Woman lost - Gili Lawa, Indonesia

[outofofficebrb]

Remind me never to use that outfit. Poor girl. What, was it too much bother to make sure she got on the boat before leaving her?

Don't forget about the buddy. Where was the buddy? Maybe the buddy continued on the dive but if that was the decision, the DM should have ensured she got back onto the boat safely before they all went back down again. So sad, especially because she was last seen in such shallow waters and probably (hopefully?) close to the boat.

 

[Dan]

This incident reminds me of similar situation back in February in Cozumel when DM took a diver, in trouble with her BCD power inflator, to 5 feet below the surface, left her alone there & returned to the group with tragic outcome.

Feb 19 2017 Cozumel diving fatality

 

[runsongas]

DMs are required to lead dives in komodo iirc, so formal buddies are not always assigned. you usually have 2 to 6 divers following a divemaster in a group. i pretty much treated it like solo diving during my trip.

 

[outofofficebrb]

DMs are required to lead dives in komodo iirc, so formal buddies are not always assigned. you usually have 2 to 6 divers following a divemaster in a group. i pretty much treated it like solo diving during my trip.

When we dove Komodo, we were 4 to a DM. There were definitely formal buddy pairs (if even only for emergency purposes). I am not knocking you about your experience in Komodo but in general for diving, it seems that it would be foolish to not have this discussion or plan before getting in the water and sounds like it's a free-for-all in an emergency...meaning, just find who is closest to you who can help you with your problem? Except, when that person is not familiar with your gear, releases, octo/air2, etc. situation, that could turn out quite interesting......

 

[Cali_diver]

I see so many boats demand buddy pairs but after the first day it tends to morph into a group dive not a buddy dive when you have singles. I think we need to hear the details (which might never happen). There is a good chance that if she and her buddy had surfaced without a SMB, with the tender not paying attention to bubbles and figuring the divers were going to be under for at least another 45-50 minutes ...then they would probably be looking for 2 divers right now.

My biggest fear is that something goes wrong at the beginning of a dive and you surface with no tender close by. I have had one experience like this but luckily it was close to shore and there were other boats near by and they were nice enough to go find my boat.

 

[Diverlookingforhelp]

Just an update. We're on day 6 of the search and yesterday was the last day the family got on the Helicopter to search for Rinta. Unfortunately, the search was unsuccessful yet again. Experts suggest that the funds will be better put towards search and recovery on boats and with divers from herein. A letter was written to request more assistance and after trying multiple avenues and channels, someone in the Singapore Ministry of Foreign Affairs was finally able to assist. To this effect, some assistance has only now been provided to continue the search... better late than never i guess.

The BASARNAS has kindly agreed to supply 3 additional large vessels along with private boats and divers hired by the family to continue to search near the dive site and neighboring areas from today. Reward notices have also been circulated and continue to be circulated to the neighbouring island villages and locals through various local channels.

We will all continue to pray for Rinta's return. The family would like to thank each and every one of you for your kind words and selfless assistance and support in trying to bring her home.

The funding site will be closed as the target fund for financing the helicopter search was reached. Thank u all for your generous support.

Please Donate to Help Us find Lost Diver Rinta Mukkam

 

[Cali_diver]

Just an update. We're on day 6 of the search and yesterday was the last day the family got on the Helicopter to search for Rinta. Unfortunately, the search was unsuccessful yet again. Experts suggest that the funds will be better put towards search and recovery on boats and with divers from herein. A letter was written to request more assistance and after trying multiple avenues and channels, someone in the Singapore Ministry of Foreign Affairs was finally able to assist. To this effect, some assistance has only now been provided to continue the search... better late than never i guess.

The BASARNAS has kindly agreed to supply 3 additional large vessels along with private boats and divers hired by the family to continue to search near the dive site and neighboring areas from today. Reward notices have also been circulated and continue to be circulated to the neighbouring island villages and locals through various local channels.

We will all continue to pray for Rinta's return. The family would like to thank each and every one of you for your kind words and selfless assistance and support in trying to bring her home.

The funding site will be closed as the target fund for financing the helicopter search was reached. Thank u all for your generous support.

Please Donate to Help Us find Lost Diver Rinta Mukkam

Thank you for the update.... thoughts and prayers for her family and friends.

 

[george_austin]

Don't forget about the buddy. Where was the buddy? Maybe the buddy continued on the dive but if that was the decision, the DM should have ensured she got back onto the boat safely before they all went back down again. So sad, especially because she was last seen in such shallow waters and probably (hopefully?) close to the boat.

I dive solo on 99% of my dive trips and 50% of my home diving. - maybe she was traveling / vacationing / diving alone

 

[Justfollowme]

For those curious of how/why this could happen, Castle Rock is an advanced dive. Especially with current. The dive briefing detailed a negative descent going quickly down to the max depth. Rinta was unable to equalize, a common problem that noone can control. So while she was stuck midwater attempting to equalize the rest of the group was able to quickly get to depth. The guide saw she was having problems and ascended to help. Seeing that equalization wasn't possible and he had 3divers at depth in current (without him) he signaled for her to abort, recieved an ok, then proceeded to redescend to find the rest of the group. He saw her last ascending from around 2m.
This was the correct decision for Castle Rock. I've personally had to make this decision possibly a dozen times. We generally have informal buddy teams because most guests come solo or in big groups (we do not allow teams to dive without a guide) so its not a surprise her 'buddy' wasnt with her, he followed the dive plan with the rest of the group and likely recieved a "shes ok, ear problems".
It was a very unfortunate accident that happened to Rinta. It was a very windy day as well as some strong currents. She did not have an smb, so she was not spotted by the speed driver in the choppy seas.
Here in Komodo nearly every shop and boat has donated time, energy and resources to aid in the search. Our thoughts are with the family and friends of Rinta.

 

[george_austin]

For those curious of how/why this could happen, Castle Rock is an advanced dive. Especially with current. The dive briefing detailed a negative descent going quickly down to the max depth. Rinta was unable to equalize, a common problem that noone can control. So while she was stuck midwater attempting to equalize the rest of the group was able to quickly get to depth. The guide saw she was having problems and ascended to help. Seeing that equalization wasn't possible and he had 3divers at depth in current (without him) he signaled for her to abort, recieved an ok, then proceeded to redescend to find the rest of the group. He saw her last ascending from around 2m.
This was the correct decision for Castle Rock. I've personally had to make this decision possibly a dozen times. We generally have informal buddy teams because most guests come solo or in big groups (we do not allow teams to dive without a guide) so its not a surprise her 'buddy' wasnt with her, he followed the dive plan with the rest of the group and likely recieved a "shes ok, ear problems".
It was a very unfortunate accident that happened to Rinta. It was a very windy day as well as some strong currents. She did not have an smb, so she was not spotted by the speed driver in the choppy seas.
Here in Komodo nearly every shop and boat has donated time, energy and resources to aid in the search. Our thoughts are with the family and friends of Rinta.

Thank you for the clarification. Very sad. SMB is with the diver on drift dives or dives with high current likely or present. I'm not saying having an SMB would have prevented her loss but the SMB is such an easy piece of equipment to pack, travel with and dive with.