Spectators at Incident Today

[belairbrian]

This happened today and while it is the worst possible situation, if there was anything positive it showed how divers care about each other.

I had just finished my rescue diver training scenarios and we were starting to debrief. A diver reported his buddy missing, and a group divers quickly suited up and headed for the last known sight. EMTs arrived, and were waiting when the search team brought the diver up and to the dock. From what I could tell everyone did as they were trained.

Unfortunately they were unable to revive the diver.

On spectators: There was a woman that was there to watch the grandkids certify and decided to go down by the water with her phone and try and video tape the recovery. This id not set well with the divers. Also the local news guy trying to tape the incident met with similar resistance.

Now I have nothing against a free press but I do feel this guy crossed the line. He was trying to get video of the body as it was loaded. The story could be reported with a little more respect.

I don't know exactly what happened but here is what I do know at this point.
2 divers were ascending from around 70 ft. They became separated and only one surfaced. He alerted others and the response was initiated. The diver was found unresponsive and brought to the surface. EMTs did what they could but without success.

This was in the quarry at Alabama Blue Water, good weather, visibility was 10 to 15 feet where we had been. Can't say what it was in the incident area but probably similar.

Nothing but praise, for the staff, and divers there today. The staff quickly responded and got divers in the water, notified the Emergency response team.

The divers that went in followed there training quickly and safely.

The other divers stayed out of the way and let the responders do there jobs.

 

[doohboy24]

sorry to hear this more and more often. my thoughts and prayers go out to all affected!!

 

[ScubaNurse758]

Terrible to hear of such a tragedy. My instructor used ABWA for my AOW and nitrox cert's, great facility and great staff. I'm sure every effort was made by the staff and emergency services to help the victim. My thoughts and prayers go out to this family.

 

[lamont]

On spectators: There was a woman that was there to watch the grandkids certify and decided to go down by the water with her phone and try and video tape the recovery. This id not set well with the divers. Also the local news guy trying to tape the incident met with similar resistance.

Similar thing happened at an incident I was involved in. Half the people out there seem to have the instinct to help, the other half seem to have the instinct to whip out their cellphones and turn into wanna-be reporters.

 

[bsee65]

That's reality, folks. Personally, I'd be off the charts furious if someone who could/should be helping was filming instead. If the cameraman is extraneous to the action, though, it's not the worst thing in the world. In the end, it depends on the result of the incident and whether or not the footage is treated respectfully.

 

[Wahoodlum]

I also witneesed this incident on Saturday. I had just come out of the water after my first dive of the day. My daughter was completing OW cert this weekend and her class was wisely sequestered by the instructor to have lunch and dive briefing while I went to see what the trouble was about. As I sat there on the upper deck silently praying for the man who was receiving CPR, I noticed a young man with a camera and tripod next to me. I became somewhat disturbed at this and I became that guy who ruined his day. The only video he got for the next 5 minutes was a close up of my head all in in his field of view. No matter where he went I was in front of that lens. Just hated to see him there doing that.

 

[BeefyScuba]

Want to point something out, from another perspective:

I was also there Saturday, my 12 year old niece was getting open water certified and my older brother was doing a Nitrox dive for his card. Before we got to go in, the incident happened and we happened to be under the tents no where near the incident site.

I'd like to say, first off, I did not personally SEE the incident or those involved, but I talked to someone in our group who did.

What's important to realize is that while it seems heartless and a little disgusting that someone would want a video of a diver's death, it's necessary. I'm not sure what the grandmother's attitude was, or the reporter's, but any evidence at all of what happened is used for legal purposes. From what I heard there was no real eye witness to the actual incident, only the recovery afterwards.

And a certified rescue diver in my group said that there were a few things that were 'wrong' with the recovery. Once again, I wasn't there, just from what people who were there told me.

Basically just want to let you know that video is the best evidence possible. I know there was no foul play, and I know everyone involved in the recovery wanted to do their part to save this man, but if you think about it from the investigation team's perspective, even video of the recovery could help them sort through what happened.

Prayers out to the family of the man and everyone involved.

Safe diving, everyone.

 

[ronhend]

My thoughts and prayers go out to the family in this time of loss.

