Any word on Mermet Accident on Sunday?

[Max Speed]

Near drowning and possible barotrauma following panicked ascent from 85' platform resulting in helicopter ride. I will feel a whole lot better if there has been a happy ending.

 

[diverbob]

I was asked about this today, but I havent heard anything. I am very curious though. I have a lot of good friends at Mermet.

 

[Max Speed]

Mermet's staff responded quickly and professionally but I don't know the outcome. The staff was clearly well prepared.

 

[tstormdiver]

When I post this, I mean absolutely no ill will or anything negative against the person(s) involved nor the facilities themsleves, but I wonder if many of the people who do or try deep dives at these quarries are really prepared for how harsh the environment can be/ is down there. This may not be the case at all, but with temps in the mid to lower 40's below 50- 60 ft & usually dark & murky conditions, it can really cause some problems for some folks, especially if ill/ unprepared for the conditions. Only about a month ago I had a buddy on a single cylinder (I was using doubles) who had a free flow at 92 ft at Pennyroyal. I probably have 200 deep dives there & he had maybe a handful. He was narc'd & panicked enough that he wouldn't take the primary I offered to him & then bolted for the surface. I was just able to catch him (could not reach his inflator to help control buoyancy) & had to dump my wings to use the weight of my cylinders to slow him down some, before having to let him go to prevent potential injury to myself. He was fine but pretty shook up afterwards. I am not saying that those conditions can not be dove in, however, it is not an environment to take lightly. I realize it is possible that the individual may have been very experienced & just had a very bad dive.

Sorry for the hijack. I am also curious to hear the condition of the victim.

 

[diverbob]

When I post this, I mean absolutely no ill will or anything negative against the person(s) involved nor the facilities themsleves, but I wonder if many of the people who do or try deep dives at these quarries are really prepared for how harsh the environment can be/ is down there. This may not be the case at all, but with temps in the mid to lower 40's below 50- 60 ft & usually dark & murky conditions, it can really cause some problems for some folks, especially if ill/ unprepared for the conditions. Only about a month ago I had a buddy on a single cylinder (I was using doubles) who had a free flow at 92 ft at Pennyroyal. I probably have 200 deep dives there & he had maybe a handful. He was narc'd & panicked enough that he wouldn't take the primary I offered to him & then bolted for the surface. I was just able to catch him (could not reach his inflator to help control buoyancy) & had to dump my wings to use the weight of my cylinders to slow him down some, before having to let him go to prevent potential injury to myself. He was fine but pretty shook up afterwards. I am not saying that those conditions can not be dove in, however, it is not an environment to take lightly. I realize it is possible that the individual may have been very experienced & just had a very bad dive.

Sorry for the hijack. I am also curious to hear the condition of the victim.

I somewhat agree with you, but if this indeed happened at the 85 foot training platform, then I doubt it was very murky. That platform is a good 15-20 foot off the bottom, and unless there has been a lot of rain, the conditions on that platform are usually better then any other platform in the quarry.

 

[openmindOW]

Where is Mermet? What is Mermet? What happened?

 

[tstormdiver]

I somewhat agree with you, but if this indeed happened at the 85 foot training platform, then I doubt it was very murky. That platform is a good 15-20 foot off the bottom, and unless there has been a lot of rain, the conditions on that platform are usually better then any other platform in the quarry.

Granted, it may not be as murky, but Mermet is dark,... much darker at depth than Pennyroyal. Its been a few years since I've been to Mermet, but from memory I do believe it is darker. I asssume that is because of the smaller surface area of the quarry & the depths causing the sheer walls to cut off much of the penetrating sunlight.

OpenmindOW, Mermet is a quarry set up for diving in SE Illinois.

 

[diverbob]

Granted, it may not be as murky, but Mermet is dark,... much darker at depth than Pennyroyal. Its been a few years since I've been to Mermet, but from memory I do believe it is darker. I asssume that is because of the smaller surface area of the quarry & the depths causing the sheer walls to cut off much of the penetrating sunlight.

OpenmindOW, Mermet is a quarry set up for diving in SE Illinois.

You are correct, however, the 85 foot platform is white, which helps brighten up that area. I can easily see my computers and dive buddies without any lights normally. One reason why i like that platform is it is so close to the dock, if something does go wrong, responders can get the diver in a very quick manor.

 

[Cougar281]

Eariler this week I heard an *unconfirmed* report that the diver died at the scene, but I just read this morning on midwestdive that she's apparently doing ok in Evansville hospital. I certainly hope the latter is the case and she makes a speedy recovery.

 

[Max Speed]

Let's hope that is the case! The ambulance and the helicopter left in enough of a rush that I suspect she was still alive at the scene. She was responsive after being revived.