Equipment Woman loses lower leg to prop - Maldives liveaboard

[DandyDon]

Her surfaced marker bouy got tangled in the prop? Or maybe her SMB line was.

Prop severs female diver’s leg in Maldives

A female scuba diver from the liveaboard Maldives Aggressor II is reported to have lost the lower part of her leg after it came into contact with a

divernet.com

A female scuba diver from the liveaboard Maldives Aggressor II is reported to have lost the lower part of her leg after it came into contact with a boat-propeller in the Maldives on the morning of 20 January.

The 63-year-old US tourist had been attempting to surface to the liveaboard’s diving dhoni following a dive off the coast of Hulhumalé, the reclaimed island connected to Malé’s airport island Hulhulé.

”Currently, it is understood that a diver aboard the Maldives Aggressor II experienced an accident where their surface marker buoy became entangled in the dhoni’s propeller, leading to injuries,” stated Aggressor Fleet. “The diver has been taken to a hospital and is reported to be in stable condition.

“A thorough investigation is underway by local authorities and our operations team, who will provide additional details on the incident once the investigation is concluded.”

Most diving around Hulhumalé is on the wreck of the 80m cargo ship Victory. Lying at a maximum depth of 35m, the site can be subject to strong currents.

According to police, the propeller had severed the woman’s leg from the knee down, and members of the Maldives National Defence Force were reported to have carried out an unsuccessful search of the area for the remains of the limb.

The woman was taken to Tree Top Hospital on the island for treatment, while the police continue to investigate the incident.

 

[drrich2]

Thanks for posting this; one more potential hazard to be aware of, I suppose. For her to be in stable condition is no small thing. 63 Years old, a major in-water amputation, I would think extensive bleeding between that and getting hauled into the dhoni, then I wonder how long a time before she was delivered to a hospital and got I.V. fluids, perhaps a transfusion, etc... All while likely lacking access to narcotic painkillers for a long, long time. What a horror.

 

[DandyDon]

My guess is that she had the SMB line attached to her BC. Never take that risk comrades.

 

[also_anon_dc]

How terrible. I don't even know how this happens- can't you just let go of the SMB once it gets entangled?

I can't help but notice this is yet another incident on the Aggressor fleet.

 

[MidOH]

She was clipped to it?

Need to start calling them deathaboards.

 

[RB7]

If the SMB was inflated then I wonder why would someone have it clipped to their BCD... In the Maldives unusually observed everyone holding the SMB as they waited for a pickup... I wonder if the dhoni backed up on the diver or if she surfaced behind the boat.. or maybe there was current that swept her to the back of the boat.. it's so unfortunate but glad that she lived through it.

 

[DandyDon]

I wonder why would someone have it clipped to their BCD.

So she wouldn't lose it is my guess. My home buddy once bought a nice, new sausage & reel, stuck it into a BC pocket he left open, then lost it on the first dive of a trip.

 

[rx7diver]

What a terrible accident.

One must be careful with a DSMB/SMB. I was on a tech training dive when a diver launched her DSMB from depth. The wreck line attached to it had somehow wrapped around a piece of her gear, and she began being dragged toward the surface. Her buddy quickly cut the line, so no harm--except for the scare. (We were all in deco at the time.)

Here in MO/AR, boats will come very close to your DSMB. I hold my reel lightly, making sure it is held away from my body/gear, with the idea of releasing it NOW if I have to.

rx7diver

 

[tarponchik]

It says "their surface marker buoy became entangled in the dhoni’s propeller", not "her surface marker buoy became entangled in the dhoni’s propeller". As far as my experience, only our DMs used surface markers.

 

[Tippytoes12]

On the first dive on a LOB each diver has to deploy their SMB to show the guide that they know how to use it.