Dondon462
Contributor
Today I learnt of another “Dive accident” in Tonga….One of the local Tongan divers, Hunting “treasure”and removing artifacts from an Historic Wrecks site, without the appropriate Archeological surveys (See my previous post “Underwater Cultural Vandalism in Tonga”
is now reported as “bent” and suffering serious problems from the waist down. There is no information on cause of the accident at this time, or the “Dive qualification”of the diver, but we know he has no DAN insurance, (with the nearest chamber in Fiji),so unless they are able to quickly “cash up” some of the “finds”, I doubt they will want to pay for hyperbaric treatment. These divers use basic equipment,often dive deep, never have “Oxygen” or first aid kits handy and are often not professionally trained. They are also working hard!
It is sad that anyone gets bent and it can happen. I have a friend with 5000 dives, who was recently Bent, but the right treatment has minimized any permanent damage. When I took my ship “Sir Hubert Wilkins” to the Philippines in 2003 chasing a ”Spanish Galleon”, I had a recompression chamber onboard. Every diver did a check dive in that chamber before I let them join the team. We ran very controlled “dive profiles”, yet in the five months on site, we used that chamber “Operationally” five times..and we were only working 24mtrs..
Over the past few years, there have been “Multiple”Diving deaths in Tonga.I am confident none would have been reported here, as none have relatives anywhere else in the world and none were tourist. All these dead divers were chasing “Treasure”too, but not gold this time....instead it was and still is ..SeaSlugs, Sea cucumber, Bache demure, and they were all local Tongan divers who died, with no insurance and no money for medical follow up. My partner is Chinese and when I am not involved with my own www.bluetreasure.me operation in Tonga, I work and live in China, love the food and people ..BUT...In the rush to get bigger and more valuable “Sea Slugs”which are deeper than Free diving depth…the Chinese traders, gave FREE SCUBA sets, to fit healthy Tongan free divers and said “Go For It”….no training, no computers,no tables, no nothing… just fill up the bottle, put the hose in your mouth and go for it!!..so they did and still do!!.
When the first local divers started getting sick, it was just part of the job for a good $$ return. Some time later, when the first person died, it sure was sad for the family. When the second person died, some people started to ask questions…but the Chinese traders were completely untouchable and the families of the deceased got nothing…it took another death before it even became a topic for “discussion” in the local papers. .even the total numberof deaths is not clear,but it is apparently over four!
Tonga has some of the most beautiful people in the world and is a unique Kingdom in the Pacific. It is also a totally amazing dive destination, with some very professional PADI dive operators, so come and enjoy.
I love Tonga and treasure my health!
is now reported as “bent” and suffering serious problems from the waist down. There is no information on cause of the accident at this time, or the “Dive qualification”of the diver, but we know he has no DAN insurance, (with the nearest chamber in Fiji),so unless they are able to quickly “cash up” some of the “finds”, I doubt they will want to pay for hyperbaric treatment. These divers use basic equipment,often dive deep, never have “Oxygen” or first aid kits handy and are often not professionally trained. They are also working hard!It is sad that anyone gets bent and it can happen. I have a friend with 5000 dives, who was recently Bent, but the right treatment has minimized any permanent damage. When I took my ship “Sir Hubert Wilkins” to the Philippines in 2003 chasing a ”Spanish Galleon”, I had a recompression chamber onboard. Every diver did a check dive in that chamber before I let them join the team. We ran very controlled “dive profiles”, yet in the five months on site, we used that chamber “Operationally” five times..and we were only working 24mtrs..
Over the past few years, there have been “Multiple”Diving deaths in Tonga.I am confident none would have been reported here, as none have relatives anywhere else in the world and none were tourist. All these dead divers were chasing “Treasure”too, but not gold this time....instead it was and still is ..SeaSlugs, Sea cucumber, Bache demure, and they were all local Tongan divers who died, with no insurance and no money for medical follow up. My partner is Chinese and when I am not involved with my own www.bluetreasure.me operation in Tonga, I work and live in China, love the food and people ..BUT...In the rush to get bigger and more valuable “Sea Slugs”which are deeper than Free diving depth…the Chinese traders, gave FREE SCUBA sets, to fit healthy Tongan free divers and said “Go For It”….no training, no computers,no tables, no nothing… just fill up the bottle, put the hose in your mouth and go for it!!..so they did and still do!!.
When the first local divers started getting sick, it was just part of the job for a good $$ return. Some time later, when the first person died, it sure was sad for the family. When the second person died, some people started to ask questions…but the Chinese traders were completely untouchable and the families of the deceased got nothing…it took another death before it even became a topic for “discussion” in the local papers. .even the total numberof deaths is not clear,but it is apparently over four!
Tonga has some of the most beautiful people in the world and is a unique Kingdom in the Pacific. It is also a totally amazing dive destination, with some very professional PADI dive operators, so come and enjoy.
I love Tonga and treasure my health!
Last edited:
