cozumel accident 9/4/11, THE FACTS

[nauticab]

forward: i hope the web administrator will allow this thread to start fresh as i feel the facts of the situation are getting lost in the 50+ pages of the original. the info below was gathered personally by me from the 2 DMs on board, the captain, and permission from all plus the dive op's brother who is running the show during her sister's absence while she is still in florida undergoing treatment. it is complicated. some of this info is repeated in the orig thread, some info is new as of today during my chat with the captain. i will try to bullet point it to be clearer.

- this was a dive trip, 1 tank, for people from the dive shop. there were no paying clients on board. trip consisted of the owner, 3 of her DMs, and 2 shop friends going on a pleasure dive.
- the trip was to villa blanca. the captain knew that 2 DMs and one of the shop's friends were going to hunt for lionfish and lobster, for food for their clients for the next day. the owner, her friend and the other DM were to do a regular dive in villa blanca. the reef is outside of the national park limits. the dive was at a rare hour, therefore boat traffic was nil. on top of that, we are in low season and there are very few divers in the water this time of year.
- the captain was never told the depth of the plan for the 3 who had the accident. the others did a plan of around 140-160 max for a short period of time, with most of the dive hovering closer to the top of the wall hunting, being 80 to 100ft. capt found out about the depth of the victims when they got to the chamber. the captain is a 20yr veteran of dive boats in cozumel. he knows what to do and understands enough about dive accidents to do the right thing.
- the boat had 2 extra tanks on board (common practice for low tanks/o-rings,etc).
- all divers went in and separated into 2 groups.
- villa blanca is just out in front of the shop. it is also close to the new car ferry pier. currents in the reef can be wicked, calm, changing direcion, all of the above. the time of the end of the dive corresponded to the car ferry coming into port.
- group 2 (lobster/lion fish hunters) did a safe dive with no incidents and all safety stops.
- group 1, as later found out, was trying to break their own deep dive record. we all know this is the mistake that caused it all. no need to touch on this topic (IMHO). the owner had 100 tank, ther other two 80s. had the captain known of the planned depth, he would have asked about ponys, etc.
- they were at 320ft, gabi the DM was banging his tank when he saw opal (the owner) going deeper and not responding to him. he went for her in a brave rescue, saw that she had 900psi, she said she was ok (obviously narced), he grabbed her and brought her up to the other diver at 320ft. they ascended together, under gabi's control and gabi and opal ran out of air around 200ft. gabi just knew they would die. however, he stayed in control, holding onto both of them, and all three buddy breathed on the other diver's tank to the surface, when they ran out of air. gabi claims that all three were blowing out their bubbles hence no lung expansion injuries.
- upon ascent, the boat was close and they called for getting the O2 ready. captain did just that, helped them with the gear and they laid down, opal being in the worst shape. she got the O2 and was in extreme pain, as were the others. captain was immediately on the phone with the local chamber calling for the ambulance to pick them up in front of the meridiano, the closest pier from their spot.
- then, panic set in full force. capt could not leave the scene for the other 3 divers still below. the car ferry was approaching close enough for him to be worried for them getting propped if he let them float too long. opal demanded that her gear was set up so she could go back in. capt knew it was best for her to stay on O2, but she was frantic. he felt torn but set up the tank. his boss was ORDERING him to set up her gear. if he didn't, he knew she would. faster than he could even believe, she was back in.
- gabi and the other diver saw her down there and had to make sure she was ok. so they got the other tank and breathed on it together at 30ft (2nd stage and octopus).
- they were at 30ft for 10 or so minutes, perhaps less, in total. during this time, the other divers came up. captain went to get them, told the other DMs what happened, they hurried to them and the other DM wanted to get on his tank and get back down to see if they were ok. the captain ordered him to stay on board and wait for them to surface.
- opal, gabi and the other diver surfaced, they went straight to the pier and as they arrived, so did the ambulance. there was ZERO time wasted from the call to the arrival of the ambulance and them being placed en route to the chamber.

as mentioned, i am in 100% agreement that the captain was placed in a position he should NEVER have been in but with all said, made the best choice.. the IWR was a result of panic and crazy circumstances. just a horrific day. DAN docs are amazed that gabi is alive, that he was able to function for a full on rescue at that depth, and that he is 100% in the head and looks like he will have a full recovery with time and therapy. they are watching him closely.

 

[Blue Sparkle]

Thank you for this new and summarized information. Much appreciated.

Could I ask you to clarify a couple of things, if you can?

