Medical Fatality in Plura cave system in Norway

[Frogman82]

According to local news there has been a fatality in the Plura cave system in Norway. American diver confirmed dead.

Link (in Norwegian) Dykkerulykke i Pluragrotta i Rana

The diver supposedly was unconscious approx. 100 ft inside the cave and was brought out and received emergency first aid by the dive team.

Condolences to everyone involved.

 

[lostsheep]

Tagged….

 

[hroark2112]

Shocked.

 

[Brett Hatch]

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A ScubaBoard Staff Message...

Folks, let's be mindful of the special rules of the A&I forum. Specifically, we should not be posting the diver's real name here, until after it has appeared in the public domain. So sorry for the loss, I know a lot of people in this community knew them.

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Edit 1: the name is now public, the deceased is Jared Hires of DiveRite, see post #10 in the Passings thread.

Edit 2: This thread will be reserved for discussion of the incident itself, as details come out. I'll be moving posts with just condolences to the Passings thread.

 

[DogDiver]

Published

4 APRIL 2024—Dive Rite general manager Jared Hires died yesterday, 3April, on a dive in Plura Cave, Rana, Norway. The full details have not been released. The 33-year old father, explorer and educator was an exceptional young man and much admired and loved by the community. Our hearts and prayers go out to his parents, Lamar and Lee Ann, Jared’s wife Taylor and their two children, and the Dive Rite Team for their loss. Note that we have temporarily held the story, “Forty Years of Dive Rite (1984-2024), from the April issue so as not to distract the family in their grief.

14 March, 2024—Dive Rite was officially established 40 years ago today! The company started manufacturing dive equipment in 1984 to address the growing demands of North Florida cave explorers and early tech pioneers. Cave diving was a new and growing sport, and early cave explorers needed equipment that wasn’t commercially available (yet!). Dive Rite’s history of innovation started with cave explorers but has grown into an international brand delivering high-quality diving gear for all types of underwater explorers, ranging from open water reefs to deep wrecks to remote sumps and more.

 

[Roz]

Beyond upset. Jared was one of the good guys. My tribute to him.

Jared Hires dies at Plura Cave

News has broken overnight that the 33 year-old diving industry stalwart, and Dive Rite's General Manager lost consciousness at Plura Cave on Wednesday 3 April 2024.

xray-mag.com

 

[Capt Spele0]

It's in the public domain

Jared Hires dies tragically on Norway dive | Lake City Reporter

Jared Hires, the general manager of the Lake City-based diving equipment company Dive Rite, died tragically on a dive Wednesday in Norway.

www.lakecityreporter.com

 

[TheCatFish]

Apparently the seizure occurred after at least 30minutes of run time, at 250m from the surface, at -20m depth.

My initial assumption was equipment malfunction, O2 spikes, etc. With that new bit of information though I find it way less likely that the CCR was the culprit… but I’m equally unsatisfied with the idea of a 30yo otherwise healthy guy suddenly seizing without apparent cause.

This is such a rough case in so many ways.

 

[tridacna]

Apparently the seizure occurred after at least 30minutes of run time, at 250m from the surface, at -20m depth.

My initial assumption was equipment malfunction, O2 spikes, etc. With that new bit of information though I find it way less likely that the CCR was the culprit… but I’m equally unsatisfied with the idea of a 30yo otherwise healthy guy suddenly seizing without apparent cause.

This is such a rough case in so many ways.

Has it been confirmed that he was on a rebreather?

 

[Manatee Diver]

To answer @tridacna this trip was a Choptima trip, everyone involved is a Choptima diver that is closely associated with Dive Rite. It is unlikely he wasn't on his unit.

Personally I am going to wait on the report, even if it is a medical issue I think the NSS-CDS is likely to release a report on this. It might be a few months, but I am sure we will get one.