Diver death in Grand Cayman

[laurena1]

I recently returned from a cruise of the Western Caribbean. 14 of us divers booked a "shore excursion", well actually a 2 tank certified dive in Grand Cayman. This incident occurred on March 1, 2005. Towards the end of the first dive, one of the divers appeared ok at the 15 foot safety stop. However, when I reached the surface, the crew on the boat were pulling the diver up the ladder and even at the point, he did not appear to be alive. Although several of the crew and another diver, who was a nurse tried to revive him, he never regained consciousness and died. Speaking for myself, I was in a state of shock. We know things like this happen, we just do not expect to see it in front of us. Several of us talked about it while diving at the 2nd port in Cozumel and wondered what exactly happened to him and if there was anything we could have done to prevent his death. I was just wondering if anyone had heard anything further about this incident. Several of us were single divers and therefore, knew nothing about this gentleman. The only positive thing that we could say about the entire event is that at least he died doing something that he obviously enjoyed.

 

[pilot fish]

Not sure if I'm clear on this. Did they pull him up on the dive boat that you were diving off, or where you off a Crusie ship? Did anybody, his buddy, offer an explaination as to what happened to the diver?

I recently returned from a cruise of the Western Caribbean. 14 of us divers booked a "shore excursion", well actually a 2 tank certified dive in Grand Cayman. This incident occurred on March 1, 2005. Towards the end of the first dive, one of the divers appeared ok at the 15 foot safety stop. However, when I reached the surface, the crew on the boat were pulling the diver up the ladder and even at the point, he did not appear to be alive. Although several of the crew and another diver, who was a nurse tried to revive him, he never regained consciousness and died. Speaking for myself, I was in a state of shock. We know things like this happen, we just do not expect to see it in front of us. Several of us talked about it while diving at the 2nd port in Cozumel and wondered what exactly happened to him and if there was anything we could have done to prevent his death. I was just wondering if anyone had heard anything further about this incident. Several of us were single divers and therefore, knew nothing about this gentleman. The only positive thing that we could say about the entire event is that at least he died doing something that he obviously enjoyed.

 

[laurena1]

We were on a cruise and did a "shore excursion" with a local dive shop booked through the cruise line. This man did not have a buddy he knew so he was paired with someone, just like I was as my husband does not dive. His paired buddy reported that he appeared ok at the 15 foot safety stop and then he turned around and he was gone. As I came to the surface a moment later, he was being pulled backwards up the ladder. I wasn't sure what was happening at first until I swam to the other ladder and looked back and saw that he was blue, motionless and foaming at the mouth. He was a larger gentleman (I'm no light weight myself) and the only thing I remember is that when we were entering the water, he seemed like he was taking quite a while to get in while the rest of us waited. So he may have been experiencing something at the beginning of the dive.

 

[Chaseh]

What was the profile of the dive? Perhaps it was simply a heart attack that could have happened just as easily over dinner, in which case, your conclusion in which he died while enjoying the sea is perhaps correct, although certainly disturbing the others on board.

 

[murphdivers286]

Can you tell us the name of the dive op you were using at the port. Maybe someone could look up some news.

 

[DEEPLOU]

I was just there on the 24th, also on cruise excursion. If your excursion was the same operator and dive master we had, it certainly could have been a heart attack.
For the first dive we were more of a group rather than broken into formal buddy teams. We played follow the leader between and through and around corals at a site called Sand Chute. The DM was setting such a pace, I felt I was getting winded trying to keep up.
If you had same DM and a diver out of shape, overweight etc. ......

On another note of this, I know that feeling when you get on the boat and someone is on deck blue (actually it was purple). However, I was the one that ended up doing the futile CPR until the CoastGuard came. And this wasn't a stranger but a good friend I got to know through the boat.

 

[laurena1]

We were to spend 25 minutes at 80 feet. As soon as I got in the water, I realized that I did not have enough lead weight. Therefore, the group went down without me and I swam back to the boat for a couple of extra pounds. I swam back to the mooring line and barely got to the bottom. At that point, I saw divers heading back so I figured, ok, I missed a good dive, but since we were going to do a 2nd dive at a new location (shallower), I'd wait until that one. The 2nd dive obviously did not happen. People on the dive reported that the currents, even at the bottom were really bad. My guess is that he may have just had a heart attack.

What was the profile of the dive? Perhaps it was simply a heart attack that could have happened just as easily over dinner, in which case, your conclusion in which he died while enjoying the sea is perhaps correct, although certainly disturbing the others on board.

 

[laurena1]

I'm relatively new to this scuba chat stuff and not sure if I'm allowed to post names - but guess it will get edited if not. We were diving with Don Foster's Dive Center out of Georgetown, Grand Cayman.

Can you tell us the name of the dive op you were using at the port. Maybe someone could look up some news.

 

[laurena1]

We were on the Carnival Miracle. And the shore excursion booked through Carnival was Don Fosters. Originally, they were going to send us down just as buddies. Right before going in, plans changed (maybe because of the currents) and they sent a female DM down and everyone was to follow the leader. Like I put in a response shortly before this one, I never made it down with the group as I was not carrying enough lead. So I just stayed about the mooring anchor. Boy, Sand Chute sounds familiar. But due to the emergency on board, people were not even writing in their dive logs afterwards or remembering much of anything.

I remember that when they pulled the guy out, they were calling 911. A larger boat, that looked like it could have been Coast Guard, pulled up along side. But since our boat could travel faster to shore - we headed in which took us about 10 minutes and we docked at the Atlantis Sub location and the paramedics were waiting.

I know there were 4 people on board who worked on the guy, 1 was a nurse who just happened to be diving with us. I can only imagine how you must have felt when this happend with your trip. Some of the divers were standing in total shock, a couple were throwing up over the sides, and some, like me, were just crying. I have found that on dive boats, especially me, since I don't have a dive buddy, you get to know people on the boats pretty rapidly. When I did a week on the Nekton boat, I have remained in email contact with several of the divers since the trip, to share experiences.

I'm sorry that you also experienced this. It does really make you stop and think about life. I know several of us on board, that could stand to do some dieting, wondered if we should even eat any more the rest of the cruise.

I was just there on the 24th, also on cruise excursion. If your excursion was the same operator and dive master we had, it certainly could have been a heart attack.
For the first dive we were more of a group rather than broken into formal buddy teams. We played follow the leader between and through and around corals at a site called Sand Chute. The DM was setting such a pace, I felt I was getting winded trying to keep up.
If you had same DM and a diver out of shape, overweight etc. ......

On another note of this, I know that feeling when you get on the boat and someone is on deck blue (actually it was purple). However, I was the one that ended up doing the futile CPR until the CoastGuard came. And this wasn't a stranger but a good friend I got to know through the boat.

 

[Capt. Morgan]

My condolences to the diver's family.

I, like you, have a spouse that doesn't dive and I find myself in exotic locations meeting new dive buddies that end up lasting along time and also with some not so great dive buddies. However, all in all, I've met a lot of good friends being a diver withot a buddy.

I am really sorry about that experience; I don't know how I would have handled it. I've seen some rescues that could've got bad but nothing like what you saw.

Sounds like nobody could have changed the events. He was fine at the 15 ft safety stop and then he's being pulled on board blue. Sounds like the health emergency happened suddenly without time for others to act and change the outcome.

Please keep us advised on the news. Wow, my condolances to all of you, but, especially to the diver's family.