Islamorada, Florida Keys incident?
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skoobajunkie
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I went to Molasses this morning, and the vis on the first dive (wench hole) was about 40 ft, but a strong current. 2nd dive (The Aquarium) was much better, but there was still 4-5 footers out there. We caught wind of this in Key Largo this morning... very sad
deeper thoughts
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We were listening to the radio calls at the marina.
---------- Post added April 4th, 2014 at 03:48 PM ----------
[h=5]MCSO - Florida Keys
[/h]
Dive death offshore of Islamorada
A New Mexico man died while diving offshore of Islamorada Thursday.
55 year old of Albuquerque, New Mexico was in the Keys visiting with his wife. He was on a three day dive trip on board the vessel “Giant Stride” with Key Dives out of Bud and Mary’s Marina. He started on Wednesday with two dives and completed his third dive of the trip Thursday morning with no trouble. He was on the fourth dive of the trip when he suddenly... surfaced, yelling for help.
The captain threw out a tow line, but couldn’t grasp it. Two dive guides from the boat were sent out to get him. By the time they reached him, he was not breathing. Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation was performed as they brought in to the dock at the marina. The boat was met by paramedics who transported him to Mariner’s Hospital where he was pronounced dead just after noon.
An autopsy will be done to determine the cause of his death
---------- Post added April 4th, 2014 at 03:48 PM ----------
[h=5]MCSO - Florida Keys
[/h]
Dive death offshore of Islamorada
A New Mexico man died while diving offshore of Islamorada Thursday.
55 year old of Albuquerque, New Mexico was in the Keys visiting with his wife. He was on a three day dive trip on board the vessel “Giant Stride” with Key Dives out of Bud and Mary’s Marina. He started on Wednesday with two dives and completed his third dive of the trip Thursday morning with no trouble. He was on the fourth dive of the trip when he suddenly... surfaced, yelling for help.
The captain threw out a tow line, but couldn’t grasp it. Two dive guides from the boat were sent out to get him. By the time they reached him, he was not breathing. Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation was performed as they brought in to the dock at the marina. The boat was met by paramedics who transported him to Mariner’s Hospital where he was pronounced dead just after noon.
An autopsy will be done to determine the cause of his death
agesilaus
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Geez that's awful. We were down there 10 days ago but never got to dive since there were small craft advisories all three days. Sounds like it's still rough weather.
1bubbleoff
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when he suddenly... surfaced, yelling for help.
The captain threw out a tow line, but couldn’t grasp it. Two dive guides from the boat were sent out to get him. By the time they reached him, he was not breathing.
Doesn't sound like a "diving" fatality to me....
The captain threw out a tow line, but couldn’t grasp it. Two dive guides from the boat were sent out to get him. By the time they reached him, he was not breathing.
Doesn't sound like a "diving" fatality to me....
I think it was diver error/inexperience/or maybe overconfidence. He seperated from the group on the first dive. I think he panicked and drowned. The crew on the ship did everything they could for him but I think he was already gone when they got to him.
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Were you at Alligator reef?
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Well, glad you've joined us here. I've seen a few divers leave in ambulances, a couple severely injured, but a fatality on a dive day meant for fun must be a real bummer. Please do feel welcome to talk about the experience, feelings, anything. Just being on the same boat can at times lead to unfair feelings of stress, but talking about it can help. Otherwise, make the best of your dive trip while keeping in mind how serious our sport can be at times.
Impossible to tell with so vary little info at this time. It could be diver error, medical, equipment failure, even an injury. I have survived some stupid mistakes but I think the closest I came to drowning was pool snorkeling at a family reunion. The purge valve on the snorkel was bad and the first breath I took was a big one, mostly water into my throat, causing me to choke severely. Fortunately I was in the shallow in and managed to standup, but even that wasn't easy. So embarrassing, but thankfully managed to not kill myself and ruin the gathering forever.
The FB page has been updated with his name, as included in this news story: Tourist Diver Dies In Florida Keys - 55-year-old Stephen Benavidez, of Albuquerque, N.M.
These articles are not giving a lot of info. If anyone would like to know more about what actually happened please PM me. I am not interested in getting involved with any lawyers or anything of that nature. The dive shop was at no fault and did everything they could have done. Unfortunately there was not much they could do without risking the lives of the other divers.
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