Divers' bodies recovered
Dive master and tourist found in marine preserve
By Eric Palacios
Pacific Daily News
ejpalacios@guampdn.com
The bodies of two divers reported missing Sunday night were recovered yesterday morning in about 35 feet of water in the Piti Bomb Hole Preserve area.
The two men -- a 22-year-old local Chinese worker and dive master and a 29-year-old Chinese tourist -- became the island's eighth and ninth drowning victims of the year.
The figure equals the total number of people who drowned last year, according to Pacific Daily News files.
The men, whose identities are not being released, were reported missing around 8 p.m. Sunday. Local and federal emergency officials and two volunteer divers launched search-and-rescue efforts, which lasted late into the night.Guam Fire and Rescue personnel located the bodies around 8:50 a.m. yesterday, about 60 yards from the Piti shoreline and in one of the bomb holes, GFD Chief Frank Mesa said.
"It's very unfortunate that this happened," said Mesa, who added ocean conditions were ideal for diving during the past two days.
Mesa added that both their tanks were full of air after they were inspected. And except for one of the men missing his dive fins, both men had all their diving equipment and were wearing wet suits when their bodies were recovered. The dislodged fins were later retrieved from the same area where the bodies were found.
"Different things could have happened down there and we're not sure what exactly. What we do know is that the dive gear kept them underwater," Mesa said.
Dangers of shallow water
According to one industry expert, the Piti preserve area is a popular dive site among tourists and locals, and certified and non-certified divers because of the relatively shallow waters there.But the same shallow waters, he said, also pose great risks.
"In terms of lung over-expansion, the danger increases in waters up to 33 feet because the pressure on a person doubles up to that depth," said Jim Brandt, Micronesian Dive Association director of training.
"In that regard, it's more dangerous than waters just less than twice that depth because that's where the pressure on a person would again double."
This, Brandt said, is the trade-off with diving in deeper waters where the chance for decompression sickness increases.
"Diving in shallow waters, for the most part, rules out the risk of decompression sickness," Brandt said. "That's not to say that it isn't possible, it's just less likely."
Dive master and tourist found in marine preserve
By Eric Palacios
Pacific Daily News
ejpalacios@guampdn.com
The bodies of two divers reported missing Sunday night were recovered yesterday morning in about 35 feet of water in the Piti Bomb Hole Preserve area.
The two men -- a 22-year-old local Chinese worker and dive master and a 29-year-old Chinese tourist -- became the island's eighth and ninth drowning victims of the year.
The figure equals the total number of people who drowned last year, according to Pacific Daily News files.
The men, whose identities are not being released, were reported missing around 8 p.m. Sunday. Local and federal emergency officials and two volunteer divers launched search-and-rescue efforts, which lasted late into the night.Guam Fire and Rescue personnel located the bodies around 8:50 a.m. yesterday, about 60 yards from the Piti shoreline and in one of the bomb holes, GFD Chief Frank Mesa said.
"It's very unfortunate that this happened," said Mesa, who added ocean conditions were ideal for diving during the past two days.
Mesa added that both their tanks were full of air after they were inspected. And except for one of the men missing his dive fins, both men had all their diving equipment and were wearing wet suits when their bodies were recovered. The dislodged fins were later retrieved from the same area where the bodies were found.
"Different things could have happened down there and we're not sure what exactly. What we do know is that the dive gear kept them underwater," Mesa said.
Dangers of shallow water
According to one industry expert, the Piti preserve area is a popular dive site among tourists and locals, and certified and non-certified divers because of the relatively shallow waters there.But the same shallow waters, he said, also pose great risks.
"In terms of lung over-expansion, the danger increases in waters up to 33 feet because the pressure on a person doubles up to that depth," said Jim Brandt, Micronesian Dive Association director of training.
"In that regard, it's more dangerous than waters just less than twice that depth because that's where the pressure on a person would again double."
This, Brandt said, is the trade-off with diving in deeper waters where the chance for decompression sickness increases.
"Diving in shallow waters, for the most part, rules out the risk of decompression sickness," Brandt said. "That's not to say that it isn't possible, it's just less likely."
