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Courtesy of the Feb 15 issue of Undercurrent ( Scuba Diving Magazine, Undercurrent Reviews Liveaboards, Dive Resorts & Dive Gear ) & DocVikingo.
"While the Divers Alert Network has stopped publishing its annual report of U.S. dive
deaths and accidents, the British Sub-Aqua Club (BSAC), its counterpart in the
U.K., still does so. Its Annual Diving Incident Report for 2014 records a total
of 216 incidents between October 1, 2013 and September 30, 2014. While the
number of reported accidents has increased during the past three years, the
number of dive-related deaths has not. DCS cases totaled just 57 in 2014,
compared to 91 in 2013, and there were 16 deaths. Besides the usual causes --
rapid ascents, buoyancy control, out of air, etc. -- there was also an increase
in the number of cases in which inflation or dump valves on BCDs or drysuits
malfunctioned.
One death involved a solo snorkeler, another involved a diver who died by breathing
poisonous gas in a dry passage in a partially flooded mine. Four cases involved
a buddy separation of some kind. Six cases involved divers diving in a group of
three; in two of these cases, the casualties became separated from their
buddies in low visibility conditions.
Five confirmed cases involved divers who suffered heart attacks while in the water
-- the average age of these divers was 60. BSAC was frank in its concern about
aging divers, stating, "There are now three times as many divers over 50,
compared to the population 15 years ago. Viewed in this light, it is perhaps no
surprise that we have seen increased fatalities of the 'older diver' . . . In
the last two years, all nine fatalities attributed to medical causes were of
divers aged 50 or over; this number is significantly higher than the average
age of non-medical fatalities, which is 42 years.
Older divers are advised to take account of the increased likelihood of a medical
event when considering the type of diving in which they engage, and those
diving with them should be more aware of the increased risk.
Regards,
DocVikingo
"While the Divers Alert Network has stopped publishing its annual report of U.S. dive
deaths and accidents, the British Sub-Aqua Club (BSAC), its counterpart in the
U.K., still does so. Its Annual Diving Incident Report for 2014 records a total
of 216 incidents between October 1, 2013 and September 30, 2014. While the
number of reported accidents has increased during the past three years, the
number of dive-related deaths has not. DCS cases totaled just 57 in 2014,
compared to 91 in 2013, and there were 16 deaths. Besides the usual causes --
rapid ascents, buoyancy control, out of air, etc. -- there was also an increase
in the number of cases in which inflation or dump valves on BCDs or drysuits
malfunctioned.
One death involved a solo snorkeler, another involved a diver who died by breathing
poisonous gas in a dry passage in a partially flooded mine. Four cases involved
a buddy separation of some kind. Six cases involved divers diving in a group of
three; in two of these cases, the casualties became separated from their
buddies in low visibility conditions.
Five confirmed cases involved divers who suffered heart attacks while in the water
-- the average age of these divers was 60. BSAC was frank in its concern about
aging divers, stating, "There are now three times as many divers over 50,
compared to the population 15 years ago. Viewed in this light, it is perhaps no
surprise that we have seen increased fatalities of the 'older diver' . . . In
the last two years, all nine fatalities attributed to medical causes were of
divers aged 50 or over; this number is significantly higher than the average
age of non-medical fatalities, which is 42 years.
Older divers are advised to take account of the increased likelihood of a medical
event when considering the type of diving in which they engage, and those
diving with them should be more aware of the increased risk.
Regards,
DocVikingo