...[Gabi] grabbed her and brought her up to the other diver at 320ft. they ascended together, under gabi's control and gabi and opal ran out of air around 200ft. gabi just knew they would die. however, he stayed in control, holding onto both of them, and all three buddy breathed on the other diver's tank to the surface...

1) I'm reading that they all three buddy-breathed after the owner and Gabi went OOA. I think of buddy-breathing as sharing one second stage and passing it back and forth. Did the third diver have his own primary and breathe normally, with the owner and Gabi buddy-breathing off of his secondary (AAS)? Or was there no secondary (AAS) on the third diver's reg and so they all three had to buddy-breathe from one second stage?

...all three buddy breathed on the other diver's tank to the surface, when they ran out of air. gabi claims that all three were blowing out their bubbles hence no lung expansion injuries.

2) I'm not clear from this where they ran out of air. Was it at the surface, or when they were still at some depth? (<--- the latter agrees with "blowing bubbles...")

Thank you for clarifying, and for your detailed post.

Blue Sparkle

 

[Ron Lee]

Why did two divers have to go in the water again to check on Opal? Seems that one was enough and the other could have stayed on oxygen.

 

[DandyDon]

Why did two divers have to go in the water again to check on Opal? Seems that one was enough and the other could have stayed on oxygen.

And here I thought the first post explained it well. I think you can write that one off as "seemed like a good idea at the time", as it was an emergency, and she might have passed out.

 

[Ron Lee]

I think you can write that one off as "seemed like a good idea at the time", as it was an emergency, and she might have passed out.

"Good idea at the time" and this whole dive plan are not consistent. If anyone should have checked on Opal to make sure that she was fine it would have been a DM from the other group. Would have to reread to see if the timing is consistent with that.

What time of day did this occur?

On previous dives around this depth, what were their ascent profiles and how much air did they use?

I have been below 100' but nowhere near 300'. One thing I have not been able to grasp well is the relative risks between 100' and 300' (or deeper). Yes I know there are variables but enough data should be available to give relative risks.

Knowing that the deeper you go, the risks increase, at some point you either stop or take extra precautions. My view expressed in the other thread is that barring proper gas mixture, they should have had larger tanks and a better site (sloping bottom instead of a wall).

 

[sealkie]

And here I thought the first post explained it well. I think you can write that one off as "seemed like a good idea at the time", as it was an emergency, and she might have passed out.

I think the question was more a case of why did BOTH of them go back in - surely if the rational was to rescue the first diver should they pass out having 2 people breathing off one tank is only going hinder that effort

 

[DandyDon]

"Good idea at the time" and this whole dive plan are not consistent. If anyone should have checked on Opal to make sure that she was fine it would have been a DM from the other group.

If that DM had been available, they would have loaded up and gone to dock.

I think the question was more a case of why did BOTH of them go back in - surely if the rational was to rescue the first diver should they pass out having 2 people breathing off one tank is only going hinder that effort

I am not defending the inwater recompression, but I guess they thought there was safety in numbers. Ever been in an emergency? You make your best call in an instant, right or wrong.

 

[Crush]

Thanks for the information, nauticab. While I can understand posting conjecture on SB, it seems as through there was some outright lying going on around this incident. Thanks for clearing things up.

Your post is reasonably precise, which makes the following quote jump out at me in its vagueness:

the dive was at a rare hour, therefore boat traffic was nil.

By "rare hour" are we to read very early in the morning, or very late in the evening? If the latter, were all the social divers in the proper state of mind to carry out a safe dive?

 

[WSOPFAN]

By "rare hour" are we to read very early in the morning, or very late in the evening? If the latter, were all the social divers in the proper state of mind to carry out a safe dive?

I heard it was first thing in the AM around 8:30-9 ish? Maybe she can confirm.....

 

[cenotist]

So far the discussions have been:
1. How tolerable are &#8220;off duty&#8221; deep air dives at all (is it your own risk or you are responsible for image of safe dive society).
2. How well was executed the emergency plan at this dive.
3. How adequate were the actions of captain
4. What are the acceptable procedures in this type of accidents
5. Probably I forgot something else&#8230;

But before my bedtime, let me throw one more stone into the water &#8211; how wrong it really was for Opal to jump back into the water? Maybe I put my reputation on line here, but in her place, knowing that I have to wait and not having problems with o2 CNS tox, I would probably jump in also. Only I would pack my o2, not air tank. There are many knowledgeable persons out there &#8211; maybe they have some idea about that?