- Messages
- 53,688
- Reaction score
- 7,869
- # of dives
- 500 - 999
Cause of death tentatively listed as drowning, but they are searching for her BC, reg, and tank: Sun News : Police searching St. Lawrence for dead diver's equipment
Dive Accident near Brockville July 1st, 2014
- Thread starter Ayisha
- Start date
Please register or login
Welcome to ScubaBoard, the world's largest scuba diving community. Registration is not required to read the forums, but we encourage you to join. Joining has its benefits and enables you to participate in the discussions.
Benefits of registering include
- Ability to post and comment on topics and discussions.
- A Free photo gallery to share your dive photos with the world.
- You can make this box go away
As someone who personally saved two people from sure death last year I think it's important that these discussions include as much facts as possible. Surely it is hard for family members to read the threads and I would recommend not reading them. I think by sharing what happened in accidents which did or didn't lead to death it surely helps those who dive take important facts away from the horrible accidents that will make them think twice about buddy checks and other things that are often skipped and can lead to horrible consequences. Out of respect for the main dive shop on the lake that I saved the two people and the fact that his girlfriend died earlier that year in a tragic accident I did not post the information.
Without going into too much details both divers were diving double steel tanks. It was later found that one of the females tanks was not turned on so when they went down her husband tried to turn the tank on but ended up turning her other tank off. Complicating the issue was that they both had their octos/seconds strapped to the sides of their tanks which made them unable to get to them. Instead of him offering her his secondary for some reason he didn't and they buddy breathed after he turned her second tank off. Shortly after she was trying to get above the surface but was overweighted because of her tanks and BP that gave her no weight to ditch. She should have ditched her whole rig but she didn't. I was able to get to her before her what seemed like the last time she could get herself up. I had only a wetsuit on and had a hard time getting her to shore but I did. If I knew more about doubles I would have turned her air on but I didn't have the strength to keep her above water and screw with her valves. While this was going on it seems he husband must have had a heart attack while buddy breathing and tried to get himself to shore and left her there. It was a traumatic situation but because I was there I can explain what happened and tell you to make sure you do your buddy checks, make sure your secondaries are easy to grab, and in his case it was said that he had a known heart problem and probably should not have been diving with dual tanks that stressed his body out. It was an easily avoided situation. I got a thank you from the woman who would have died. The male was cocky before going into the water and an ass as I was trying to get him out of the water and told me to stop helping him. I stopped helping him until I could tell he wasn't in his right mind and then took things into my own hands and got his gear off and got him out of the water which he did not want me to do.
By sharing these experiences we can help other divers realize the importance of buddy checks for over confidant and condescending divers as they were not very nice to us before they went in the water. They basically were lecturing my mom, who has a horribly bad back, that she needed to take a rescue class when she was just working on buoyancy. If I could do it again I would have kicked the guy in the nuts prior to his going into the water and after being condescending.
As a lot of people experience experience depression after something like this even though I had saved both people it took me a couple weeks to feel right in the head. I felt like crying and really depressed even though they were both saved and OK in the end. That was not expected by myself even though I had heard of the affect on people.
By going over accidents, it allows others to learn from them. No way around that. It struck me hard cause I never dive that part of the lake and it was my first time that year after being at the lake 30 times that year. It was just a trip because we would have not normally been there. It was REALLY weird we were in the right place at the right time. Wish I would have had my gear on. It was tough with only a wetsuit and no fins.
Without going into too much details both divers were diving double steel tanks. It was later found that one of the females tanks was not turned on so when they went down her husband tried to turn the tank on but ended up turning her other tank off. Complicating the issue was that they both had their octos/seconds strapped to the sides of their tanks which made them unable to get to them. Instead of him offering her his secondary for some reason he didn't and they buddy breathed after he turned her second tank off. Shortly after she was trying to get above the surface but was overweighted because of her tanks and BP that gave her no weight to ditch. She should have ditched her whole rig but she didn't. I was able to get to her before her what seemed like the last time she could get herself up. I had only a wetsuit on and had a hard time getting her to shore but I did. If I knew more about doubles I would have turned her air on but I didn't have the strength to keep her above water and screw with her valves. While this was going on it seems he husband must have had a heart attack while buddy breathing and tried to get himself to shore and left her there. It was a traumatic situation but because I was there I can explain what happened and tell you to make sure you do your buddy checks, make sure your secondaries are easy to grab, and in his case it was said that he had a known heart problem and probably should not have been diving with dual tanks that stressed his body out. It was an easily avoided situation. I got a thank you from the woman who would have died. The male was cocky before going into the water and an ass as I was trying to get him out of the water and told me to stop helping him. I stopped helping him until I could tell he wasn't in his right mind and then took things into my own hands and got his gear off and got him out of the water which he did not want me to do.
By sharing these experiences we can help other divers realize the importance of buddy checks for over confidant and condescending divers as they were not very nice to us before they went in the water. They basically were lecturing my mom, who has a horribly bad back, that she needed to take a rescue class when she was just working on buoyancy. If I could do it again I would have kicked the guy in the nuts prior to his going into the water and after being condescending.
