Two fatalities at Harvard Mine, California

[ianr33]

s.

I still think, though, that PADI's recommendation is sound when applied to me and the guy who asked the question (both non-tech divers who shouldn't have any deco stops to miss).

Agreed.

Missing a Safety Stop is not a big deal. (That's why they are optional!) Missing mandatory deco stops is much more serious.

 

[Peter_C]

Ian, there is some info about the lake in the pdf from this thread.
http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/tr...st-annual-whiskey-lake-dive-jamestown-ca.html

How did the first guy brought to the surface and passed off to another person die of drowning?

 

[Jax]

How did the first guy brought to the surface and passed off to another person die of drowning?

[speculation]
Air embolism from the panic ascent? After all, it is a news story.
[/speculation]

 

[TSandM]

Oh, man, if Thresher Dog's story is true, that opens up a can of worms.

When you do decompression training, you talk about issues like, "What if your buddy has a problem and has to omit deco -- how much deco are you willing to forego to help him?" But that isn't this scenario. This is someone ELSE's buddy showing up with a problem that puts two other divers at risk.

I'm a team diver, and that means we go in as a team and we come out as a team. But I'll really have to mull over what I would do if, facing a substantial deco obligation, I were faced with a stranger who was out of gas. If both team members go up, both are facing significant risk. If neither goes up, the stranger may die. But if you split the team, as in this case, you may lose TWO divers. Horrible choice to face.

 

[Jax]

Two men diving at old Tuolumne mine site die

By Matt Kawahara
mkawahara@sacbee.com
Published: Tuesday, Apr. 12, 2011 - 12:00

Two men who died in a scuba diving incident at the former Jamestown mine in Tuolumne County on Saturday were setting up safety equipment to prepare the lake and underwater mine shaft for an organized dive in May, according to a brother of one of the victims.

Jamie Pollard, 37, of Stockton was diving with three friends when he apparently panicked during the dive in a lake formed at the old gold mine off Harvard Mine Road, according to a Tuolumne County Sheriff's Department news release. Pollard was taken to Sonora hospital, where he died Saturday.

Another member of the diving group, Dale Allen Dedic, 34, of Lodi, was reported missing Saturday. His body was recovered from the lake Monday afternoon.

The lake is an old mine shaft that goes down about 500 feet, said sheriff's spokesman Sgt. Jeff Wilson.

Deputies responded to the mine site Saturday about 3:15 p.m. to a report of a missing person, the release said. There, Cameron Wheeler, 41, of Stockton told deputies he and three friends had been diving in the mine when Pollard appeared to panic for an unknown reason.

Wheeler brought Pollard to the surface, where he appeared to be OK. However, Pollard was later transported to Sonora Regional Medical Center and pronounced dead of unknown causes, the release said.

Wheeler told deputies he then went back down to locate Dedic but could not find him, according to the release. Wheeler resurfaced, and called 911.

On Monday, the Army Corps of Engineers located Dedic's body using special equipment at a depth of about 135 feet, Wilson said.

Doug Dedic, 35, of Jackson said his brother was an accomplished diver and assistant diving instructor who had been diving at the mine once or twice a month for the last eight or nine months.

Dale Dedic was "passionate about the sport," and had set up a social networking website called "Nor-Cal Dive Connection" as a meeting place for local scuba divers, his brother said. There, he had uploaded a flier for the "1st Annual Whiskey Lake Dive-In," scheduled for May 14 at the Jamestown mine.

Doug Dedic said the group had gone to the mine Saturday to lay out a rope grid so that divers who came out for the event could be successfully and safely accounted for.

"They were putting barriers up, preparing for that, but they were also up there just to enjoy doing what they loved," Doug Dedic said.

Dale Dedic, who had been diving for about five years, had often raved about the lake at the Jamestown mine for its sheer depth, rock structure and visibility, his brother said.

The mine is a popular spot for scuba divers, said Wilson. This is the first fatal diving incident he remembers occurring at the mine, he said.

Pollard's family was not available for comment.

