Diver dies when accidentaly going under ice in Finland

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GaryTapio

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The report of the Asikkala accident which claimed life of the diver was availablle online this week but now I cannot find it anymore. It was quoted by one of the newspapers. Below is a summary of the report based on what I can recall.

The dive plan was to fetch sunken frisbees from the bottom. Max. depth was 4-5m and the turnaround based on a visual reference (a bridge over the canal).

Accidentally divers drifted under ice cover where they eventually tried to surface, just to notice they are trapped under the ice. Another diver paniced and despite his buddy's effort to calm him down, he unfortunately passed out. Additionally the victim had some issues with his buoancy due to frozen gears (BCD, suite inflator?)

The report stated that only one diver had a compass and they had no lines because it was supposed to be a vis reference dive.

Once the diver had paniced and passed out, his buddy marked his friend with SMB (and begun to tow his unconsious buddy?) out of ice covered area. However, first he accidentally took an incorrect compass bearing and headed further underneath ice. He realised (luckily) his mistake on time and corrected bearing to head out to clear water. Once out of water he called help but the victim never resuscitated and passed away.
 
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This accident happened in the beginning of this month and I hadn't seen a news article about it so I hadn't posted anything, but now I found it.

Two divers were diving for list frisbees in a canal and inadvertently drifted towards the lake which had an ice cover. One of them died after having been taken from the water by its buddy who also administered CPR.

News in Finnish:

Jään alle ajautunut sukeltaja kuoli Asikkalassa - Sukellus - Kotimaa - Helsingin Sanomat
Poliisi tutkii Asikkalassa kuolleen sukeltajan laitteita ? tutkinta vie viikkoja - Sukellus - Kotimaa - Helsingin Sanomat
 
Very sad and unfortunate. I can't read Finnish but may I assume the two divers weren't behaving as buddies but as two independent divers searching for "lost frisbees"? And one of them unintentionallythe ended up under ice overhead? As in "it's all just fun until someone loses an eye" or in this case until lost under the ice without the other diver noticing until it was too late?
 
Very sad and unfortunate. I can't read Finnish but may I assume the two divers weren't behaving as buddies but as two independent divers searching for "lost frisbees"? And one of them unintentionallythe ended up under ice overhead? As in "it's all just fun until someone loses an eye" or in this case until lost under the ice without the other diver noticing until it was too late?


If you click on the little UK flag in the up right hand quarter of the page the English version pops up.
But then you lose the article!
 
The Asikkala accident report (diver accidently under ice, died)

:VÄÄKSYN SUKELLUSTURMA: Vääksyn sukellusonnettomuus selvitetty | Victoria Media

Google translate with some help

The Häme police have studied the reasons and circumstances of the incident at Vääksy on Sunday, 02.03.2014 which led to the death of one person in an accident. At the mouth of the channel on Vesijärven street, in the end died in a man born in Nastola 1973 who had practiced diving for a few years. No alcohol or any other intoxicating substances were a part to these events.
To dive left two men, while one [third]man stayed at beach area as surface support. The aim was to collect from channel frisbee discs. The diving site was thus the channel on Vesijärven street, the beach side. The diver checked before diving in how far the open [i.e. not frozen] area of water extended, and clarified how strong the current at the site was. The [current] flow was slight, and had no effect on the consequence. The plan was to dive up to the point of the highway 24 bridge, the direction being towards Lake Päijänne. From the mouth of the channel towards the direction of Vesijärvi began immediately a uniform ice cover. The depth channel known to be 4 to 5 meters, in addition to the agreed maximum dive time of 30 minutes and the navigation performed in such a way that the channel is steep side the right side of divers.
The dive started normally, and before leaving they even checked using the compass of one of the dive buddys, but further navigation was supposed to have been treated by ocular inspection on the right bank of earth [keeping the channel bank visible on their right]. The victim did not have a compass. A few minutes into the dive the victim found a single disc [frisbee], took it in his hand, and the dive having then lasted about five minutes and he showed by signs that he would take the disk he had found to the beach. Both divers rose towards to the surface, when they were discovered that they had drifted under the ice. The victim was highly anxious and started to handle the BCD filling hose. Despite reassurance the becoming being anxious [alarmed] had led to panic-like reactions with devastating consequences, despite the dive buddy's heroic attempts to provide help. After the victim had gone like lifeless, the dive buddy tied the spool of his SMB and attached to it the victim. After this the dive buddy began to seek a way out from under the ice, dived in the wrong direction for a moment. This changed after detecting the direction and he reached the mouth of the channel and the melted


This Thread has been Reopened...

water to call for assistance.
To the scene were obtained emergency rescue personnel and from these surface rescuers the diving buddy obtained a rescue rope with which he diving once again under the ice to seek for lifeless mate. The victim was brought to the surface, but resuscitation did not produce the desired result.
The victim's used diving equipment has been investigated by the police, the rescuing institution [Fire and Rescue Service] and the Navy together. The audit found that the regulator and the wing-vest filler hose were made in tests to freeze in an exceptional way [??? in Finnish too]. About this fact there has been contact with Safety Technology Authority for further guidance.
On the basis of reports as a reason for the accident can be considered failure of navigation, wherein relying on visual reference the divers dove in the wrong direction, i.e. to under the ice. Under the ice, the alarmed victim's equipment behaved in an exceptional way, i.e. froze and began to blow. Equipment, etc freezing and blowing have contributed to the victim's getting alarmed. Furthermore, the use of a safety line so close to the edge of the ice diving in would have been particularly necessary and important.
None of the above circumstances does not in itself would have caused the accident, but the events that have become presented in the investigation and the victim's strong alarming have led to such a panic reaction that rational actions of the diver and the following of instructions given in dive training were no longer possible. The investigation did not clarify any evidence, on the basis of which the case could be regarded anything more than an accident/personal injury.
 
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Thanks Finnmom. Very sad. Panic and reg freeflow . . . :(
 
Thanks for the translation
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/perdix-ai/

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