Accident in Belize

[KathyV]

Here is a news article about the accident in Belize that killed Gary McNabb; the boat captain is being investigated for failure to report the accident to the proper authorities.

Diver Succumbs to Injuries; Boat Captain Fails to Report Accident to Authorities - The San Pedro Sun News

 

[dlofting]

It is possible that such a terrible injury would be overwhelming for the dive crew and greatly exceed their equipment and training - but it doesn't sound good.

In the case of a serious head injury like this one all a first responder can do is stop any bleeding, provide oxygen if it's available and administer CPR if required. The most important thing is to get the victim to a clinic/hospital as soon as possible.

Head injuries are very difficult to manage outside of a medical care facility.

 

[bowlofpetunias]

In the case of a serious head injury like this one all a first responder can do is stop any bleeding, provide oxygen if it's available and administer CPR if required. The most important thing is to get the victim to a clinic/hospital as soon as possible.

Head injuries are very difficult to manage outside of a medical care facility.

S"trewth! Reality is a whole lot different from what most people are exposed to in first aid classes!

I remember one of my students years ago telling me that at first she thought taking the time to do casualty simulation was "wasting class time". She said that after she saw the response of people confronted with realistic burns, wounds, vomit and liberal use of fake blood she changed her mind. Even tho everyone knew the effects were fake, it took a while for them to desensitize so they were able to work through it effectively.

In dive first aid with the water diluting the blood a little can look like a lot. With head wounds propensity to bleeding I would expect the effect would be startling. Both crew and customers would be exposed to something that is most likely (depending on backgrounds) far removed from their previous experiences. Their backgrounds would of course dictate how they responded initially and post event.

When we read and post here it is vital that we keep in mind the impact of the all these things as well as the influence of time on the opinions of the "Witnesses" who are contributing their accounts.

 

[Rythmmaker]

This is a strange case because the accident apparently went unreported to local authorities, the diver was evacuated back to the US for treatment where it is reported that he later died. Here's a link to the article:

Diver Succumbs to Injuries; Boat Captain Fails to Report Accident to Authorities - The San Pedro Sun News

It is unclear what actually happened, but as reported in the article (if true), it seems the diver may have been injured just after entry onto the water from the boat, possibly by being struck on the head by some part of the boat at the surface in choppy water.

From the article:

In a press release issued on March 3rd by Ramon’s Village Resort, they explained the unfortunate accident. “Mr. Gary McNabb was part of a group of ten divers on a dive trip to ‘The Elbow’ at Turneffe Atoll when he was apparently swept under the dive boat and struck on the head by a part of the boat. After a thorough discussion of the accident, Ramon’s Village Divers staff confirmed that although the boat engine was running, the prop was not engaged at the time of the accident and that the dive boat was positioned to drift away from the divers who were entering the water.”

 

[letterboy]

So guy jumps in the water, gets hit by boat, is taken to shore he may or may not have been conscious, admitted to a hospital, may or may not have had surgery is airlifted to the states where he succumbs to his injuries.

Lots missing I think.

Moral of the story is when the boat is a rocking stay the **** away from it.

 

[DandyDon]

Fellow divers 2/27/2015 Dad (Gary) passed away.
I would like to say the love of diving was only a part of the deep passion my dad had for the sport of diving the true factor was the people that which through the common interest of diving all of you was his family Therefore let's please as a family . Use This forum as it was meant a tool of communication between all us for purpose sharing ,teaching and advancing the saftey and sport of diving.
To all of you we send or love and thanks for being a the true part of my dads passion of life.

I was sorry to hear of your dad of course.

DAN research does monitor this forum I am told, but gains little from the news media reports I find. They really want eye witness reports, so if you do know anyone who was there and would please offer what you can to them at this link, it'd help a lot. It can done anonymously, you prefered. "All information obtained during the study, including the respondent's identity, will be kept confidential to the full extent allowed by law." See https://www.diversalertnetwork.org/research/incidentReport/

 

[AWMIII]

I have checked with my sources in San Pedro. No one seems to know anything more than what was reported. I dove the day after the accident off San Pedro. All I know was it was really rough and the seas were very confused. I would say 5-7ft but coming from a couple directions. The wind had been shifting a fair amount in the prior days and included some odd directions leading to a confused sea. Getting out of the water was interesting as the boat was moving quit a bit up and down. But I was about 50 miles north of where the incident happened.

 

[KathyV]

There's a big story about Gary McNabb on the Chattanooga News; it doesn't have any new information but it shares nice comments about Gary, he touched a lot of lives - so that's a great legacy.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2q4Tbr6je2U

---------- Post added March 12th, 2015 at 02:43 PM ----------

There are a lot of comments being posted about this article on the San Pedro Sun blog; most of them discussing "who's to blame". I hope that someone somewhere is discussing "how can we keep this from happening again?" and "if it does happen again, how can we make sure that it is managed correctly and quickly?"

Diver Succumbs to Injuries; Boat Captain Fails to Report Accident to Authorities - The San Pedro Sun News