Dive Accident near Brockville July 1st, 2014

[Ayisha]

Does anyone know anything about the fatal accident near Brockville this afternoon? Thanks.

Woman, 49, dies in dive tragedy | Brockville Recorder

Woman, 49, dies in dive tragedy

By Ronald Zajac, Recorder and Times
Tuesday, July 1, 2014 4:46:48 EDT PM

A 49-year-old Mississauga woman has died as a result of an incident in the St. Lawrence River near Brockville on Canada Day.
Ontario Provincial Police officers had few details of the incident, which happened around 2 p.m. when officers of the Leeds County detachment responded to a report of a diver in distress.
The officers responded about five kilometres west of Brockville.
The OPP Marine Unit helped remove the diver from the water.
The victim, identified only as a 49-year-old Mississauga woman, was pronounced dead at the hospital, police said.
Officers were continuing their investigation.
While the coast guard participated in the effort, the OPP are now in charge of the investigation, said Sgt. Kristine Rae.
She was not sure, late Tuesday afternoon, whether the victim died as a result of an accident in the water or a health complication.
Rae was waiting to speak to the investigating officers, who were dealing with family members at the time.

 

[gitterdun]

From the Star:

Mississauga woman dead after diving accident in St. Lawrence river | Toronto Star

By: Sean Wetselaar Staff Reporter, Published on Tue Jul 01 2014
A 49-year-old Mississauga woman has died after a scuba diving accident in the St. Lawrence River, according to the OPP.

The incident occurred around 2 p.m. on the St. Lawrence River, around 5 km west of Brockville, Ont. Leeds County detachment OPP officers responded to a call for a diver in distress, and the Marine Unit helped in removing the woman from the water.

Sgt. Kristine Rae of the OPP said the woman was with a group of divers, but the circumstances of her death are still under investigation. It appears no other divers were injured.

The woman was taken to a hospital where she was pronounced dead, shortly afterwards, Rae said.

A local man who owns a vacation home in the area said that recreational dives are very common, as there are a number of shipwrecks frequented by divers in the St. Lawrence.

Helen Cooper, the owner of ABUCS Scuba, confirmed that the woman left on a dive from her company on Tuesday to see the wreck of the Henry C. Daryaw – a steel propeller freighter that sunk in the St. Lawrence in 1941.

The dive is not considered extraordinarily dangerous, but Cooper categorized it as “an advanced dive.” Cooper said the woman was accompanied by her dive buddy.

“Everything was done professionally and everyone involved did everything that they could to save her,” Cooper said. The U.S. and Canadian Coast Guard also attended the accident, she said.

“Everything was done in everybody’s power to take care of her.”

ABUCS Scuba is celebrating 20 years of operations July 15, and Cooper said dives to Daryaw are common.

The police investigation is ongoing.

 

[Ayisha]

Thanks Chantelle!

 

[Beiji]

I really appreciate Ayisha and Chantelle posting the info from the news. I've learned a lot from some of the accidents and incidents and near misses threads, and most of them are a reminder not to get complacent. At the same time I can understand why family members are discouraged from reading about their loves one's incident and would gently suggest that anyone who is uncomfortable reading what is in this particular forum should avoid it.

 

[Stoo]

I don't think it's possible to ever understand how any family member will feel about having the details of an accident posted publicly... And it really isn't possible to predict how they will feel in advance.

And while I think that on occasion, there is something to be said about the "greater good" if an accident is thoughtfully analyzed by knowledgeable people, most of these threads tend to degrade into twisted, voyeuristic critiques of the victim's diving skills and/or personality. The reality is that in about 99% of these cases, the reason for the accident is obvious and could be covered off in about three posts. (As an example, I refer to the Fonseca fatality at Ginnie Springs a while back. As I recall, the "cause" was clearly spelled out immediately, yet the thread went on for pages and pages (and yes, I contributed...) and was just ugly at times.

This has been said before, but I think the best advice, assuming these threads will happen, is that family members avoid them, especially if they weren't directly involved. I think that the heart-ache these threads could potentially cause is unimaginable, and it would be helpful if everyone remembered that before they hit that "post" button...

 

[gitterdun]

...I refer to the Fonseca fatality at Eagle's Nest a while back...

Ginnie Springs, I believe... but point taken.

