A diver died in Trieste, another is still fighting for his life

[JanK]

Some sad news. The Slovenian daily newspaper Delo reported today that a diving accident occurred in Trieste. The translation of the article:

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A diver died, another is in mortal danger

In an accident involving two divers from Piran this morning at 11:15 in front of the Miramar castle one diver died and the other is fighting for his life in a hospital.

CAPTION: What went wrong to get two otherwise experienced divers into trouble is not known at this time (picture is symbolic)

B.S., Sunday, 25. 7. 2001 at 19:54

Trieste - Divers Samo Alajbegović in Žiga Dobrajc were taking part in a four day course in special diver techniques in a marine reserve in front of the Trieste coast. What happened to put otherwise experienced divers into trouble that caused the death of Samo Alajbegović is not known at this time. Žiga Dobrajc (35), employed at the marine biological station in Piran, was transferred to a hospital in Cattinara.

From the Monday paper edition
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There's another article in La Stampa

The Google translation, which I've cleaned up a bit, is:

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Tragedy at Reserve of Miramare
Bodies found by a policeman
TRIESTE
Another diving tragedy, after the two deaths of Portofino, has happened this morning in the waters off the Marine Reserve of Miramare Trieste: a Slovenian diver died and his compatriot is in bad shape in intensive care after suffering a cardiac arrest of 40 minutes. Perhaps the origin of the failure are the cylinders which they used, together with a group of four to five Italians in the waters protected and managed by the WWF.

Around 11:00 the group, who had lost track of a member, ZD, 31 years. raised the alarm. An off-duty policeman found him, about four feet deep, dragged him to shore and called 118. Rescuers have intubated him and treated with epinephrine and cardiac massage, which has "restarted" his heart.

The 31 year old was then rushed to the intensive care unit of the hospital Cattinara in hyperbaric chamber. The prolonged stop of the heart raises fears of physical and brain damage, so doctors prognosis remains strictly confidential. Meanwhile, the group has lost track of the second sub Slovenian, SA, 41. Teams of divers from Police and Fire Department, along with the Coast Guard, on the spot with three boats, and Team Marine Police Headquarters sprang into action.

After four hours, around 14:30, the fire department have identified the body of HS at seven meters depth and 40 metres from the dock of the bay of Miramar. There was nothing else to do but deliver the body to the Harbour Master, where they performed the first medico-legal examinations. The Coast Guard has taken statements from the other divers, to reconstruct the story and understand what may have caused the accident.

The two divers - according to the findings so far - were experts and professionals working in Koper. Apparently the two were experimenting with a new type of equipment, but it was the same used by the whole group. Among the first considerations was that of a fatal failure in cylinders and nozzles, which were seized and will be appraised by the judiciary.
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and more articles can be found by googling for news Trieste Cattinara. Note that there are inconsistencies in the divers' ages.

Perhaps our Italian colleagues will be able to shed more light on this.

 

[rado]

According to "Il Piccolo" they were on rebreathers. I cannot post the link (less than 5 posts), but maybe someone can google it and post it (Article title: Tragedia a Miramare, un sub morto e uno in fin di vita).

 

[JanK]

Here is the link to the article in Italian

And again a slightly cleaned up Google translation with my comments in [square brackets]:

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Tragedy in Miramare, a diver dead and one nearly dying

The two biologists Slovenes were found four hours apart. They were taking part in a course reserved for experienced divers. Both were affected by embolism

TRIESTE. Tragedy in the waters of a protected reserve of Miramare. A Slovenian biologist of 41 years, Samo Alajbegovic from Piran, spending a few days with other colleagues from Slovenia and Trieste in a course reserved for experienced divers, was found dead after four hours of research at sea. A second - Dobrajc Ziga, 31, an official of the Marine Biology Station Piran - is recovering in desperate condition in Cattinara resuscitation after having been in cardiac arrest for forty minutes.