Does anyone know the victims approx age and skill level ?



Ron

 

[lamont]

And a certified rescue diver in my group said that there were a few things that were 'wrong' with the recovery. Once again, I wasn't there, just from what people who were there told me.

A rescue certification doesn't make a diver an expert in recoveries. And typical people in recoveries have their IQ slashed in about a quarter due to the stress, and they don't go by the textbook. Unless you're dealing with someone with paramedic experience or similar who is used to those kinds of situations, being rescue trained, or a DM or an Instructor, or a Technical diver isn't going to truly prepare the rescuers for the situation. The accident also happened long before people started filming on the surface, and having video evidence of the recovery is going to be useless -- either in court or for any kind of accident analysis. For all practice purposes water "rescues" are about dragging a dead person to dry land and hoping for a miracle -- once they are unconscious on the surface you can't kill them much deader, and the best you can do for them is to simply get 911 there fast. You don't need video evidence of a bunch of people trying to cope with a stressful situation while a good chunk of their brain are trying its best to avoid dealing with reality due to shock.

So, no, propz to the guy who stood in front of the video guy and yelled at him. Turn it off, it isn't helping anyone. Not everything needs to be documented and put up on facebook and youtube.

 

[BeefyScuba]

A rescue certification doesn't make a diver an expert in recoveries. And typical people in recoveries have their IQ slashed in about a quarter due to the stress, and they don't go by the textbook. Unless you're dealing with someone with paramedic experience or similar who is used to those kinds of situations, being rescue trained, or a DM or an Instructor, or a Technical diver isn't going to truly prepare the rescuers for the situation. The accident also happened long before people started filming on the surface, and having video evidence of the recovery is going to be useless -- either in court or for any kind of accident analysis. For all practice purposes water "rescues" are about dragging a dead person to dry land and hoping for a miracle -- once they are unconscious on the surface you can't kill them much deader, and the best you can do for them is to simply get 911 there fast. You don't need video evidence of a bunch of people trying to cope with a stressful situation while a good chunk of their brain are trying its best to avoid dealing with reality due to shock.

So, no, propz to the guy who stood in front of the video guy and yelled at him. Turn it off, it isn't helping anyone. Not everything needs to be documented and put up on facebook and youtube.

A diver's doing no one a favor if he's at quarter capability due to stress. The whole stress and rescue courses are there so you can handle situations with a calm mind. Should they even be diving if they're so stressed they aren't be doing things by the book? Obviously situations differ, and you can't always do things EXACTLY how they're supposed to be done, but from what I heard of the recovery they towed him in a kayak, which is definately not what I was taught in my open dive class. Rescue breaths could have been administered during the transportation.

Once again, I didn't see it, but that's what I was told from the person observing. Maybe someone can come in here and tell me if that's what happened or not.

As for the filming, it's VERY important to document what happened. I'm NOT justifying what the reporter did, but I think we have to take a step back from our emotions sometimes and think about it.

When I first did my open water I do believe I was asked the question of whether to ditch the person's BC/tank/Regulator to the water and swim them to safety. I said yes and my instructor told me I was wrong. All of that is evidence, even if it IS cumbersome to haul with a person in critical danger, if not dead. Was there something wrong with the air? Was there a problem with the regulator? The BC? If you dump it there's the possibility it'll never be found and those questions won't be answered. Of course this doesn't have anything to do with videotaping the recovery, but it shows that you need to think about things, through the stress, and realize that it doesn't just end when the person is on shore/in a boat.

Basically, [/B]Was there something that could have been done during the recovery to help this man live?[/B] Take the jerk's footage and use it for good. I don't condone video taping people die because you're awe-struck by it. It's a serious situation and it needs to be handled with professionalism.

As for what happened, my dive leader told me that the guy was either on an advanced checkout dive or with an advanced check out group. He was having problems at depth, motioned to his buddy that he was going up, and his buddy tried to follow him but he was going too fast. The buddy lost sight of him (The visibility was horrible there) and made it to the surface, couldn't find him. Swam to the dock and from there they found him in the water with his regulator out of his mouth.

Once again, many prayers to the family and thanks to those who helped.