dive, and Boat dive ... (unbelievable) Here is the news source: 顧思妤無潛水證　假日赴墾丁上潛水課 | 即時新聞 | 20160516 | 蘋果日報 (in Chinese)

 

[jphehe]

Yep, I'm seeing mixed reports here and there so far. The officials have questioned the dive shop & her family.
Some nearby witness also provided their say. Hopefully we'll get the facts soon.

EDIT:
I just found the latest investigation report from the local District Prosecutors Office.
Here's the link to the report dated 5/17: (PDF in Chinese)
http://www.ptc.moj.gov.tw/HitCounter.asp?xItem=433599&mp=022

Summary:
- She was with 2 friends and 3 other instructors (from the said dive shop) at the time.
- Her scuba experience meets the equivalent hours for OW, boat dive, night dive and Nitrox (but it appears she was never certified. Uh oh)

Investigation is still ongoing for the responsibility of negligence.

 

[iamrushman]

sorry to here such sad news...condolences to family and friends....

 

[iamrushman]

i ran here name on the internet.

Ku was married to a cousin of Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Chiu Yi-ying (邱議瑩). She is survived by her husband and a four-year-old daughter

A diver said he was perplexed by the accident, as a diver should have been watching her during the photo shoot, which are usually held in shallow waters

Olivia Ku is an actress, known for Heebie Jeebies (2013), Gangster Squad (2013) and Notes from Dad (2013).

 

[Don Quixote]

Just some clarifications, this is on the English newspaper in Taiwan and has many of the information incorrect:
Eelin model drowned while diving

This is also a headline TV news in Taiwan:
25歲伊林女模 水下拍攝嗆水亡 - 華視新聞網

Some details:
- There is no Houpi Lake. There is actually no lake around that area. Houbihu is the name of a harbor for fishing boats and ferries.
- Incident actually happened at the Maanshan Water Outlet just east of the Houbihu Harbor. This site is a shore dive with a 15 meter wade on reef bottoms to a dropoff. The dropoff is to about 8 meters, sandy bottom and goes deeper out into the sea.
- The diver is with 3 instructors to do a photo shoot of her in mermaid costumes, said to be a popular activity there.
- Diver said to have been diving for the past 3 years including night dives but has no certification!!!

The details leave a lot of questions.

 

[Storker]

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[jphehe]

No further news so far, but I was talking to my instructor the other day about this incident, and this was when he told me something shocking about this dive center.
I then googled its history with diving incidents. Here are the findings:

1999-07-23: group of 6 divers got drifted into sea; 4 rescued after 36hrs; 2 still missing (presumed dead); all very experienced divers, one instructor among the dead.
2008-04-26: group of 8 divers got drifted into sea for 26hrs, all rescued by coast guard.

News link: (Chinese)
8人七星岩潛水失蹤 | 蘋果日報

Both incidents were with the same boat, same captain, and the same dive site (七星岩): a high level dive site with unpredictable sea condition
Wiki: Qixingyan (Taiwan) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The dive center DivePro is with SSI.

What a record, and it also seems that this dive center has very controversial reputation.
I've sent SSI USA a message via their website regarding the recent incident, and encouraged them to look into this matter as well.
I haven't gotten any response from them yet, but if any SSI HQ rep is reading this, I welcome their comments here.

So far DivePro has made no public statement regarding the recent incident on their FB page, but they are still posting pics/videos of new divers for marketing.

 

[iamrushman]

thanks for the info...keep us informed.

 

[2airishuman]

I have some acquaintances who work as mermaids for a local attraction. They are certified divers but do not use scuba while working as mermaids.

The "tail" they wear is a custom silicone rubber sleeve, rather like a monofin that extends up to the waist. They are handmade and include some stiffening ribs so that they are reasonably effective for swimming. It is not possible to stand while wearing one, and it is difficult and time consuming to get out of the "tail." The attraction where they work has spotters who assist the mermaids out of the water in the event of difficulty.

I have always been concerned that the safety problems posed by these costumes may not be fully understood and appreciated.

Perhaps that was part of the problem with this accident.