Diver dies at Bass Lake

[GramsciBeat]

Diver drowns in Meyerton | News24#.

Very few details on this South African diving death, but it seems quite odd. A night quarry dive, where conditions are extremely benign -maximum depth 24 m, but averaging out at about 11 - the water would probably be about 20 degrees C and visibility, unless there was a lot silt kicked up by dive groups, would be better than 5m. No solo diving is allowed there and it is generally adhered too. Meyerton is the nearest town to Bass Lake, the fresh water quarry where the incident occurred.

The poor reporting in the article has resulted in people confusing this with an apparent Cape Town dive accident (Soetwater), but the comments about crayfish hunting and sea are not relevant to the incident referenced in the article.

 

[Sharks at Aliwal]

Not a scuba diving death as the person in question was not a certified divers but a member of staff at Bass Lake.

The question is who gave him the gear? and what was he doing diving at night when not certified?

All I know is that his brother asked the owners of Bass Lake for some details and they refused to give any.

Diver drowns in Meyerton | News24#.

Very few details on this South African diving death, but it seems quite odd. A night quarry dive, where conditions are extremely benign -maximum depth 24 m, but averaging out at about 11 - the water would probably be about 20 degrees C and visibility, unless there was a lot silt kicked up by dive groups, would be better than 5m. No solo diving is allowed there and it is generally adhered too. Meyerton is the nearest town to Bass Lake, the fresh water quarry where the incident occurred.

The poor reporting in the article has resulted in people confusing this with an apparent Cape Town dive accident (Soetwater), but the comments about crayfish hunting and sea are not relevant to the incident referenced in the article.

 

[Chris12day]

Sorry, but I do not agree. If I am driving a car or flying a plane without a license and crash, it is still CAR or Plane crash! If the person was in SCUBA gear and attempting to dive (wihout any certification), it is still a SCUBA diving accident. Using your logic, a cave diving accident would not be an accident if the diver was not certified. The end result is the same.

Safe Diving!

 

[PCoetzee]

Any more news?

 

[GramsciBeat]

No news. The scenario of a staff member sneaking in at night to do some diving just seems unlikely. I'm pretty sure there's quite a lot more to this story.
I'd also agree with Chris12day, the diver's qualifications are irrelevant in determining whether it is a dive accident or not. If the person is in the water using an open or closed circuit breathing apparatus, it is a scuba accident. If we excluded accidents where divers had dived beyond their qualifications from this forum, about 90% of these threads would disappear.

 

[ScubaSteve]

If you die on SCUBA, it is a SCUBA death. Cause of death may be heart attack or bad air but it is still a SCUBA death IMO.

 

[Jan Kruger]

We don't dive there very often due to bad viz and colder temperatures than normal.I have witnessed other divers that shot up to the surface there before and they had to be hospitalised.I think it is mostly a training facility for new divers hence the mishaps. Our condolances to the family of the deceased.I have found this on their website :

	​
	[h=3]Diving accident at Bass Lake - 25 January 2012[/h]Dear Customers & Friends, On Wednesday evening, the 25th of January, our fellow worker and friend VUSI DUBE passed away in a tragic diving accident at Bass Lake. Vusi, an Open Water diver with very few Dives, went on a night dive with members of Divetek. He was not qualified to do the dive. We do not know, at this stage, exactly what transpired. We do know that his death was definitely caused by drowning. We are waiting for the full report from the Pathologist and for the outcome of the SAPS investigation. Once we have further information and/ or the full report/s we will post these updates onto our website at www.basslake.co.za . We hope to do so by the end of next week. Over the years, we know that many of you have become very fond of Vusi and that he will be sorely missed by us all. We have been in contact with Vusi's family elders and girlfriend, from the time that we were made aware of Vusi passing, late on Wednesday night. Alan, Karen and the Bass Lake staff met with 6 of Vusi’s family, including his girlfriend and 3 month old baby, the morning after his death, to discuss what we know so far and to make further arrangements with the family. After a family meeting, the family elders requested that we hold a Memorial service, for Vusi, on Monday the 30th of January at 13h00, at BassLake. They are unable to delay this memorial service as the family are going to return Vusi’s body, next week to Zimbabwe, where Vusi will have a funeral service at his original home. Please join us, in paying our respects to Vusi and his family in an informal Memorial Service to be held at Bass Lake, as per the above. Please could you let us know if you will be attending, as we will prepare sandwiches and refreshments for all. Our Best Wishes Alan & Karen Pepper Bass Lake Adventures (Pty) Ltd