As a lot of people experience experience depression after something like this even though I had saved both people it took me a couple weeks to feel right in the head. I felt like crying and really depressed even though they were both saved and OK in the end. That was not expected by myself even though I had heard of the affect on people.
By going over accidents, it allows others to learn from them. No way around that. It struck me hard cause I never dive that part of the lake and it was my first time that year after being at the lake 30 times that year. It was just a trip because we would have not normally been there. It was REALLY weird we were in the right place at the right time. Wish I would have had my gear on. It was tough with only a wetsuit and no fins.
Stoo
Contributor
- Messages
- 3,505
- Reaction score
- 3,804
- # of dives
- 5000 - ∞
For those unfamiliar with the area, this missing gear isn't surprising, so people shouldn't read this as something odd. This site is in the St. Lawrence River and the current there is significant. Use of a line to and from the wreck would be necessary as a rule. Any gear removed at the surface to facilitate recovery of the victim into the boat would almost certainly be heading downstream at a good clip if the BCD was fully inflated, but unsecured. It if wasn't, then if would likely be rolling along the bottom, although there is a shoal immediately downstream as I recall...
gitterdun
Contributor
this why i get really pissed at people using doubles that have no business using ....stupid mistakes like that not turning on the gas and the buddy not knowing 1 valve is reversed ........obviously not trained .... just well healed enough to buy the "cool gear syndrome " i see it all the time .......im not blaming you of course, you did a great job of handling the situation ......i blame the diver and the buddy .....
A ScubaBoard Staff Message...
I would be interested in more specifics here.
swamp diver
Contributor
Update: Autopsy shows diving victim drowned
Update: Autopsy shows diving victim drowned
OPP hope an autopsy will help explain how Luciana Perri, 49, of Mississauga, died.
Mississauga News By Louie Rosella and Pam Douglas
MISSISSAUGA Some called her a young Barbra Streisand because of her striking resemblance to the actress and singer.
Others called her a fish out of water, in reference to her love for scuba diving.
But this week, family members and friends of Luciana Perri are still having trouble talking about the 49-year-old Mississauga woman in the past tense, in absolute shock that she drowned while scuba diving in the St. Lawrence River with her husband and others on Canada Day.
"She loved the water. She was fit and experienced and a deepwater expert," said her good friend and former co-worker Cassidy Duncan. "I'm still trying to process this. This is someone who died doing what she loved."
Leeds County OPP Staff Sgt. Cary Churchill said an autopsy conducted Thursday reveals Perri likely drowned.
She had no known medical issues when she went into distress while in 85 to 90 feet of water in the Brockville Narrows five kilometres west of Brockville Tuesday, according to Churchill.
It was one of those unfortunate things, Churchill said. A healthy woman, doing a dive and something happened. We are hoping the results of the autopsy will give us some idea of what happened.
Churchill said officers are searching for Perri's diving equipment, which was discarded into the river in the panic to get her medical help, to see if everything was in working order.
"Our divers are still looking for the equipment. They haven't found it yet," he said. "We will want to check it and test it to make sure everything was working."
Perri was with her husband, Stephen Long, whom she married last year, and another couple around 2 p.m., diving for the wreck of the Henry C. Daryaw. Its a popular dive enthusiasts make to view the steel propeller freighter that sank in the St. Lawrence in 1941.
Perri was having trouble communicating with hand signals to her husband, who was also her dive partner, and appeared to be in distress, Churchill said.
Long brought her back to the surface, but she was not responding.
Perri was rushed to Brockville General Hospital where she was pronounced dead soon after arriving.
It was Perris second dive of the day with her husband, using the same equipment, and she was certified to attempt it, according to Churchill.
They were both seasoned divers and they had advanced diving certification, Churchill said. She was on a dive that morning and everything went off the way it should have.
The owner of the local dive company the couple used described the dive as advanced, but said it is not considered extraordinarily dangerous.
Helen Cooper, owner of ABUCS Scuba, confirmed Perri had left on the dive from her company.
Everything was done professionally and everyone involved did everything that they could to save her, Cooper said, noting dives to view the wreck are common.
Originally from British Columbia, Perri was physically active and loved the outdoors, taking part in running and walking marathons regularly and scuba diving all over the world.
Canada Day drowning: Investigators search for missing scuba equipment
Investigators want to examine the scuba equipment used by Luciana Perri when she got into trouble on a Canada Day dive. The tank, jacket and breathing device were dropped into the St. Lawrence in the panic to get her medical attention.
By David Paterson
BROCKVILLE The husband of a Mississauga woman who drowned in a diving accident in the St. Lawrence river has appealed for other divers to help in the search for her missing scuba equipment.
Four days after 49-year-old Luciana Perri died while diving to the wreck of the freighter Henry C. Daryaw in Brockville Narrows, it remains a mystery how the experienced diver with no known medical issues got into trouble.
Leeds County OPP officers investigating the death have been searching for the scuba gear she was wearing at the time, which was dropped into the river during the frantic rescue effort. OPP water units have so far drawn a blank.
