Freediver dies providing safety - Blue Hole Arch, Egypt

[dmaziuk]

Are ROVs allowed? Put an arduino in a scooter and call it an underwater drone?

 

[JohnnyC]

Quite often when things like that are banned in that area of the world, it's because authorities think that people have a propensity of doing ****** things to other people with them. (See Jordan banning CCR's for "security" reasons)

 

[LiteWeight]

Are ROVs allowed? Put an arduino in a scooter and call it an underwater drone?

Nope, drones are illegal also.

 

[InTheDrink]

I think DPVs would have been very helpful. However, according to the accident report, "Marine scooters are at the moment illegal to import in Egypt. Stephen was still looking for a way to import a couple"

You can rent them

 

[Steve_C]

For a scuba diver that descended and ascended with the freediver, I don't see where the "normal" ascent and descent rates would really apply. A scuba diver that drops to 185' with a freediver and then comes right back up with said freediver is not going to incur a deco obligation. Especially so, if the scuba diver were on a CCR (though I'm not experienced enough on CCR to say whether that would be particularly wise).

I just ran a plan with a 100ft/min descent to 200' and 100ft/min ascent. On open circuit, with air. No ceiling violation. I don't know what ascent and descent rate serious freedivers go up and down at, though.

I think the only real issue would be that you wouldn't want to have a safety diver doing that multiple times per day.

For the record, I know a number of serious tech divers who descend that fast or faster on a regular basis and mostly they come up to their "off-gassing point" or around half their max depth or somewhere near their first deco stop (totally depends on the person and the dive) that fast, too. For descents, pointing a DPV at the bottom and hitting the trigger seems not at all unusual among deep (>200ft/60m) wreck divers.

It is no the descend that is the problem if on scuba. It is the ascend. At the deepest point the scuba diver has a lung full air at say 6 or more ATM. Free divers basically ascend as fast as possible and they are streamlined. Sounds dangerous for some one on scuba to shoot up from 180 ft.

 

[kafkaland]

Deco wouldn't be a problem on such a bounce dive, but arterial gas embolism would be at such a rapid ascent on scuba from that depth.

 

[Steve_C]

Deco wouldn't be a problem on such a bounce dive, but arterial gas embolism would be at such a rapid ascent on scuba from that depth.

Had a typo. First the should have been not. Corrected now.

 

[jadairiii]

Cant claim to be an expert, but, I would put a scuba diver on the line to make sure my free diver (athlete) sees it and not rely on some dude free diving down and hoping to meet her. Then the free diver, late or early could ascend with the "athlete".

"CONCLUSIONS :The dive was well organized......." I would say the death contradicts this "conclusion"

 

[Bob DBF]

Cant claim to be an expert, but, I would put a scuba diver on the line to make sure my free diver (athlete) sees it and not rely on some dude free diving down and hoping to meet her. Then the free diver, late or early could ascend with the "athlete".

That was my thought. In an emergency, use a constant volume float, attach to the freediver and send them up, that way you could stage the safety freedivers closer to the surface.


Bob

 

[Rearviewmirror]

Apologies for bumping a very old thread but there's now a Netflix Documentary about this called "The Deepest Breath". Re-linking the original accident report here too.

Some of the testimony from "SCUBA DIVER C" in the documentary was a bit strange to me, as they stated they couldn't approach Alessia in time once they saw her go off of the line in time - but given that Alesia wasn't wearing fins, I would imagine the scuba diver would have been able to act or shine their light - given they should have had extensive gas reserves in case of an emergency I am a bit surprised they did not attempt to fin in that direction once they realized things were going wrong.. From the accident report it sounds as if the tech diver blew through their deco obligations anyway to surface, which seems far more dangerous than exertion to reach the disorientated diver.

The documentary is good, and quite sad - and it is terrible that for want of a marker strobe Stephen lost his life.