Diver dies trapped in wreck in Gran Canaria

[Hank49]

A horrible way to die. RIP

 

[Manatee Diver]

It seems to me (I may be wrong) that too often wreck diving is thrill seeking. If it's an easy thrill -- well established routes known to be safe -- okay. But this one...man, this one is tough for me to rationalize.

The people that do wreck penetration or cave diving on a regular basis aren't doing it for thrills. In fact if a cave or wreck dive is exciting or scary you are doing it wrong.

I've been to some amazing caves that likely get less visitors every year than say the summit of Everest.

 

[Celt]

What divers need to realise is no matter what level of experience and training, you may not be able to clear some fouling and for this reason we used the most competent diver as the standby. If this girl was alone she would have very little hope of clearing herself in some situations.

 

[boulderjohn]

f this girl was alone she would have very little hope of clearing herself in some situations.

Correct. "Very little" in that sentence pretty much means "none whatsoever." I once had a very simple, one line OW entanglement a few feet from the surface where my only option was to take my gear off, go to the surface, take a breath, and untangle my gear via free diving.

 

[nolatom]

I respect and admire those who get trained, get experienced, and do wreck and cave diving.

I'm definitely not in that number. I have always felt that the "Prevent Your Death--Go no further" signs where cavern becomes cave, were a wonderful place to turn the dive.

 

[John the Pom]

This report kind of skizzed me out. There are all kinds of dive activities I find interesting, and worth some measure of risk, but others, not so much. This is a serious question that I'd like some informed wreck divers to answer: what's the point? I mean, I understand the point if it's a newly discovered wreck of some historical importance and the penetrations are done carefully, by experienced teams, with mechanical equipment available to help in rescues if necessary. But a 70s fishing boat? It seems to me (I may be wrong) that too often wreck diving is thrill seeking. If it's an easy thrill -- well established routes known to be safe -- okay. But this one...man, this one is tough for me to rationalize. It's like one of those 300-foot bounce dives to prove you did it, where the two outcomes are (a) you did it but nobody cares, and (b) death. I mean, WTF?

I am fascinated by old, abandoned places, in a way that I find difficult to articulate - so I see the attraction of wrecks, tunnels, bunkers, old industrial sites, etc. But compartments inside wrecks filled with silt and entanglements are dangerous places. The truth is, once I became a parent, I stopped doing certain activities ...

 

[mariah]

This is really sad as we people dive as we love it and dying for it is not worth it. Diving is just a hobby and loosing life for it is very sad and depressing. We all should be well prepared for what we go through our daily lives and make sure that we are extra safe and ready for anything.

 

[brgold]

I run one of the dive centres on the Island of Gran Canaria, and like all the centres on the Island was really saddened and horrified to hear about this tragic accident. In my twenty years on the Island there has never been an accident of this kind. I too wanted to ask many questions (but I have never dived the wreck so cannot comment much on that), but I think it is appropriate to share with you all a message that was circulated to local divers by Juan Jesus Ortega Machin, one of the senior diving members of the Guardia Civil, well respected in the local diving community. I have translated it from the original Spanish.

Dear friends, I understand that the case of the death in that grim accident of the young diver (withheld for privacy) has us all concerned, it is no wonder, I only beg you to give a respectful treatment to the news, without making conjectures that due to ignorance or the passion in this news generates more confusion or concern than the really existing one.
Of all these cases we must, apart from logically being dismayed by how hard it is in itself, increased if we know the victim above, LEARN, not lower our guard, continue enjoying diving but being clear that there are certain limitations imposed by the environment and by the preparation and condition of the diver.
You are rarely going to have an accident sitting on the sofa, so when you go out to do an activity you have to take risks, especially when you access an unnatural environment for you, the sea.
Anyway, reassure you, I promise to provide truthful information about the sad event with the sole purpose of helping us all to learn.
A hug

Having read the pages above it is a pity this was not posted earlier ... questions like did she have a buddy?, was she trapped?, was she doing a course?, was she sufficiently qualified?, did she have a medical issue?, was there a line?, was it a Nitrox hit ? what irregularities did the Guardia Civil discover? etc etc... can only remain that at the moment for us ... questions. Theories, pet positions, semantics of descriptions, will have to wait until the facts of the investigation are completed. There will be a careful investigation by the Grupo GEAS and then a coroners court case when many of these may become more clear, and more learning points can be identified.

Till then we should respect the privacy of the lady and her family, and avoid creating more confusion. I will point out that as some documents are translated from Spanish, some items may be ambiguous or have a different meaning in Spanish, or a different usage in the European diving context... For example it is much more normal for an Instructor to lead group dives in Spain than may be the case in the Americas. Divemasters will probably only support instructors or lead shallow dives, so the description of the person in charge as an 'Instructor' does not suggest to me that the group were taking a course... but again that is speculation based on a higher level of local procedures.

As divers we take risks every day, and through training and experience, as Machin says, we learn to deal with them, avoid them in the future and become better divers.

If there is a formal statement of the facts or any updated recommendations as a result of this accident then I will share them in this forum.

Till then I am sure all the leaders of all the dive centres in Gran Canaria will be doing what we are doing and continuing to fine tune risk assessments before our dives to make sure that the divers match the requirements of the dive profile.

 

[boulderjohn]

For example it is much more normal for an Instructor to lead group dives in Spain than may be the case in the Americas. Divemasters will probably only support instructors or lead shallow dives, so the description of the person in charge as an 'Instructor' does not suggest to me that the group were taking a course.

This is an important distinction. In most cases I know of around the world, the person leading the dive is called a divemaster, regardless of the actual certification level. Many people referred to as divemasters around the world are actually instructors by certification but are referred to as divemasters because that is the role they are assuming on that dive. When we refer to someone as an instructor, we are also usually referring to the role they are playing in a dive, meaning other people must be students.

 

[Manatee Diver]

@brgold @boulderjohn

Why would you hire a DM when an instructor will often work for the same pay, and you have the flexibility to use them as instructors?