Diver injured - Grand Cayman

[WendyCayman]

cayCompass.com :: Diver critical after rescue attempt

*I believe that the Dive Op Staff were from Sun Divers because they are on site at Turtle Reef... however Sunset Divers could have been involved.

A woman who got into trouble diving in the waters off northwest Grand Cayman Thursday is now in critical condition at a local hospital. According to police, the woman managed to swim to shore with her dive partner around 12.30pm Thursday near the Turtle Reef location along North West Point Road in West Bay. She was having difficulty breathing and eventually went unconscious, police said. Staff from Sunset Divers responded and assisted with CPR and oxygen before paramedics arrived. It was understood the woman and her partner had been on a shore dive. The woman, 51, was taken to hospital and remains in critical condition. She is identified by friends as the wife of a Cayman Islands hotel executive. The Caymanian Compass is not releasing her name at this time. The incident is under investigation by Royal Cayman Islands Police Marine Unit officers.

 

[A&I Mod]

Please read and heed the rules for the A&I forum. Please take all well wishes, "this is horrible (or sad) feelings" and other tangential issues to the thread in the Cayman Islands forum.
Thanks.

The purpose of this forum is the promotion of safe diving through the examination and discussion of accidents and incidents; to find lessons we can apply to our own diving.
Accidents, and incidents that could easily have become accidents, can often be used to illustrate actions that lead to injury or death, and their discussion is essential to building lessons learned from which improved safety can flow. To foster the free exchange of information valuable to this process, the "manners" in this forum are much more tightly controlled than elsewhere on the board. In addition to the TOS:

(1) You may not release any names here, until after the names have appeared in the public domain (articles, news reports, sheriff's report etc.) The releasing report must be cited. Until such public release, the only name you may use in this forum is your own.
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Thanks in advance,
Rick

 

[Rick Murchison]

Here is another statement on this mishap - as the newspaper's comment says, someone's account is wrong. At this point we don't know whether either account is close to what actually happened.
Rick

The woman was found at the surface unconscious and not breathing.

Staff from Happy Fish Divers and patrons of Macabuca assisted, Sunset House is an entirely different dive company on the opposite side of the island and completely unrelated.

It should also be noted that EMS took in excess of 20 minutes to respond to the incident, and were nonchalant and uninterested in providing assistance. It's due to the fast action of the bystanders that she has a fighting chance.


Editor's note: A copy of the police report on the incident is below. One of the descriptions of this event is obviously wrong.

'About 12.35pm yesterday Thursday 22nd March, 2012 the RCIPS was advised that a 51 year old female resident experienced difficulties whilst diving at the Turtle Reef off North West Point, in West Bay.

'The woman was able to reach shore with her dive partner but went unconscious and had difficulty breathing. Staff from Sun Divers responded and assisted. CPR and Oxygen was administered prior to the arrival of emergency services.

'The woman was conveyed to the Cayman Islands Hospital in George Town where she remains in critical condition. This incident is under investigation by the RCIPS Marine Dept.'

 

[DandyDon]

From cayCompass.com :: Diver in Turtle Reef accident dies

A woman who was critically injured while on a dive off the north western shore of Grand Cayman was pronounced dead Friday night after spending about a day in a coma, the Caymanian Compass has learned.

Pamela Langevin, 50, had gotten into difficulty Thursday in the waters off North West Point Road in West Bay while on a dive with a friend in the Turtle Reef area.

According to police, she managed to swim part of the way to shore with her dive partner around 12.30pm Thursday.

She was having difficulty breathing and eventually went unconscious, police said.

Staff from Sun Divers responded and assisted with CPR and oxygen before paramedics arrived. It was understood the woman and her dive partner had been on a shore dive.

Individuals who were at the rescue site who did not wish to be named told the Caymanian Compass that Mrs. Langevin had to be carried from the water by two men. She was placed on a sand patch along the ironshore outside Macabuca bar – where the Sun Divers shop is located along North West Point Road.

A visiting doctor, who happened to be lunching at the nearby Cracked Conch restaurant, assisted with efforts to revive the distressed diver.

When paramedics arrived, Mrs. Langevin was taken to hospital Thursday where she later slipped into a coma.

She was identified by friends as the wife of Cayman Islands hotel executive Marc Langevin, who just moved to Cayman last year to take over the general manager’s post at the Ritz-Carlton, Grand Cayman.

The incident is under investigation by Royal Cayman Islands Police Marine Unit officers.

 

[WendyCayman]

It should also be noted that EMS took in excess of 20 minutes to respond to the incident, and were nonchalant and uninterested in providing assistance. It's due to the fast action of the bystanders that she has a fighting chance.

No... bad news! Makes you wonder if she would have had a better chance getting to the hospital faster!! The swim from the mini-wall to the shore there is brief. But if she had difficulties further out then naturally it would be longer.

I just wonder what caused her breathing difficulties! Exhaustion from swimming? Did they do the deep wall there? Depth can hamper my breathing sometimes... I could be way off here. Educate me, please.

 

[ianr33]

I've helped 2 divers up those steps at Turtle Reef over the years.

First was on an OW course. Lost his reg and bolted for the surface. (non swimmer!) Took in a lot of water. Spent the night in hospital but survived. (Decided diving was not for him)

Second was an older gentleman who was having some problems on the mini wall with his family. They surfaced and decided he should swim back in on his own. (Bad idea) By the time he got to the inlet he was in full on panic mode. Wildly dog paddling and only just keeping his mouth above water.
Of course,he still had his weight belt on..............

Once in a while the currents in that area can kick up pretty strong. No idea if that may be a factor in this incident or not.