Diver dies at Sydney Beach

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Content of above link for future reference (which is not to discourage anyone clicking on the link while it is still active).

Diver dies at Sydney beach

Updated October 25, 2011 18:50:21

A young woman has died while scuba diving at Watson's Bay in Sydney's east. [Map included in original article]

The 25-year-old got into difficulty at Camp Cove Beach just before 5pm (AEDT).

The NSW Ambulance Service says paramedics were called to the beach.

Paramedic Penelope Little says it is still unclear what caused her death.

"What we understand is that she went missing under the water after some kind of unknown emergency and was brought to the surface," Ms Little said.

"Attempts were made to resuscitate her at the scene by bystanders and paramedics continued that resuscitation, and despite their best efforts she was pronounced deceased on the beach."

Ms Little says it is important not to jump to any conclusions about what went wrong.

"There are so many things that could have gone wrong... it may be a medical condition she had, she may have come into some level of distress about her oxygen, it's far too early to tell," she said.

"It's important that we don't jump to conclusions about what this may be. It may be that she has an underlying medical condition, something may have happened totally unrelated to diving."

A report will be prepared for the coroner.


Somewhat surprising to read a quote about "her oxygen" from a paramedic.
 
Just a little about the dive site:
This was our go to site if there was a southerly blowing as it is pretty protected from all directions (except northerly swells); as it is inside Sydney Harbour.
The max depth I have ever got to was just 6.1 metres, although I'm sure at high tide you can add a metre or 2.
This, in my experience, is a nice, easy dive suitable for all divers, with one of the only dangers being boats overhead if you head too far away from the beach.
For a more detailed description of the site, you can check out Michael McFadyen's website.
 
Don't be surprised about the paramedic referring to oxyen. The cylinders of compressed gas they are used to contain O2 so it is a natural mistake. Not all paramedics are very familiar with diving..
 
Wow - horrific news, and a reminder perhaps that diving can always be a risky sport, and that especially during initial training it is critical to keep a close eye on students, and ensure they are well briefed.

Further to what vicko said above - this really is the cruisiest of sites, and the conditions yesterday were just fine for diving there, if slightly grey and rainy. This would have brought vis down a fraction, but I would still imagine it was at least in the 4-5m range.

Given her age, I would imagine that heart attack is unlikely. As ever with these discussions, speculation is only of moderate value, however do people think that a panic with the reg getting knocked out/pulled out deliberately and ingestion of sea water would be the likely situation?

I would also add that the dive shop involved is an outfit I've dived with numerous times, and know the boss pretty well. I've always found them to be pretty good and attentive to certified divers; their equipment is always in excellent condition; they have a very cautious attitude to the selection of dive sites (which I find a bit frustrating sometimes, I must admit!!). I haven't done any training with them, so can't speak for that, but know they are a good, safety conscious outfit.

Commiserations to the divers family and friends, and to all those involved in the dive who witnessed such a horrific incident.
 
Typical of news reports not only do we have the usual comments re oxygen bottle but also her age varies from 25 to 28 to 29.

She was a Nepalese resident of London.

It seems that there were 12 Students with 2 instructors in fairly close to ideal conditions. So we will have to wait and see if any further details come to light.

This is the 2nd fatality of a diver under training in Australia this year.
 
Here is the text from the article Don linked above - for future reference in this thread. There is additional info at the link now, while it is active - a video and 20 comments (at this point).

Woman scuba diver's death a training tragedy
From: The Daily Telegraph, October 26, 2011 12:00AM

A female scuba diver has died after becoming separated from her group while diving off Watson's Bay in Sydney Harbour.

The woman, a 29-year-old foreign national, was on a dive course at Camp Cove in Watsons Bay when the group noticed her missing about 5pm.

Ambulance Service spokeswoman Penelope Little said the woman was pulled unconscious from the water in a critical condition a few minutes later by members of the dive course.

Paramedics attempted to resuscitate her. Despite their efforts, the diver was pronounced dead at the scene.

Members of the group, many still in their wetsuits, had to be consoled by their dive leader.

The woman was diving with up to 12 others and it was not clear how she became separated.

Ms Little said there were no early indications about what went wrong during the training course.
 
I did all my training to date with these guys and also dive with them a number of times a month. They are extremely cautious with new and inexperienced divers.

Its just sad, and my thoughts are with all of them, esepcially the family of the diver and the instructors involved. What they are feeling, I can't imagine.
 

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