Fatality Cabo San Lucas March 3

[DandyDon]

As well as CO and other contaminates what if she got a EAN blend in her tank and Did not know about it? some of the problems the divers felt were like what you might see before CNS convulsions.

On my last trip to Cozumel, I tested every tank for CO - but not O2, until I saw 2 divers mistakenly put on 36% Nitrox for a deep dive rather than the late shallow dive as planned. Now I will test all tanks for both.

We probably never will see proof of what was in these tanks. If I am ever on a boat with an accident again, I fully intend on testing the used tank then and there so as to aid in the immediate treatment of an injured diver. The way things are often covered up, there might be opposition - but I will try, and I will post names of anyone who gets in my way.

More and more divers are getting the word that testing is important. We can only hope it becomes mainstream.

 

[Dive-aholic]

It's important to analyze every gas not only fo CO but also O2. Any shop that can do nitrox fills can easily make a mistake and do an air fill with banked nitrox instead most shops use the same whips just different banks. Inattention can result in a tank monkey opening the wrong bank and filling with the wrong gas. I also don't trust that the air banks were filled properly and didn't get open inadvertently while the nitrox banks were being topped off. Too many possible mistakes to trust that air is air without analyzing.

 

[johnZdiver]

Man takes legal action in wife's Mexico scuba death By Damien Wood, Calgary Sun
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Calgarian Ronda Cross, 41, died while scuba diving off the coast of Cabo San Lucas on March 3. (Supplied Photo) Questions linger over diver's death in Mexico Canadian diver dies in Mexico Grieving husband Colin Cross is taking legal action in his quest for answers as to how his wife died in Mexico earlier this month. Calgarian Ronda Cross, 41, died while scuba diving off the coast of Cabo San Lucas on March 3, a death her family believes was caused by carbon monoxide contamination in the compressed air tanks she and two colleagues used. Her husband said he has been assured by the Canadian consulate an investigation is underway, but in the meantime, he's retained legal representation out of San Diego. "The scuba tanks and all the gear and everything like that is being held," Colin said. "It's (all) being tested and it is being investigated. "I actually am starting to work now with the consulate on a regular basis ... yes, legal action is being taken -- I do have a lawyer in San Diego who is working with me on it." Colin declined further comment on the proceedings, saying he didn't want to jeopardize anything currently underway. He said he's been advised by his lawyer not to say too much. While Colin continues the long wait for answers, he's also involved in setting up a charity called RONDA (Representation of Needed Divers' Assistance) that will help other families. "We will be redirecting any donations or anything like that to assisting families if they're having a problem getting a loved one out of the country or if there's a fatality," he said. "We're also going to be making public some of the things that would prevent this in the future ... I want this to benefit other people." His wife's funeral was March 10. A report in the Mexican online publication Sudcaliforniano stated Ronda's cause of death was asphyxiation by drowning, as did a woman employed by the funeral home which received Cross' body. Police in Cabo San Lucas reportedly shut down the company that Colin believes supplied the air tanks used in the fatal dive and seized devices for testing. The company denied it had anything to do with the incident or even knowledge it occurred. Reached by phone in Mexico, diving instructor Jorge Eauchateau said he believes carbon monoxide was the culprit. damien.wood@sunmedia.ca On Twitter: @SUNDamienWood

 

[Robalo51]

That is just a devistating event! I absolutely refuse to travel to Mexico ever again. There country is totally screwed up. I am not putting my life or any of my families safety at risk in this negligent country. Talk about a totaly I don't give a f**k attitude, Mexico. My heart goes out to the family, this never should have happened. May God grant you the strength to deal with your tragic lose.

 

[Laurie S.]

Good, means more room for me to dive down there. Why penalize a whole country for one tragic error?

 

[t4e]

That is just a devistating event! I absolutely refuse to travel to Mexico ever again. There country is totally screwed up. I am not putting my life or any of my families safety at risk in this negligent country. Talk about a totaly I don't give a f**k attitude, Mexico. My heart goes out to the family, this never should have happened. May God grant you the strength to deal with your tragic lose.

ooh woow

have you looked at your own country lately?

on that line of thinking you shouldn't go to any country in this world, in fact you should probably get out of USA ASAP and live off the planet Earth somewhere


looking forward to our trip to Akumal on may 18 :banana:

 

[koozemani]

ooh woow

have you looked at your own country lately?

on that line of thinking you shouldn't go to any country in this world, in fact you should probably get out of USA ASAP and live off the planet Earth somewhere


looking forward to our trip to Akumal on may 18 :banana:

That won't help. I recently saw a thread somewhere about an ice diver dying due to bad gas on the moon Titan.

 

[Belmont]

That is just a devistating event! I absolutely refuse to travel to Mexico ever again. There country is totally screwed up. I am not putting my life or any of my families safety at risk in this negligent country. Talk about a totaly I don't give a f**k attitude, Mexico. My heart goes out to the family, this never should have happened. May God grant you the strength to deal with your tragic lose.

Considering your mastering of the written English language I surmise you are not a native of the USA.

Could you share with us the level up screwedness of your country of origin?

 

[daniel1948]

If two divers surface from a shallower depth and are in difficulty citing bad air, it is only logical to assume that a diver going deeper on air from the same supply would be in even worse shape. [...] Yes, she should not have descended alone, but if all three had descended to the same depth together, they would all likely be dead IF they were breathing CO contaminated air.

The point is that if they had all stayed together, then when any one of them decided to abort the dive due to bad-tasting air, all the others would have ascended as well. The assumption is that all ascend when one has problems, not that all continue to descend as long as one person feels okay. The exception would be in a group of four or more, two might ascend while the others continue the dive. But if people are following strict buddy practice, you'll never have one diver descending alone.

Since CO has no taste, this would be irrelevant if the only contaminant is CO. But since two divers noticed a bad taste, the third would have been saved had she stayed with them, as she would not have descended alone. If there was CO, testing for it would have prevented the tragedy. But all staying together also would have prevented it as long as one noticed a problem.

As I said already, I've often seen divers separate from their buddies, and I've been left behind on occasion when I could not keep up. We're taught that diving is a buddy sport, but we become complacent, and we think, "No problem, we'll re-join at the bottom," or "It's okay, I can see my buddy."

 

[SnorkelLA]

1st possible scenario- If the family doesn't know that it was carbon dioxide/monoxide poisoning the husband could be trying to at the very least profit from he death, even if he is truly sorry. Maybe he is just ill-informed and jumping to conclusions

2nd possible- I don't know what other trace gases could cause someone to die other than Carbonmonoxide or carbondiaoxide, but it's clear in either case that the dive shop didn't do its job. If more than one diver reported bad air, there's a problem. The husband may just be trying to muster together a legal foothold on the situation