Diver Dies-St Maarten

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On 23-Dec 2015 A female diver suffered an apparent heart attack while diving in the Man o' war Shoal marine park off St Maarten.

Eyewitnesses report that on the second dive of the morning she surfaced 30-40 meters from the boat and expired just before reaching the boat's tag line. The Skipper on board went into the water but was unable to reach her. He subsequently cut loose from the mooring and attempted to retrieve her as the boat drifted. Sea conditions were heavy and the captain was unable to pull the diver on board as she was a fairly large person.
The Captain was forced to abandon his efforts and to return to the dive site to retrieve the rest of the group who were still in the water. Subsequently the local sea rescue service was called in and the victims body was recovered and brought to shore where doctors at the scene pronounced her dead.

Cause of death appears to be a heart attack as there was no water found in her lungs, however the autopsy report has yet to be submitted.

Skill level and experience of the deceased are unknown by the author. Although it must be noted that the sea conditions on the day were exceptionally rough, on an island well known for it's generally rough conditions. With seas exceeding 6 feet at times over the reef, most other dive operators had elected to either cancel the days diving or to head to alternate, more sheltered, dive sites in the lee of the island.
 
personally if I wasn't fit to dive under safe measures I myself wouldn't do it. It's up to the diver to decide whether or not he or she is comfortable with the dive and can decide for themselves if they want to decide not to dive. If the conditions were "that bad" then the DM should have called the dive in general. A dive (in most cases) is not worth someone's life. He should have thought about the circumstances he would be in if he had to save her before he took her out.
 
I would like everyone here to know that I knew this diver. She was my primary care physician and in good physical condition. This article was written in poor taste calling her a fairly large person as she was not overweight....anyone who is dead weight will be heavy for one person to pull aboard a boat. It was an unfortunate situation all together. As a diver myself, this sounds awful for everyone involved.
 
I would like everyone here to know that I knew this diver. She was my primary care physician and in good physical condition. This article was written in poor taste calling her a fairly large person as she was not overweight....anyone who is dead weight will be heavy for one person to pull aboard a boat. It was an unfortunate situation all together. As a diver myself, this sounds awful for everyone involved.

Alex, my condolences go to you and to all her loved ones.
 
Ok so a few things I'd like to go over. The deceased in this blog is my mom's cousin. She died of what is known as an air embolism (meaning an air bubble traveled in her blood stream to her brain and once it hit her brain causing a stop in blood flow she died instantly) for those of you uneducated divers out there you cannot reverse this fast enough to save the diver(PADI shows an example of this happening to a woman in a ten foot deep pool in one of the videos for the instructor course) . She had been diving throughout her entire life and was not a stranger to the sport. She took the risk of diving that day as we all do when we get in the water. I am just thankful that she went out in a painless manner rather than having to drown or suffer from decompression sickness. Thank you.
 
Ok so a few things I'd like to go over. The deceased in this blog is my mom's cousin. She died of what is known as an air embolism (meaning an air bubble traveled in her blood stream to her brain and once it hit her brain causing a stop in blood flow she died instantly) for those of you uneducated divers out there you cannot reverse this fast enough to save the diver(PADI shows an example of this happening to a woman in a ten foot deep pool in one of the videos for the instructor course) . She had been diving throughout her entire life and was not a stranger to the sport. She took the risk of diving that day as we all do when we get in the water. I am just thankful that she went out in a painless manner rather than having to drown or suffer from decompression sickness. Thank you.

I am so sorry for your loss. Thank you for posting this.

I started to post a while ago that this thread was filled with vitriol. I hope all those who blamed the victim (tho that will continue because, of course, all embolisms are the fault of the diver) realize that it could happen to them too.
 
Although I don't rely on my dive buddy but always dive with one, Here is a case where one may have been able to help......It is one thing when you jump into calm water and surface in rough conditions but ya gotta know your limits......both condition wise and dive wise..........
 
"I would like everyone here to know that I knew this diver. She was my primary care physician and in good physical condition. This article was written in poor taste calling her a fairly large person as she was not overweight....anyone who is dead weight will be heavy for one person to pull aboard a boat. It was an unfortunate situation all together. As a diver myself, this sounds awful for everyone involved."


This diver was also my highly regarded primary care doctor for over 15 years and I concur with what Alex posted above. I was stunned to read the re-cap indicating that she was a "fairly large person". So stunned, in fact, that I created a log in just to post a response (though I am PADI certified). She was not a large person at all and I just saw her a few months ago. She was average weight for her age and height and I would guess a size 10. The story makes it sound like she was significantly overweight or obese and that couldn't be further from the truth. Makes me think someone needed to come up with an excuse as to why she died to avoid culpability. Knowing that other dive operators decided not to go out in those exceptionally rough conditions, perhaps this particular boat captain made the wrong choice. So sad for the family.
 
Knowing that other dive operators decided not to go out in those exceptionally rough conditions, perhaps this particular boat captain made the wrong choice. So sad for the family.

As my mom would say if your friend jumped off a cliff would you jump too? Regardless of the captains choice - you always have a choice.
 
i cannot believe the level of ignorance and insensitivity being displayed here by some. this is a tragic event that one way or another could happen to any of us. some people drop dead walking to the kitchen table. and some of them look and feel perfectly healthy.
yes there can be a place and time to discuss some of the issues surrounding medical releases, physical fitness, etc etc in this or any other sport but this is not the time or the place. someone died here folks. show some respect. if you feel the need to open up a separate discussion on issues you feel are relevant then do it somewhere else.
and before we all judge this person and speculate on what may have led to the horrible outcome, maybe we should keep our mouths shut until someone actually releases the full story. was it a heart attack ? was it an embolism ? why did the diver surface alone ? did a medical event happen while under the water on a leisurely swim ? or did it happen after surfacing while swimming back to the boat in high seas ? all speculation i assume at this point.
i have been diving in st maarten a few times, that is why this thread caught my attention. it is a terrible situation and my heart goes out to the family and friends and to the dive crew who dealt with this
 
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