Diver Death Belize Blue Hole

[themagni]

I assume by this you are speculating if O2 toxicity was involved?

Is it possible that this would be a factor after only two minutes in the water? If assuming a 32% blend, with a MOD of 110 fsw, I would be surprised that the diver dropped to 110' so quickly, or that the effects of the O2 would result in such a fast reaction.

Is this possible? Sad and tragic news, but curious if there were other factors at play here.

According to my camera, decent starts at 2:40. You get to 150' at 4:15.

 

[Dirty-Dog]

I don't see anything in the article that mentions how deep he got in that two minutes, but personally I equalize easy, and can drop like a rock. In two minutes I'm pretty sure I could exceed recreational depths...

We're looking at Belize for a trip in May, but I've seen too many posts detailing what I consider to be unacceptable risk taking to get new divers (right out of OW class even, with a whopping 4 dives...) into the Blue Hole. So I don't expect we'll dive it. I don't really think there's anything in it that we can't see elsewhere, without worrying that we'll watch some new diver die on a trust me trip.

 

[themagni]

I don't see anything in the article that mentions how deep he got in that two minutes, but personally I equalize easy, and can drop like a rock. In two minutes I'm pretty sure I could exceed recreational depths...

We're looking at Belize for a trip in May, but I've seen too many posts detailing what I consider to be unacceptable risk taking to get new divers (right out of OW class even, with a whopping 4 dives...) into the Blue Hole. So I don't expect we'll dive it. I don't really think there's anything in it that we can't see elsewhere, without worrying that we'll watch some new diver die on a trust me trip.

It's... if you're ...

It's not a dive you...

I don't really know what to say. I'm not sure I get to have an opinion.

Maybe I deserved to die on the BZBH. Maybe this guy didn't. He's not the first to do his Checkout Dive on the BZBH and he won't be the last.

As a dive, it's not great, it's more of a "checklist" dive. As an experience, it was ... well, the Magni that came back from BZ is a lot different than the Magni that went down there.

 

[Mike]

And all the divers were guests at the Turneffe Island Resort, right?

Correct. Who by the way spent the week before and after the blue hole emphasizing dive depth conservatism to the point of extreme, they would not dive the Elbow as an afternoon dive due to already doing a deep morning dive which deep meant 60-70 ft for the most part. More than once in regard to diving around TIR, I heard about how far away we were from a chamber, how long the ride would be etc, they went out of their way to be careful... however, for whatever reason, you throw the blue hole into the equation and it's as if there is another rule book.

 

[Dirty-Dog]

It's... if you're ...

It's not a dive you...

I don't really know what to say. I'm not sure I get to have an opinion.

Maybe I deserved to die on the BZBH. Maybe this guy didn't. He's not the first to do his Checkout Dive on the BZBH and he won't be the last.

As a dive, it's not great, it's more of a "checklist" dive. As an experience, it was ... well, the Magni that came back from BZ is a lot different than the Magni that went down there.

I see rock formations in the cenotes, including the deep dives at The Pit and Angelita.
None of those trips would have included a brand new OW diver.
I see sharks lots of places, including the crowds off Playa del Carmen.

So what am I going to see in the Blue Hole that I can't see somewhere else, more safely?

Other than a new diver dying on a trust me dive, of course. I see enough dead people in the ER. I don't need to see them on vacation too.

It sounds like there's plenty of excellent diving in Belize. It doesn't sound like there's any compelling reason to think we need to dive the Blue Death Trap.


Sent from an old fashioned 300 baud acoustic modem by whistling into the handset. Really.

 

[dvankirk]

For me, the dives at lighthouse reef were better than the blue hole and glover's reef were better than both of those. It is, like was mentioned, a bucket list type dive, but well overblown and with 80's nothing more than a quick bounce.

 

[Chuck Tribolet]

To me, the best thing about the Blue Hole is the sandy area on top of the reef. There are more Pederson's Cleaner Shrimp there than any place I've been. The hole itself? YAWN!

Chuck

 

[ibj40]

Correct. Who by the way spent the week before and after the blue hole emphasizing dive depth conservatism to the point of extreme, they would not dive the Elbow as an afternoon dive due to already doing a deep morning dive which deep meant 60-70 ft for the most part. More than once in regard to diving around TIR, I heard about how far away we were from a chamber, how long the ride would be etc, they went out of their way to be careful... however, for whatever reason, you throw the blue hole into the equation and it's as if there is another rule book.

Thanks for clarifying that.

One other question, if you don't mind. Were there any issues on the Blue Hole dive itself, or was it just the mix of various levels of certification and experience?

 

[Mike]

Were there any issues on the Blue Hole dive itself

Boredom? It's a short bounce dive to see some stalactites and the chance to see a shark or two in the murky sediment filled water.

 

[Welling]

Sad to hear.