The cause of the dramatic conclusion of the diving still needs to be ascertained. It is possible, however, that the accident was caused by the malfunction of the special equipment used for diving, immediately put under sequestration by the Harbour Master Lucia Baldovin. The "rebreather" means a system of breathing recirculated gas, which avoids the emissions of air.

The yesterday's dive - involving a dozen divers accompanied by two instructors Company NUET (No Underwater Explorer Team) - was done exactly with the objective of discovering the potential of the rebreather, to assess it and possibly use in scientific research and observation activities. Not producing bubbles this particular respirator allows experts to approach and then study more precisely the marine species. A possibility considered very interesting by the two Slovenian biologists, so yesterday they have donned wetsuits and cylinders to participate in a series of organized dives in Miramare. Four days at sea, from Thursday to yesterday, in low seas and in safety, since the ultimate goal was simply taking pictures and test the quality of the rebreather.


No risk, then. Yet something, despite the extreme preparation of the participants, did not work. Around 11.20 am, i.e., a few minutes after entering water, the instructor who was with the two Slovene - a policeman Marco Panico - noticed the body of Ziga Dobrajc floating face down in front of the Ducal Bath, near the Castle, at a point where the depth reaches only 4 meters. Immediately the emergency procedures were started: the diver was the first rescue by colleagues and then transported by boat to harbor of Grignano, where by this time the 118 teams [rescue services] were already present.

In order to revive the unconscious diver, doctor and nurses have worked tirelessly and succeeded in restarting the heart after 40 minutes. From there he was transfered to Cattinara hospital, where currently the 31 year old is struggling between life and death. The prognosis is confidential and is not excluded that the prolonged lack of oxygen in the human brain can result in serious brain damage.

The excitement of assistance provided to the first sub prevented the diving colleagues to immediately note the disappearance of the other Slovenian biologist. It took a few minutes, in fact, to realise that Alajbegovic Samo, had not emerged to the surface along with the rest of the group. To be able to find him some thirty people including Master, divers of firefighters and police and marine police team have explored the length and breadth of the seabed of the Reserve for about four hours. The discovery was made around 15: the lifeless body of the man of 41 years lying about forty meters from the Sphinx of the Park of Miramare, at about seven meters deep.

Transported to the headquarters of the Master, the body has been entrusted to the early findings of the coroner Fuliani Denny, who found no external injuries. "From a doctor - said Fuliani - it is plausible that there has been an gas embolism. Hypothesis compatible with deposits found in the bag [I don't understand the original text..., thus this ambiguous translation]. Less probable is cardiac illness, especially as the two divers felt ill a few minutes apart."
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[ScottB]

I am by no means an expert, so the following is my opinion based upon my understanding. Hopefully someone with a higher level of knowledge will stop by to confirm or deny my supposition.

Regarding the translations:

Transported to the headquarters of the Master, the body has been entrusted to the early findings of the coroner Fuliani Denny, who found no external injuries. "From a doctor - said Fuliani - it is plausible that there has been an gas embolism. Hypothesis compatible with deposits found in the bag [I don't understand the original text..., thus this ambiguous translation]. Less probable is cardiac illness, especially as the two divers felt ill a few minutes apart."
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The "Bag" is likely the rebreather's counterlung.

A counterlung expands and contracts as the diver exhales and inhales, respectively.

As the diver exhales into the rebreather, the counterlung(s) expand. As the diver inhales from the rebreather, the counterlung(s) collapse. The exhaled gas is supposed to pass through a carbon dioxide absorbent, and fresh gas containing oxygen is supposed to be added.

Depending on the type of rebreather, a fraction of the gas exhaled by the diver may be exhausted into the water. Also depending on the type of rebreather, the fresh gas added may be pure oxygen or a mixed gas.


Arterial Gas Embolism has symptoms which include (but are not limited to):
Hemoptysis (Bloody sputum, Bloody froth from the nose or mouth) (1, 2, 3)
Vomiting (14)

It is my understanding as a layman that the "deposits found in the bag" may be vomit, blood or bloody froth.