---------- Post added July 2nd, 2014 at 12:28 PM ----------

UPDATE:

UPDATE: Dive victim unresponsive on boat | Brockville Recorder

"
A 49-year-old diver who died on Canada Day was in visible distress in the Brockville Narrows before her husband brought her back to the surface, police said.
Luciane Perri, of Mississauga, was attempting to explore the wreck of the Henry C. Daryaw, located in the Brockville Narrows between Brockville and Mallorytown.
Police were still trying to piece together what went tragically wrong.
“The couple had completed a dive in the morning with the same equipment with no issues,” said Staff Sgt. Cary Churchill, of the Ontario Provincial Police's Leeds County detachment.
Perri also had no apparent medical issues, he added.
Sometime before 2 p.m., the victim was about 85 or 90 feet underwater when the trouble began.
“The victim was having issues communicating with her husband,” said Churchill, referring to the standard hand-signals.
“She looked like she was in some distress.”
Her husband and dive partner, Stephen Long, brought her back to the surface as quickly as possible – careful to avoid decompression sickness – said Churchill.
“When they got to the surface, she was unresponsive,” added the sergeant.
“They got her onto the deck of the dive vessel and they began CPR.”
A U.S. Coast Guard vessel brought the victim to shore at Hudson Point Road, where paramedics took over and rushed her to Brockville General Hospital, said Churchill.
Perri was pronounced dead at the hospital, he added.
A post-mortem operation on the victim's remains was “pending” as of Wednesday morning, said Churchill.
An OPP master diver was expected here from Orillia. Protocol requires the master diver to be present at the post-mortem and the officer will also inspect the equipment, he added.
The couple was part of a larger group of divers and had the necessary certifications to attempt the dive, said the sergeant.
According to the organization Save Ontario Shipwrecks, the Henry C. Daryaw was a steel freighter that missed the turn in the shipping channel in a fog and sank on November 21, 1941.
Tuesday's tragedy hit just over a year after another diving fatality in the area.
Ronald Brow, 58, of York, Ont., died June 30, 2013, after a diving incident near Hudson Point Road.
Also, in April 2013, retired Brockville teacher Tom Stretton collapsed after scuba diving in Cardinal."

What the article does not state, is that it was exactly a year ago (July 1st), that there was another fatality on the same wreck.

 

[Stoo]

Ginnie Springs, I believe... but point taken.

Corrected!

 

[Stoo]

I don't disagree that privacy needs to be respected, but I also believe that things can be learned from these examinations. Again citing the Fonseca example, how many divers tightened up their gas testing procedures as a result? How many people now insist that they watch their buddy test their gas since they now understand that "that" gas might be "their" gas in an emergency. How many nitrox-certified divers bought their own O2 analyzer as a result...? I know of one shop that had a sale on Analox units, selling then at cost, so that their customers could be safer divers... a direct result of that investigation.

And regarding the Bermingham crane accident, (keeping it local) how many people reassessed or began to pay more attention to their pp02 as a result of those findings...

The key is to keep it civil and respectful, and "on point"... IMHO of course.

 

[abnfrog]

I don't disagree that privacy needs to be respected, but I also believe that things can be learned from these examinations. Again citing the Fonseca example, how many divers tightened up their gas testing procedures as a result? How many people now insist that they watch their buddy test their gas since they now understand that "that" gas might be "their" gas in an emergency. How many nitrox-certified divers bought their own O2 analyzer as a result...? I know of one shop that had a sale on Analox units, selling then at cost, so that their customers could be safer divers... a direct result of that investigation.

And regarding the Bermingham crane accident, (keeping it local) how many people reassessed or began to pay more attention to their pp02 as a result of those findings...

The key is to keep it civil and respectful, and "on point"... IMHO of course.

simple answer if you dont want to read negative posts dont log on and if you dont want to answer question tell the people involved to piss off ......easy

 

[Jim Lapenta]

It was discussions of this type that got me on the path I have taken over the last several years. It led to articles, presentations, a book, and a way of teaching divers that tries to instill in them the knowledge and belief that, contrary to industry BS, this activity can and does kill. I have gained a lot of knowledge and info from the OUC's publications as well as other sources. I've spoken with eyewitnesses to fatalities, counseled responders, been consulted by attorneys, and read autopsy reports.

And not out of morbid curiosity. But out of a genuine desire to keep stuff like this from happening. I have lots of emails that say thanks for that.

I hope that should something happen to me that my family that is sensitive does not come into this area. I have made it known that in the event I die while diving I want it dissected, analyzed, my actions or inactions identified and criticized, and speculated about. In the hopes that someone says "hey that was a helluva stupid thing to do, if it was, and I am not going to make the same mistake.

Or that maybe he didn't do this or did that but should have/not have and so I am not going to be the same kind of stupid, careless, or unthinking.

If that happens I will be able to rest easy, I hope. If it doesn't I'll be pissed that the dive community allowed it self to be so cowed by someone else's sensitivity to honest, open, and frank discussion of an event that could save another's life.