One dead, one injured off of Panama City, Florida

Please register or login

Welcome to ScubaBoard, the world's largest scuba diving community. Registration is not required to read the forums, but we encourage you to join. Joining has its benefits and enables you to participate in the discussions.

Benefits of registering include

  • Ability to post and comment on topics and discussions.
  • A Free photo gallery to share your dive photos with the world.
  • You can make this box go away

Joining is quick and easy. Log in or Register now!

DandyDon

Colonoscopy Advocate
ScubaBoard Supporter
Messages
53,626
Reaction score
7,815
Location
One kilometer high on the Texas Central Plains
# of dives
500 - 999
Diver drowns 6 miles offshore | miles, offshore, panama - The News Herald
PANAMA CITY — One of two divers was pronounced dead after being pulled from the water 6 nautical miles offshore Saturday morning, according to Coast Guard officials.
The Coast Guard was alerted to the incident around 8 a.m. The divers were off the shore of Panama City when they went down around 100 feet from a commercial boat. The divers were using the buddy system when, “they had an issue,” according to Lt. Michael Clausen, spokesman for the Coast Guard.
“One diver came up unresponsive, and the other came up exhibiting symptoms of the bends,” Clausen said.
After the two surfaced, the operator of the vessel immediately called the Coast Guard. The Coast Guard then dispatched a vessel that met the boat as it headed back in. The Coast Guard performed CPR on the unresponsive 43-year-old man as they returned to the Panama City Marina, where they met EMS. The divers were transported to a local hospital, where the man was pronounced dead.
“The other one, from coming up too fast and having air bubbles in his blood, was experiencing symptoms of the bends … headache, heavy breathing, dizziness and nausea,” Clausen said.
The boat in use during the incident was commercial and the operator had a commercial license. An investigation is pending as to the circumstances, but accounts taken by the Coast Guard said they were out recreationally, according to officials.
Names of the people on the boat are being withheld pending notification of next of kin and due to the ongoing investigation of “circumstances surrounding a person’s death,” according to Clausen.
Most of six people on the boat were identified as being residents of Louisiana. Two others on board also operated commercial vessels.
“We have investigating officers with dive equipment in their custody to do an investigation to make sure the equipment was operating correctly and not operator error,” Clausen said.

And this news story includes an odd statement: 1 Diver is Dead Another is Hospitalized from Off Shore Mishap
An off shore diving trip turned into a fatal accident for a group of six men on a diving trip six miles out the Gulf.
The US Coast Guard from the Panama City Station was called out to the divers’ boat, which was anchored off shore. There they found two divers, one was unresponsive without a pulse. The other was in need of medical assistance.
The two men were buddy diving and sharing a regulator when they believed the equipment was malfunctioning or some kind of human error occurred.

C-P-R was administered as the Coast Guard made it back to shore where Paramedics were waiting.
The Coast Guard confirms one of the med has died and the other is currently receiving treatment in the Hyperbaric Decompression Chamber at Bay Medical Center.
Both men were from out of state.
Authorities are presently investigating the group’s dive equipment and taking statements from other members of the group to find out exactly what happened.
 
The two men were buddy diving and sharing a regulator when they believed the equipment was malfunctioning or some kind of human error occurred.

Maybe a class where they were demonstrating a skill?

and apparently divers in Panama City are more important than they are in Pensacola. The Coast Guard in Pensacola won't launch a dingey for an unresponsive diver. We're lucky to get a search-assist for a missing diver. If you're bent or unresponsive, you're SOL if you expect help in Pensacola.

---------- Post Merged at 02:44 PM ---------- Previous Post was at 02:11 PM ----------

Another news link w/photos: http://www.wjhg.com/video/?autoStart=true&topVideoCatNo=default&clipId=7629651

---------- Post Merged at 08:07 PM ---------- Previous Post was at 02:11 PM ----------

UPDATED: One Dead, One Injured In Diving Accident - WMBB News 13 - The Panhandle's News Leader

UPDATED: One Dead, One Injured In Diving Accident

Posted: Aug 18, 2012 9:49 PM CDT Updated: Aug 19, 2012 5:12 PM CDT By J. Michael Brown - email


UPDATE
New details of a scuba diving accident off Panama City Beach are being released. The US Coast Guard has confirmed that the captain of the vessel involved in the incident is under investigation.

Neither the name of the captain nor any details of that probe have been released. Coast Guard Lieutenant Michael Clausen says the divers were on board a commercial fishing boat, but the Captain told investigators that the off-shore trip was recreational.

