British Columbia student dead from training dive

[Seaweed Doc]

Yeah, I can see Rescue Breaths as possible and worth a try. Not chest compressions in the water.

Rescue breathing is routinely taught in Rescue classes, and is a real pain to perform. (Not much fun if you're the "victim," either.) I think some on ScubaBoard advocate just getting the victim to shore ASAP, but it might depend on distance. Probably worth at least a couple of breaths regardless, in case it's a near-drowning.

Sometimes people use CPR to mean the beginning of the assessment all the way through chest compressions, lumping rescue breaths as part of CPR.

This is very curious. Sounds like they were practicing/demonstrating either sharing air or regulator recovery. Trying that at 70' in an openwater certification class violates standards. Most likely the press report is wrong. Perhaps, though, it was a tech class and they were switching gases? (I'm not a tech diver, other than back in the dark ages my OW included decompression training....)

 

[KenGordon]

We used to teach rescue breaths on getting the casualty to the surface and then every 15 seconds while towing them.

Now we don’t teach to attempt rescue breaths while towing, just get them to help ASAP. It is hard to give effective rescue breaths in the water in any case and delaying proper help while doing something which might be pointless is not helping anyone.

Usually though it will be a case of giving rescue breaths while waiting for the boat.

http://library.bsac.com/files/td13b..._EaKmN0tw7~PvuYzZuPJUGdXzXEYcuYlB7A3Qx36tQNWB

 

[John the Pom]

It was doing rescue breaths in the water that persuaded me to buy a pocket mask...

 

[Vicko]

Freediving classes teach rescue breaths and CPR by standing behind the victim and using both hands in a fist to give compression, it's hard and compleately ineffective.

 

[bowlofpetunias]

Another issue with in water rescue breaths is the likelihood of getting additional water into the victim's airway.