So sorry to hear about this tragedy, my sympathies for his family. I have dived with Reef Divers on several vacations and have always considered them to be a safe, professional, and well-equipped dive op.
American diver is 14th water-related fatality this year :: Cayman Compass
By:
Charles Duncan |
cduncan@pinnaclemedialtd.com
08 December, 2015
A tourist from the United States died Sunday after he surfaced in distress from a dive off North West Point. He was the 14th water-related death this year, far more than the average number of water sport fatalities Cayman normally experiences. Gary Paul Kodman, 65, of Tennessee, was scuba diving with Reef Divers at Orange Canyon on Sunday morning, police said. Emergency services received a 911 call just before 10:30 a.m. and an ambulance met the dive boat at the dock. Mr. Kodman was pronounced dead at the Cayman Islands Hospital.
Mr. Kodman was the seventh diver fatality this year. Based on records reviewed by the Cayman Compass, the country has had an average of eight to 10 fatalities related to boating and water sports per year. The number of water-related deaths in Cayman surpassed that average in June.
Of the seven divers who lost their lives this year, all were tourists over age 50. The youngest diver death was a 53-year-old technical diver from the U.S. who was using a rebreather in West Bay in late May. The oldest was a 70-year-old man from the U.S. who also got into trouble off West Bay.
Three people died in water sports incidents in November. On Nov. 29, a 14-year-old boy on a snorkeling trip with the Bonaventure Boys Home got into trouble off South Sound and died.
Four weeks ago, a 54-year-old Canadian woman died off East End while on a trip with Tortuga Divers. In that incident, the woman surfaced and indicated to the crew on the dive boat that she was having difficulties. By the time they got her on the boat she was unconscious, and she was pronounced dead two hours later at the Cayman Islands Hospital.
The day before, Nov. 9, two men were thrown from a boat in North Sound. A Norwegian national, 58, died from his injuries.
In the most recent incident, Mr. Kodman had arrived on Saturday with his wife.
Cayman Emergency Medical Services Director Stephen Duval said that the waters were rough Sunday. He said the crew on the dive boat began giving Mr. Kodman CPR on the way back to the dock and were met by an ambulance. Mr. Duval said he did not know how long it took the boat to reach the ambulance, but emergency workers continued to give CPR until arriving at the hospital.
---------- Post added December 8th, 2015 at 07:26 PM ----------
[h=5]
Here's an unofficial obituary post, he sounds like a good person from a nice family, how sad.
Thomas Scandlyn[/h]Yesterday at 1:42pm ·
FORMER HARRIMAN PRESBYTERIAN ELDER DIES WHILE DIVING IN CAYMAN ISLANDS. Word has been received that Gary Kodman, who has been serving as lay pastor of Lancing Presbyterian Church in Morgan County, has passed away while diving on a vacation in the Cayman Islands. He was a member at Harriman First Presbyterian Church for about 15 years. He was in my Sunday School Class and I served on several committees with him. Gary entered the Presbytery's Lay Pastor program and had served also at Sweetwater. His wife, Rhonda, served as Coordinator of Children's activities at Harriman and began the LOGOS program there. She later taught chemistry at Oliver Springs High School. So my prayers are with Rhonda, Annalee, and Jonathan and their friends as they deal with this shock. Gary Kodman was a native of Pittsburgh and was 65 years of age.