One diver died in the Saturday morning incident, and a second diver is being treated for decompression sickness--commonly known as "the bends."
The injured diver was initially transported to Bay Medical Center, but a hospital spokesperson says he was later taken to another facility for treatment.
The names of the divers have not been released.
______________________________________________________________________


One man is dead and another is being treated for decompression sickness after a diving accident six miles off the coast of Panama City.
The U. S. Coast Guard responded at about 8:00 a.m. Saturday and met a commercial fishing boat at the mouth of the St. Andrew Pass. According to Lt. Michael Clausen of the USCG Mobile, Alabama Sector, one of the divers was unresponsive to CPR efforts. The second diver was suffering symptoms of the bends and was taken to Bay Medical Center where he is being treated in a hyperbaric chamber, Lt. Clausen said.
The Coast Guard has taken possession of the dive equipment as part of its investigation. The identities of the divers and the boat operator have not been released.
 
Last year we were out on the Oriskany when diver died there. The Coast Guard did send out a boat to help with the search.
 
Last year we were out on the Oriskany when diver died there. The Coast Guard did send out a boat to help with the search.

... and at least one search plane that I saw, but that was because he was "missing". They will not send a thing for a bent or unresponsive diver. They certainly didn't for the two previous fatalities that occurred in Pensacola waters, or two additional incidents with bent divers that I'm aware of.

Realistically, anyone brought up unresponsive is probably SOL anyway, but it irks me to see the CG bust !@# for divers in other areas, and all we get is an ambulance at the dock.
 
So this was a commercial fishing boat or a dive boat/fishing boat or a dive boat? I'm assuming the first one but I'd like to be certain.
 
[h=3]Update from WMBB Channel 13:


UPDATED: One Dead, One Injured In Diving Accident[/h]
Posted: Aug 18, 2012 9:49 PM CDTUpdated: Aug 19, 2012 5:12 PM CDTBy J. Michael Brown - email


UPDATE
New details of a scuba diving accident off Panama City Beach are being released. The US Coast Guard has confirmed that the captain of the vessel involved in the incident is under investigation.
Neither the name of the captain nor any details of that probe have been released. Coast Guard Lieutenant Michael Clausen says the divers were on board a commercial fishing boat, but the Captain told investigators that the off-shore trip was recreational.
One diver died in the Saturday morning incident, and a second diver is being treated for decompression sickness--commonly known as "the bends."
The injured diver was initially transported to Bay Medical Center, but a hospital spokesperson says he was later taken to another facility for treatment.
The names of the divers have not been released.
 
So this was a commercial fishing boat or a dive boat/fishing boat or a dive boat? I'm assuming the first one but I'd like to be certain.

I've been told the name of the boat, but there's no way for me to verify the accuracy of the information. IF the name I was given is correct, then this is a charter vessel that runs hook & line trips. It also runs dive trips through a dive shop in Panama City.
 
Well, I think investigations are standard for any serious accident or fatality, so I have to wonder about the quality of the news reporting - and other news stories on the net may well simply be echoing the one that originally stated that. I agree with many captains in that a skipper's duty is to provide a safe ride to & from the dive site, as well as assist with exiting & boarding the boat - but I don't think he has any responsibilities for what happens below. Exceptions would include case of the dive op renting gear uses, providing DMs for lead dives, quality of tank air furnished, and the like - but I don't see any obvious implications yet.

I'd certainly like to know more about what went wrong below leading to the tragedy, not to judge but to possibly learn - if anyone has access to more info.
 
Well, I think investigations are standard for any serious accident or fatality, so I have to wonder about the quality of the news reporting - and other news stories on the net may well simply be echoing the one that originally stated that. I agree with many captains in that a skipper's duty is to provide a safe ride to & from the dive site, as well as assist with exiting & boarding the boat - but I don't think he has any responsibilities for what happens below. Exceptions would include case of the dive op renting gear uses, providing DMs for lead dives, quality of tank air furnished, and the like - but I don't see any obvious implications yet.

I'd certainly like to know more about what went wrong below leading to the tragedy, not to judge but to possibly learn - if anyone has access to more info.

Don, a Coast Guard investigation might not have anything to do with what happened underwater, in fact, unless the Captain ran them over, I don't think the Coast Guard would have any reason to investigate an underwater accident (though they do anyway for some reason).

If he was running spearfishing charters to federal waters without the proper permits, or had more than six paying customers on his boat, or had a dead goliath grouper on board, they'd probably be interested. Not saying that's what happened, just that they may be investigating him for something other than the circumstances of the accident.
 

Back
Top Bottom