INCIDENT INSIGHTS WITH THE DIVERS ALERT NETWORK

DAN Asia Pacific Case summary; The dives

A group consisting of three scuba divers and a free-diver were all related as cousins. None of them were agency-certified divers. Divers Two and Three were experienced, self-taught; Diver One had some dive experience, but this was his first night dive. The free-diver was on the boat during the incident and was using only mask, snorkel and fins to assist.
All three divers entered the water and started their descent. Five minutes into the dive, Diver Two's tank slipped out of its BCD strap and was floating free. Diver Three was able to get Diver Two's attention and let him know his gear had become loose and needed adjusting.

Diver Two signalled he was going to the surface to return to the boat to get the gear adjusted. Diver Three also ascended without getting Diver One's attention, leaving him alone on the bottom.

After reaching the boat, the two divers realised that Diver One had not returned to the surface with them. After a short surface search, the free-diver located Diver One in about 8m of water entangled in kelp. He got the boat captain's attention and indicated that the diver was still wearing his mask, and that his regulator was still in his mouth. The free-diver made several attempts to swim down to try and free the diver from the kelp but was unable to help. The free-diver had to return to the boat and explained that the diver was conscious, and panicking and struggling to free himself.

A fourth diver on the boat now equipped with scuba gear entered the water and found Diver One completely entangled in thick kelp. Unfortunately, by this time the diver was no longer wearing his mask, had lost his regulator and apparently ceased breathing. Dive Four brought the unbreathing diver to the surface and pulled him onto a small boat piloted by a good Samaritan who had heard screams for help. CPR was started immediately; the diver was transported to the hospital where he was pronounced dead upon arrival.

Evaluation

The three divers were related and not certified divers. They had some experience diving together many times previously. However, Diver One was not as experienced as the other two and had not participated in a night dive before.
Though all three were diving together there was no indication they were paying much attention to each other. When the two divers returned to the surface with a gear malfunction, there was no indication that Diver One was considered missing until they reached the boat.

The entangled diver became separated from his cousins and did not know they had ended the dive and returned to the surface. The diver then became dangerously entangled in the kelp and drowned before the rescue diver was able to reach him. The trigger factor could have been either the separation or the kelp entanglement provoking a panic.

The victim's gas tank was recovered and found to still contain 2200 psi of air. If the diver had not panicked and had stayed calm until the rescue diver arrived, he may have survived this ordeal.

Discussion

Diving in heavy kelp requires special training, particularly in managing entanglement. Open-water, formal training provides knowledge about the risks of diving in kelp, proper gear configuration ("tighter" gear configuration, no dragging hoses or gauges), tools and the skills needed to free yourself or others from entanglement. It was not reported whether the divers had appropriate cutting devices that could have been used to cut away the kelp from the entangled diver.
Divers prepared through formal training are likely to experience less stress and anxiety. Formal training also would have taught the divers to dive in buddy pairs, not as a trio. It has been found many dive accidents are caused by the third person in the group losing contact with the other two, each thinking the other was paying attention to the third diver.

Retrospectively it appears if the rescue diver had entered the water immediately when the entangled diver was spotted, the entangled diver may have been saved, but this is just a speculation. Having a divemaster or rescue diver on the boat, ready to dive, is important when diving in areas with high risk

Lessons learned

• Do not dive without formal training. • Take specialty training for diving in conditions and environments with specific risks such as kelp, night diving, etc.
• Have a contingency plan for known hazards, share it with your buddy, and comply with it.
• When diving in kelp, streamline your equipment to reduce the risk of entanglement.
• Carry proper cutting tools to liberate yourself from the entanglement.
• If entangled, stop, think and then act.

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