cdiver2
Contributor
From BSAC Dive Mag
A coroner has warned divers that they are risking there lives if they use gas mixes with insufficient helium to prevent narcosis during deep dives.
North West Wales coroner Dewi Pritchard Jones made his comments during an inquuest into the death of mixed gas diver Paul Amison who was found unconscious at the surface of Dorothea quarry in north Wales. Amison, 32 had completed a 57 meter dive in February last year. A pathologist's report suggested that hyper-inflation of the lungs had taken place, possibly due to a rapid ascent at the shallower part of the ascent. This alone could have accounted for his losing consciousness by the time he reached the surface.
It was also suggested that Amison's wing style BCD could have caused him to lie face down in the water once he had surfaced leading to death by drowning.
Evidence recovered from his computer showed that Amison had made a gradual descent, reaching a depth of 57 meters some 23 minutes into the dive. His ascent was far quicker: he took six minutes to return to the surface, despite having accumulated at least 28 minutes of decompression stops.
Earlier in the hearing, Tony Hughes of the health and safety Executive said Amison had been breathing a weak mixture of helium and air. Hughes said the percentage of helium in Amison's mix would have been insufficient to prevent the effects of nitrogen narcosis at 57m, possibly leading to errors of judgement.
Coroner Jones, himself a qualified diving instructor, recorded a verdict of accidental death and stated his belief that narcosis had contributed to the fatatlity.
A coroner has warned divers that they are risking there lives if they use gas mixes with insufficient helium to prevent narcosis during deep dives.
North West Wales coroner Dewi Pritchard Jones made his comments during an inquuest into the death of mixed gas diver Paul Amison who was found unconscious at the surface of Dorothea quarry in north Wales. Amison, 32 had completed a 57 meter dive in February last year. A pathologist's report suggested that hyper-inflation of the lungs had taken place, possibly due to a rapid ascent at the shallower part of the ascent. This alone could have accounted for his losing consciousness by the time he reached the surface.
It was also suggested that Amison's wing style BCD could have caused him to lie face down in the water once he had surfaced leading to death by drowning.
Evidence recovered from his computer showed that Amison had made a gradual descent, reaching a depth of 57 meters some 23 minutes into the dive. His ascent was far quicker: he took six minutes to return to the surface, despite having accumulated at least 28 minutes of decompression stops.
Earlier in the hearing, Tony Hughes of the health and safety Executive said Amison had been breathing a weak mixture of helium and air. Hughes said the percentage of helium in Amison's mix would have been insufficient to prevent the effects of nitrogen narcosis at 57m, possibly leading to errors of judgement.
Coroner Jones, himself a qualified diving instructor, recorded a verdict of accidental death and stated his belief that narcosis had contributed to the fatatlity.