 

[csholer]

hey all, i appreciate the interest in this but until the autopsies are done today, myself and my family would appreciate if folks without the true facts would hold their opinions in check until we get the report on my cousins death today. i will let everyone know the facts of the incident as soon as i can. thanks chris

 

[CuNanoTube]

Damn. My thoughts are out to the families of the deceased.
Is it just me or are scuba divers just having a bad month?

 

[ianr33]

But I'll really have to mull over what I would do if, facing a substantial deco obligation, I were faced with a stranger who was out of gas. If both team members go up, both are facing significant risk. If neither goes up, the stranger may die. But if you split the team, as in this case, you may lose TWO divers. Horrible choice to face.

If I were ever to be in that situation the OOG stranger would be welcome to my back/sidegas,provided he was well behaved. They would need to be patient though while I finished my deco.

 

[Jax]

Tuesday, Apr. 12, 2011
Two divers die while exploring water-filled mine in Mother Lode
By ERIN TRACY
etracy@modbee.com

Emergency personnel on Monday recovered the body of the second man to die in an apparent scuba diving accident at the Jamestown mine in Tuolumne County this weekend.

Four men were diving in the 500-foot-deep, open-pit mine off Harvard Mine Road on Saturday afternoon when one of them, Jamie Pollard, 37, of Stockton, panicked for an unknown reason, said Tuolumne County sheriff's Sgt. Jeff Wilson.

Fellow diver Cameron Wheeler, 41, of Stockton helped Pollard to the surface, where he appeared to be in stable condition.

Wheeler left Pollard on the shore and returned to the water to avoid decompression sickness from surfacing too quickly and to search for the other two divers, Wilson said.

[hijack]Note - Mr Wheeler had incurred a decompression obligation and has been properly trained to make this risky move. Do NOT attempt without proper and thorough training.
[/hijack]

While Wheeler was 135 feet under, an unknown man called 911 to report Pollard as a drowning victim, Wilson said. Emergency personnel responded to the mine about 3:30 p.m., and Pollard was taken to Sonora Regional Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.

Wheeler could not locate the other divers in the cold water that has created a lake at the abandoned open-pit mine. Upon resurfacing, Wheeler alerted emergency personnel the two still were missing, Wilson said.

But one of the two divers, who was not identified, believed to still be in the lake Sunday eventually was found at the accident scene alive and safe.

The other missing diver, 34-year-old David Allen Dedic of Lodi, never surfaced.

Search-and-rescue volunteers were called to search for Dedic, but a team was not able to be assembled until 8 a.m. Sunday, Wilson said. Rescue workers used a boat and sonar to attempt to find Dedic, but their efforts were fruitless. Officials said a lack of equipment for working at the depths where the body was believed to be hampered recovery efforts.

Officials from the Army Corps of Engineers arrived about 5 p.m. Sunday with a remotely operated vehicle equipped with a camera and control arm. With no sign of Dedic at sunset, rescue workers decided to resume the search at 9:30 a.m. Monday, Wilson said.

Several hours into the search Monday, the craft located Dedic's body. It is not known how Dedic or Pollard died, but autopsies are scheduled today.

Dedic and Pollard had Facebook pages that listed scuba diving as their favorite activities and used profile pictures of themselves taken while diving.

Dedic's page said he attended Tokay High School in Lodi and worked for San Joaquin Drywall as a supervisor. His last status update was Feb. 17, when he posted: "Waiting to go diving!!!."

Pollard has no other personal information listed on his Facebook page.

Wilson said locals frequently use the old mine, which is on private property, as a swimming hole and divers have been known to explore the area.

The Sonora Mining Corp. dug the mine in the 1980s. It used massive shovels and crushers to squeeze traces of gold from a pair of pits. The company moved an average of 71 tons of earth to reach each of the 700,000 ounces of gold produced from 1987 to 1994.

Modesto resident Vincent Estell and his partners have since bought the mine and proposed an ambitious plan to convert the land into a tourist attraction that is to include botanical gardens, a youth baseball complex and lodging.

 

[Jax]

Damn. My thoughts are out to the families of the deceased.
Is it just me or are scuba divers just having a bad month?

It's the beginning of the diving season, when people think they can still depend on skills not practiced for the last four to six months.