Perri's husband, Stephen Long, who was diving with her at the time, has now called for other divers in the area to look for the missing equipment.
In a notice posted on the Ontario Underwater Council's website, president Rick Le Blanc wrote, "Mr. Long is pleading divers and the general public to search for the equipment. It may be floating or could have sunk."
Perri was using a buoyancy-control jacket, an oxygen tank and a breathing tube at the time she died.
An autopsy on Thursday revealed Perri likely drowned but gave few clues as to how that happened.
Perri was in about 27 metres (90 feet) of water when she got into distress. An experienced deepwater diver, she was on her second dive of the day with her husband and another couple.
The dive to the wreck, which is about five kilometres west of Brockville, is considered to be an advanced dive. Ronald Brow, 58, from York, died doing the same dive in June 2013.
with files from Pam Douglas
Update: Autopsy shows diving victim drowned
OPP hope an autopsy will help explain how Luciana Perri, 49, of Mississauga, died.
Mississauga News By Louie Rosella and Pam Douglas
MISSISSAUGA Some called her a young Barbra Streisand because of her striking resemblance to the actress and singer.
Others called her a fish out of water, in reference to her love for scuba diving.
But this week, family members and friends of Luciana Perri are still having trouble talking about the 49-year-old Mississauga woman in the past tense, in absolute shock that she drowned while scuba diving in the St. Lawrence River with her husband and others on Canada Day.
"She loved the water. She was fit and experienced and a deepwater expert," said her good friend and former co-worker Cassidy Duncan. "I'm still trying to process this. This is someone who died doing what she loved."
Leeds County OPP Staff Sgt. Cary Churchill said an autopsy conducted Thursday reveals Perri likely drowned.
She had no known medical issues when she went into distress while in 85 to 90 feet of water in the Brockville Narrows five kilometres west of Brockville Tuesday, according to Churchill.
It was one of those unfortunate things, Churchill said. A healthy woman, doing a dive and something happened. We are hoping the results of the autopsy will give us some idea of what happened.
Churchill said officers are searching for Perri's diving equipment, which was discarded into the river in the panic to get her medical help, to see if everything was in working order.
"Our divers are still looking for the equipment. They haven't found it yet," he said. "We will want to check it and test it to make sure everything was working."
Perri was with her husband, Stephen Long, whom she married last year, and another couple around 2 p.m., diving for the wreck of the Henry C. Daryaw. Its a popular dive enthusiasts make to view the steel propeller freighter that sank in the St. Lawrence in 1941.
Perri was having trouble communicating with hand signals to her husband, who was also her dive partner, and appeared to be in distress, Churchill said.
Long brought her back to the surface, but she was not responding.
Perri was rushed to Brockville General Hospital where she was pronounced dead soon after arriving.
It was Perris second dive of the day with her husband, using the same equipment, and she was certified to attempt it, according to Churchill.
They were both seasoned divers and they had advanced diving certification, Churchill said. She was on a dive that morning and everything went off the way it should have.
The owner of the local dive company the couple used described the dive as advanced, but said it is not considered extraordinarily dangerous.
Helen Cooper, owner of ABUCS Scuba, confirmed Perri had left on the dive from her company.
Everything was done professionally and everyone involved did everything that they could to save her, Cooper said, noting dives to view the wreck are common.
Originally from British Columbia, Perri was physically active and loved the outdoors, taking part in running and walking marathons regularly and scuba diving all over the world.
Canada Day drowning: Investigators search for missing scuba equipment
Investigators want to examine the scuba equipment used by Luciana Perri when she got into trouble on a Canada Day dive. The tank, jacket and breathing device were dropped into the St. Lawrence in the panic to get her medical attention.
By David Paterson
BROCKVILLE The husband of a Mississauga woman who drowned in a diving accident in the St. Lawrence river has appealed for other divers to help in the search for her missing scuba equipment.
Four days after 49-year-old Luciana Perri died while diving to the wreck of the freighter Henry C. Daryaw in Brockville Narrows, it remains a mystery how the experienced diver with no known medical issues got into trouble.
Leeds County OPP officers investigating the death have been searching for the scuba gear she was wearing at the time, which was dropped into the river during the frantic rescue effort. OPP water units have so far drawn a blank.
Perri's husband, Stephen Long, who was diving with her at the time, has now called for other divers in the area to look for the missing equipment.
In a notice posted on the Ontario Underwater Council's website, president Rick Le Blanc wrote, "Mr. Long is pleading divers and the general public to search for the equipment. It may be floating or could have sunk."
Perri was using a buoyancy-control jacket, an oxygen tank and a breathing tube at the time she died.
An autopsy on Thursday revealed Perri likely drowned but gave few clues as to how that happened.
Perri was in about 27 metres (90 feet) of water when she got into distress. An experienced deepwater diver, she was on her second dive of the day with her husband and another couple.
The dive to the wreck, which is about five kilometres west of Brockville, is considered to be an advanced dive. Ronald Brow, 58, from York, died doing the same dive in June 2013.
with files from Pam Douglas
gitterdun
Contributor
UPDATE: Gear has been recovered.
Similar threads
