Fatal Accident in the Coron Area of the Philippines?

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So I take it that "recreational wreck training" is the wreck parallel to cavern training, with similar limits and procedures.

Well, that's entirely dictated by agency syllabus and the individual instructor's capacity to supplement it.

Nonetheless, doing a wreck course would inform the diver of the risks and limitations involved with non-technical wreck penetration.

That information, if known and acted upon.....could have saved a life in this, and other instances.

Beyond that.. we have to consider how the education given in specialist courses is respected and abided by.

In particular, by dive "pros" who are supposed to have a 'duty-of-care' to customer safety, not a duty-to-entertain to customer's unqualified demands.

But also by the qualified divers themselves... who have the ultimate responsibility in safeguarding themselves and whose duty it is to actually apply the training they are given...
 
One deadly reality is that "silt out" can happen when you arn't even thinking about it. With reel, line, light and training you have a much better shance to get out alive. Silt out -grab the line, can't find it,don't move, tie off and start looking. Been there done that. Practice practice, practice. Don't give the wreck/cave a chance to kill you.
 
Well, that's entirely dictated by agency syllabus and the individual instructor's capacity to supplement it.

Nonetheless, doing a wreck course would inform the diver of the risks and limitations involved with non-technical wreck penetration.

That information, if known and acted upon.....could have saved a life in this, and other instances.

Beyond that.. we have to consider how the education given in specialist courses is respected and abided by.

In particular, by dive "pros" who are supposed to have a 'duty-of-care' to customer safety, not a duty-to-entertain to customer's unqualified demands.

But also by the qualified divers themselves... who have the ultimate responsibility in safeguarding themselves and whose duty it is to actually apply the training they are given...

My limited penetration wreck class finished a few weeks ago. First two dives were on a Lake Michigan wreck. Penetration was started, but not finished as it got silted out the first person through (not me!) and viz was bad to begin with. So bad that instructors determined it was too dangerous to finish on the lake.

Finished at the quarry several weeks ago on the 33ft cabin cruiser that's a straight swim through from stern to bow, but easily gets silted out, plus viz is often only about 10ft. Running line is harder than it looks. I was using a borrowed reel, and I finally got my own and will practice with it! Gave me a very healthy respect for the risks involved, but I had a ball. It was my favorite speciality (but then I'm a wreck nut). :wink:

I can't say that everything I'm reading really is encouraging about Philippines diving.
 
The standards, for those with recreational wreck training, are:

1) Light zone only - must always be in direct sight of the exit, which is illuminated by ambient light.

2) Maximum 40m linear distance from the surface; vertical plus horizontal distance.

3) No restrictions - No impeded areas where two divers couldn't pass through side-by-side whilst air sharing in conventional scuba gear (short hose only).

4) Continuous guideline to the exit at all times.

5) Rule of 3rds Gas Management - 1/3rd down and in, 1/3rd for exit and 1/3rd strict reserve during the overhead phase.

Did they abide by THESE standards?

Breaching those standards absolutely constitutes a much higher level penetration (advanced/technical wreck) with vastly more training and equipment demanded.

As does silt-out, entrapment and entanglement... if they are in any way foreseeable or predictable risks..

NOBODY that died inside a wreck or cave entered that day thinking the risks were 'unacceptable'..... they ignored prudent limits, standards and training.... and assumed it was safe to do so..

Flawed risk management or risk awareness is a strong underlying factor in most overhead environment fatalities, incidents and near-misses...

We were both wreck trained so somewhat different rules, but they met their obligations on our dives. I cannot however say if they do this consistently, or we were a once off? All I can say is that in our circumstance I was impressed enough. I have also been with dive shops that do very dodgy stuff so I have experienced varying qualities of leading dives.
 
Just dove some of the wrecks in Coron this year. I am PADI rescue, 200 dives, have done plenty of deep and wreck dives, but I do NOT have a wreck certification. I was surprised the shop wanted to put me on a 115ft/30m wreck dive with penetration right away (I hadn't been out on any dives with them and they did not ask about my previous wreck experience). I actually had to somewhat argue with them to move me "down" to the "easy" 80ft wreck...which I did with two people who had just been OW certified and were on their 7th dive.

With wrecks being the primary attraction in Coron, and wrecks being- as a rule- deep and difficult, I think they feel forced to push the boundaries. I was also a little surprised that Nitrox wasn't totally ubiquitous here considering the depths. Not every shop offered it and I had to advocate pretty hard to get it for myself among those who did.

That said, I did plenty of other diving in PHP with good dive masters and great shops with good safety practices....so don't let these anecdotal stories ruin your perception of diving in the country.
 
