Leg lost to prop, negligence - Taiwan

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DandyDon

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Man has lower leg severed in scuba diving accident - Taipei Times
A man was rushed to hospital on Saturday evening after the lower part of his right leg was severed by a boat propeller while he was scuba diving near Siao Liouciou (小琉球).

Rescue personnel said the limb has not been found and it might have sunk to the seabed.

The 44-year-old from Taoyuan, surnamed Chiu (邱), joined 15 divers who set out for waters near the island’s Black Dwarf Cave (烏鬼洞) at about 2pm, guided by captain Hsu Shen-mou (許申謀) and diving instructor Chen Ching-hsun (陳慶順).

The boat, Baby 66, departed from Shan Fu Harbor (杉福) and sailed south toward waters just off the coast from Black Dwarf Cave where the group hoped to see sea turtles and other marine life.

Hsu started the boat’s engine at about 5:30pm in preparation to return to shore, believing everyone was on board.

Chiu was reportedly near the back of the boat at the time and was caught in the propeller.

The other divers searched the vicinity, but could not find Chiu’s lower leg, and gave up their search to rush Chiu to hospital.

Staff at Antai Tian-Sheng Memorial Hospital in Pingtung County’s Donggang Township (東港) said that they treated the wound, as the leg could not be found.

Authorities said they are treating the incident as an act of negligence by the business leading to bodily harm, adding that an investigation is under way.

During initial questioning Hsu said he started the boat’s engine because the waves were strong and were pushing the boat dangerously close to coral nearby.

Police said they are waiting to take a statement from Chiu to better understand the circumstances at the time of the accident.
 
This is why every diver should have a tourniquet in their save-a-dive kit and should learn how to use it. Prop accidents happen.
 
How long does it take for a head count or roll call? Though I could imagine another diver calling out "he's here" if he was already grabbing at the ladder.

This is why every diver should have a tourniquet in their save-a-dive kit and should learn how to use it. Prop accidents happen.
My first thought was that, while not ideal, every diver has a cam-band on their back that could be used if there were no other good option.


P.S. If my leg is ever lost to a prop, don't waste time searching for it, just get me to the hospital!!!
 
I believe only about 1/3rd of the divers were onboard at the time the diver was run over, rather than losing/missing a diver still in the water.

As I understand it the boat was getting close to the shore/reef so wanted to pull forward to prevent running aground.
 
What a diver should have, and learn how to use, and use on every dive, is a DSMB.

A DSMB is not going to guarantee that you will not be run over. The last time I deployed a DSMB in our lake, some dumb s*&# boat driver decided to come over and see what it was that popped out of the water. Luckily I had not even arrived at our safety stop when the guy stopped right next to the buoy. Unfortunately, here in Texas, a recreational boat driver does not need to show proof of a brain, much less a license.
 
I'm surprised there aren't more prop accidents to be honest. It's amazing how many divers you see who like to surface right at the back of the boat.
 
I would think that, for most dive boats, a prop cage would be the most sensible idea.

You know divers are going to be in the water so if there is any chance that a diver might be in the vicinity of the prop you should be planning for it. On most rigid dive boats in my experience the ladder/lift is at the rear therefore near the props. If you can't guarantee the engines will always be off with divers down, you need to ensure that the props can't cause damage.
 
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