Long Island Diver Lost

Diver surfaces unconscious, later dies

Originally published: May 21, 2011 4:37 PM
Updated: May 21, 2011 9:50 PM
By KEITH HERBERT keith.herbert@newsday.com
Where
A scuba diver who surfaced unconscious during a dive 14 miles southeast of Moriches Saturday morning was later pronounced dead at Good Samaritan Hospital in West Islip, according to the Coast Guard.
The victim, whose identity hasn't been released, was 60 years old and was part of a group on a dive 125 feet below the ocean surface.
The group was aboard the Lockness Dive Boat based in Freeport.
A spokeswoman for Good Samaritan Hospital said she could not release any information without the man's name.
The Coast Guard command center received a call about an unconscious diver about 10:40 a.m., said public affairs officer David Schuhlein.
"They're not sure if he floated up or what," he said.
The man surfaced about 40 minutes into the dive. Three emergency medical technicians were on the dive boat and CPR was started. Others on the boat called the Coast Guard.
The Lockness was headed for shore when it was met by a Coast Guard boat, Schuhlein said.
An ambulance met the Coast Guard boat at the agency's station on Fire Island.
"CPR was administered the entire time," Schuhlein said. "He was in very critical condition -- weak to no pulse."
Schuhlein didn't know the exact number of divers, but described the excursion as a group dive.
According to a website for Lockness Dive Boat, the vessel was scheduled to visit the Oregon Shipwreck, 130 feet deep. The Lockness is a 48-foot boat that can carry 22 divers.
Lockness operator John Norman, reached by telephone Saturday afternoon, said he couldn't talk because the Coast Guard was aboard his boat.
Subsequent attempts to reach him were unsuccessful.

I received a call last night that a diver was found unconscious on the surface by the dive boat Lochness off Long Island. The diver passed away. Has anyone heard anything about yesterdays accident?

After posting, I found this story from the USCG thanks to another ScubaBoard member:

"The U.S. Coast Guard says a scuba diver who surfaced unconscious while on a dive off Long Island has died.

The 60-year-old victim was part of a group on a dive 125 feet below the ocean surface about 14 miles southeast of Moriches Saturday morning.

A Coast Guard public affairs officer says the man surfaced about 40 minutes into the dive. He says emergency medical technicians who were aboard the dive boat administered CPR before being met by a Coast Guard boat while heading back to shore.

The victim, whose identity was not released, was later pronounced dead at Good Samaritan Hospital in West Islip.

The 48-foot Lockness Dive Boat is based in Freeport. Their website says the vessel was scheduled to visit the Oregon Shipwreck."

Source is the Wall Street Journal: Diver surfaces unconscious, dies at NY hospital - WSJ.com

Diver who died off LI loved to explore

Originally published: May 22, 2011 6:46 PM
Updated: May 22, 2011 8:57 PM
By MATTHEW CHAYES matthew.chayes@newsday.com
A family photo of Jeffrey Gershen, the Westchester

A family photo of Jeffrey Gershen, the Westchester man who died during a dive to a shipwreck 32 miles southeast of Freeport.


Jeffrey Gershen, an avid scuba diver who died Saturday during a shipwreck expedition off the South Shore, loved the thrill of exploring sunken history and the peacefulness of the waters.

But his wife, Diane, always worried about his safety.

"He knew that I was worried about it, but I didn't stop him," she said Sunday as she mourned the 65-year-old real-estate developer. "I was worried that this day would happen for a lot of years -- and now it has."

Gershen -- a father of three from Somers, in Westchester -- made his final dive Saturday morning, when he apparently stopped breathing underwater and could not be revived, authorities said.

"Something went wrong," Diane Gershen said.

He was aboard an expedition that departed from Freeport about 6 a.m., said Captain John Gorman of the Freeport-based Lockness Dive Boat, who provided this account of Gershen's final hours:

The 32-mile or so journey to their destination, -- the coal-fired steam ship Oregon that sunk in 1886 -- is about a 21/2 hours' boat ride southeast of Freeport, he said.

Gershen and nine other divers jumped in about 10:30 a.m. and, soon afterward, Gershen appears to have lost consciousness.

One of the other divers spotted Gershen by the shipwreck, about 120 feet below sea level, and struggled to put Gershen's breathing device -- which was out of his mouth -- back in, Gorman said.

"He was just laying there, lifeless," Gorman said.

The diver then brought Gershen to the surface by inflating Gershen's dry suit. Medics removed Gershen's gear aboard the vessel and began efforts to resuscitate him.

"He was unresponsive," Gorman said. "They gave him CPR for over two hours."

They couldn't get a helicopter because of the fog, Gorman said.

Gershen was pronounced dead at 2:07 p.m. at Good Samaritan Hospital in West Islip, said a spokesman for the Suffolk County police, which is investigating the death.

Authorities do not suspect criminality. Diane Gershen -- a diver herself -- said she is waiting for the results of an autopsy to determine the cause of death.

Even as Gershen's family mourns, it's a small solace that he died doing what he loved: Gershen, who learned to dive in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War era, had done dozens of dives with Lockness Dive Boat alone.

"He very much did not want to die a cancer death," Diane Gershen said of her husband, who had battled prostate cancer for years. "He wanted to go out a big scuba hero."

threads merged...

I could not believe what I was reading this morning. Thought it was a bad dream. Jeff was a friend of mine. A bit of a free spirit. We had many "animated" discussions where we did not always agree, but always had mutual respect. We did not dive together too much as his training and certifications were way above mine. Nevertheless, we still shared some common experiences. My deepest condolences to Jeff's family and to his friends. He will be missed in our little corner of the ocean.

The dive community has lost a great ambassador and a personal friend. Jeff was a class act in every way. My deepest sympathies to his family and friends......

Per NoreastDiver84's post:

Diver who died off LI loved to explore


Jeffrey Gershen

Jax:

Per NoreastDiver84's post:

Diver who died off LI loved to explore

Jeffrey Gershen

Click to expand...

May have nothing to do with anything but looks like he's on CCR in that picture you poster Jax. Do we know whether he was on OC or CCR on the dive in question?

Thx,
J