I did my PADI OW with a PADI 5-star shop on Coron. My first dive after qualifying was a wreck penetration at 28 metres: when I got on the boat, I thought I'd go down to the wreck and take a look at the top, and it wasn't until the dive briefing that I understood the plan. I argued with the guy who ran the shop - who was American, not local - that it wasn't safe (too deep and overhead), and in the end we settled on a dedicated DM. He was a complete macho dick about it, as well. "You can always sit out the dive," was his line.

The dedicated DM came in very handy, as it was pitch black - it felt like a pretty tight penetration (through the prop shaft, down a corridor), though obviously I was a very new diver - and I almost lost the DM at one point when he went up and I almost continued down the corridor. He was waiting for me, but it could have been hairy if I'd gone on because there wasn't space to turn around. Obviously, I only had one torch, and that was a little, crappy one. And, no, of course there was no line. And, of course, it was single tank, on air.

Another newish diver, also qualified with that shop, was following a group of two plus DM (no DM at the back) through a tight tunnel when he got a fin in his face and lost both mask and reg in the dark. He managed to fix it, but said it was hairy. I finished the dive with nothing worse than mask squeeze and a sinus headache, but with hindsight it was insanely dangerous.

I am AMAZED we don't hear of more deaths in Coron. Dive practices are incredibly unsafe and many of the divers don't know what they don't know. This was, at that point, the best-regarded shop on the island: a 5-star with decent quality equipment, etc. But they all do it, and if you won't do it, I guess you don't get the business, because people go for the wrecks, and they're pretty deep. RIP.
Vivid imagery....raises my heart rate reading about it.
 
I'm Rescue/nitrox, ~210 dives and planned to go to Coron with my two teen sons, (AOW/nitrox ~75 ea) this January. Reading this thread, I am seriously reconsidering. I am not not ok with the S.O.P. of these dive shops and don't want to get into an disagreement about it on vacation. Apo Reef, what else is nearby that doesn't envolve wreck penetration. What is diving like at El Nido? (I've been to P.G., Bohol, Malapascua, Boracay).
 
I'm Rescue/nitrox, ~210 dives and planned to go to Coron with my two teen sons, (AOW/nitrox ~75 ea) this January. Reading this thread, I am seriously reconsidering. I am not not ok with the S.O.P. of these dive shops and don't want to get into an disagreement about it on vacation. Apo Reef, what else is nearby that doesn't envolve wreck penetration. What is diving like at El Nido? (I've been to P.G., Bohol, Malapascua, Boracay).

I was going to say, you can find a good dive shop, just be prepared to advocate for yourself. I did find a shop there that was pretty great after some searching and I told them right up front which wrecks I was down for and which I was not....largely based on the reviews and profiles I read. Coron does have some stunning scenery and some cool wrecks. Also, there are Dugongs up on the other side of the island.

Depending on what kind of diving you like, you might want to consider the Dauin area. They have some pretty great muck diving and you also have Apo Island nearby (different from Apo reef) that is a fantastic site. It's a short puddle hopper from Cebu or Manila.
 
So I take it that "recreational wreck training" is the wreck parallel to cavern training, with similar limits and procedures. Something like TDI Advanced Wreck, I assume. Makes sense to me. If one wouldn't exceed those limits or flout those procedures in a cavern--which, around here at least, is sternly warned against--one sure wouldn't in a wreck.

I agree that is is parallel to Cavern. But, I do not agree that it is analogous to TDI Adv Wreck.

This is from the Standards for SDI Wreck:

Wreck diving can be one of the most exciting aspects of sport diving, however every effort must be made to maximize safe diving techniques. This course will discuss the equipment and techniques commonly employed while wreck diving. This course may be taught as a non-penetration, 2 dives required, or as a limited-penetration course, requiring 3 dives. Limited-penetration is defined as a swim through or within the ambient light of entry point.

I think SDI Wreck, taught as a limited-penetration course, is closer to the equivalent of Cavern.

I think TDI Adv Wreck is where you would learn how to do full penetration safely.

I think it is "interesting" that Wreck is an SDI course (that can allow light zone penetration) but Cavern is a TDI course. And that getting to full cave is at least 3 courses. Even more for cave surveying and "stage cave". But, the total curriculum for wrecks is 2 courses. Maybe that's just down to the comparatively very limited size of any wreck. Nobody will be doing 4000m penetrations in a wreck....
 
I’m late to post but what a tragic, completely avoidable accident.

I have about 135 dives under my belt and am just finishing up my DM. I’m heading to Coron in April as one of our stops and I can say with confidence that I am not comfortable with penetrating a wreck no matter what. I’ve done cavern diving and that is fine but first, I am way too worst case scenario for penetration and second, also feel like I do not have the proper equipment, knowledge, experience, and the right guide/instructor to take me.

I am happy just checking out the wreck from the outside or a quick swim through but that’s it. Deep diving is fine and does not bother me. Will I be bored or disappointed?
 
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