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  • 3 Post By Tigerman

Thread: Brit Hit by Prop in Egypt

 


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    DandyDon's Avatar
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    Brit Hit by Prop in Egypt

    I don't know when this happened. I searched here for his name but didn't find it.

    From Scuba-diving dad from Whitefield left fighting for life after being hit by boat's propeller in Eygpt | Manchester Evening News - menmedia.co.uk
    A dad-of-two has told how he was left fighting for life after being sucked into a boat propeller on a dream diving holiday in Egypt.Maurice Abrahams suffered horrific injuries in the accident – and only avoided decapation because the blades were blocked by his oxygen tank.

    The 48-year-old was trapped under the propeller for an agonising 30 seconds as the water around him filled with blood. Reliving the terrifying ordeal, he told the the M.E.N.: “It felt like a lifetime.

    “The pain was indescribable and I thought I was definitely going to die. My mask was ripped off and I was actually screaming under the water.”

    Maurice was rushed to hospital after losing huge amounts of blood from cuts to his legs and broken bones, including his hip and pelvis.

    Doctors had to appeal for blood from the other guests at the hotel where he was was staying in the resort of El Gouna to save him.

    He spent three days fighting for life and spent weeks in hospital before finally being allowed home.

    HIs broken bones have been pieced back together with metal pins but he faces months of physiotherapy to help him learn to walk again and is still in constant pain.

    Maurice – who lives with wife Rochelle and children Jake, 17, and Chelsey, 14 in Chadderton Drive, Whitefield - had been on an annual trip with friends from the Red Fins diving group.

    The pals, all experienced divers, were on the second day of a holiday and had chartered a boat to explore a coral reef.

    A second boat, carrying divers and sunbathers, arrived in the area as Maurice and his friends were heading back to the surface. Maurice, who works as a hairdresser, was just below the surface when the second boat started its propeller.

    He was sucked backwards into the blades which hit his metal tank just inches from his unprotected neck. They then sheared through his botton and legs.

    Maurice said: “I had no idea what was happening before I hit the propeller. I saw the blood in the water and that's when I though it was all over. God knows how it missed my head – my tank got hit just a few inches from my neck.”

    Maurice's pals were able to keep him conscious as they rushed back to shore.
    He was treated in hospital before being flown back to England, when he had five weeks' further treatment at North Manchester General.

    Maurice said: “The doctors said they had never seen a hip injury like it. Most people are killed in propeller accidents – I'm so lucky to be alive. I'm now basically held together with pins and screws. I want to thank my wife – I couldn't have got through this without her.”
    You can test the tanks you breathe or - dive on hope.
    Testing is safer...


    Great news for vacation divers who cannot talk themselves into buying a personal CO tank tester!

    >> Rent one for a week or longer here <<
    Now let's see more CO readings in your trip reports, ok...??






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    Tricia's Avatar
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    Hi Don,

    I saw this on the Daily Mail this morning. Several sharp readers quickly corrected the "oxygen tank" mistake. But one of them asked how supposedly experienced divers could have surfaced into the propellers of a boat. As someone who's dived in Egypt, I have to say it's easy. There's usually one mooring for a site and then the later boats moor to the first boat. And the boats come and go all the time. That's why normally in the dive briefing, they lecture on being VERY careful on surfacing. I guess this guy missed that.

    Trish

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    The article mentioned that he "was just below the surface when the second boat started its propeller (which) sucked backwards into the blades." I always listen for boats ascending, but I am bad about not looking up. Being under one when it starts up would be dangerous.
    You can test the tanks you breathe or - dive on hope.
    Testing is safer...


    Great news for vacation divers who cannot talk themselves into buying a personal CO tank tester!

    >> Rent one for a week or longer here <<
    Now let's see more CO readings in your trip reports, ok...??






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    Quote Originally Posted by DandyDon View Post
    The article mentioned that he "was just below the surface when the second boat started its propeller (which) sucked backwards into the blades." I always listen for boats ascending, but I am bad about not looking up. Being under one when it starts up would be dangerous.
    Which is exactly why the pre-dive briefings of all the serious dive ops in the egyptian red sea will include "surface <here>", "always check above you" and "never surface in the blue unless you absolutely have to".

    I also notice the article says nothing about a SMB, neither his own nor others, so he might have been ascending without a marker, in a bad spot.

    Despite this, in the red sea I have seen people starting to ascend with boats overhead and guides having to stop them several times. I have also had to stop someone from doing it myself (long story, but he was a bit freaked out and in a hurry to get to the surface).
    Its an easy mistake to make, that has the potential of having reprecussions thats hard or impossible to mend.
    I wonder if periodic short term exposure to risk can decrease your longterm risk of accidents. I hope it does..
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