(1) http://www.scuba-doc.com/qkrsp.html © 1996-2009
Ernest Campbell, MD, FACS retrieved Nov 22, 2009

(2) HathiTrust Digital Library - NOAA diving manual / James T. Joiner, editor ; [U.S. Dept. of ... © 2001 Best Publishing Company. James T. Joiner, editor. Retrieved 10-12 Dec 2009 NOAA Diving Manual, 4th edition

(3) US Navy Diving Manual, Revision 6. Published by Direction of Commander, Naval Sea Systems Command 15 April 2008

My condolences to the individuals involved and their families.

Respectfully,

Scott

 

[rado]

Unfortunately Ziga Dobrajc, the second diver involved in the accident died yesterday.


The Italian media reported that criminal investigation against the manufacturer of the equipment and 2 course organizers is in progress.

 

[JanK]

A few weeks ago I found a followup article
in our major daily,
Potaplja?a sta umrla zaradi kopice napak

My comments about the translation are in
{curly brackets}.

=====
Divers died from a multitude of errors.

The death of two Slovenian divers in an accident on the 25th July in the
nature reserve Miramare near Trieste was a result of technical and
organisational errors that were perpetrated by the Italian organisers of
the diving course and scuba rebreather equipment demo.

Boris Suligoj, Obala | Wednesday, 22.12.2010
[Picture]

Piran - The death of two Slovenian divers in an accident on the 25th July
in the nature reserve Miramare near Trieste was a result of technical and
organisational errors that were perpetrated by the Italian organisers of
the diving course and scuba rebreather equipment demo. This was told
yesterday at a presentation and analysis of the experts' review of the
equipment, organised at the marine biological station in Piran by Damir
Podnar, an experienced diver and instructor, member of a group of experts
that examined the equipment after the accident.

"The confiscated and sealed equipment was thouroghly examined in August,
the whole procedure was videotaped and properly documented so there can be
no doubts about the findings. On one of the rigs we found out that the hose
from the doser {This I presume is the solenoid} to the breathing bag
{counterlungs, I presume} was missing. This means that the breathing bag
wasn't getting the correct mixture. On the second rig a seal on the first
stage (on the breather) was so worn out that air was leaking from the
system. Beside these two technical errors we discovered several smaller
ones; for example, the tanks weren't tested, even though older tanks are
supposed to be tested every two years. This goes to show how
unprofessionally the owner maintained the equipment." said Damir Podnar,
who's convinced that the accident should not have happened despite the
catastrophically badly maintained equipmnent, because both students should
have had instructors with them, which should have noticed problems within a
minute of occurrence.

Because of technical errors both divers breathed unsuitable air mixture,
oxygen content dropped from the mandatory {?} 30% to less than 20%, and
there was also a lack of CO2 to stimulate breathing {I suspect some
confusion on part of the reporter?}. In both cases hypoxia occurred,
followed by uncosciousness and later death. Both divers went diving in a
group with just one instructor.

A dive to 4m should have been trivially easy for the experienced divers.
The instructor only noticed that something was wrong with Ziga Dobrajc
after 5 or 6 minutes, dragged him to the shore where he was immediately
given first aid. After 40 minutes he was brought to a Trieste hospital
Katinara, where after 3 days he suffered a shutdown of vital organs. During
his rescue, Samo Alajbegovic was left under water.

Damir Podnar told us that the organisers of the course (the company
N.U.E.T. from Trieste) are now claiming that it was equipment and special
diving techniques demo and not a course. Podnar could not tell us whether
Gianpaolo Consuli had already written an expert opinion for the authorities
and what it contains. Italian police has already filed charges
(against a representative of the equipment manufacturer H.B.T. and
two representatives of the company N.U.E.T.), but prosecutor has not yet
made the indictments.
=====

 

[Saturation]

This is important follow up, thanks very much.