PSD fatalities in Mexico...?

[BladesRobinson]

On December 2, the IADRS received a call from Mexico requesting assistance in the recovery of three divers. Initial reports indicated that the divers were lost in a "cave" but since then, we have learned that the divers were lost in the area of an underwater "canyon" near Puero Vallarta in an area known as the Arcs of Mismaloya.


A translation from a newspaper article reads...

A cameraman from Televisa Two elements of Civil Protection ​

By Susana Carreño ​

The search continues, after which 20 people attended this weekend at an advanced diving course, taught by the company Uzueta Diving, in the vicinity of Arcos de Mismaloya, on the site known as the Gavión Devil. ​

3 people are missing including cameraman Sergio Lopez, a reporter for Televisa company, Ulises Sanchez Tovar Mayorga and Alejandro Garcia, both Civil Protection of Jalisco, reported Germán Pinto, Deputy Director of Evaluation and Monitoring of the State Civil Defense. ​

Esteban Calderon, a lifeguard in Puerto Vallarta, was met and transferred to the hyperbaric chamber available to the Navy, after he suffered from decompression sickness. ​

According to investigations, 20 people were organized into four groups of five to receive dive traiing, installed an anchor of 10 kilograms, but in a given moment was a milestone current strong enough and lost his life line.​

Yesterday, 80 people, said Germán Pinto, traveled more than 30 nautical miles in the search for the missing, backed by a helicopter, elements Civil Defense, Navy, Technological Institute of the Sea, diving experts from different companies and the Commission Federal de Electricidad, boats were given the task of carrying out a search along the coast.​

Over the past several days, several additional requests have been fielded by myself and Steven Orusa (Response Team Director for the IADRS) and we are learning that at least two of the divers killed were receiving training as members of the State's Civil Defence Force (similar to our FEMA/USAR teams) and their deaths may be considered "line of duty."

A Remote Operated Vehicle was flown down from San Diego on Thursday and deployed yesterday (Friday). I spoke with the ROV pilot today (Saturday) and he believes they have cleared the search area to a depth of 300.' I have offered any and all resources available through the IADRS but have strongly recommended that local authorities consult with Oceaneering International. Many may recall that Oceaneering International was the contractor that assisted with the recovery of TWA-800 off of Long Island years ago.

The ROV pilot I spoke with was told that the three divers were caught in a very strong "down current." There was a down line in the area to assist divers in making ascents and descents and the current was strong enough to pull the buoy underwater.

Because these may be considered PSD "line of duty" deaths, I pass the information along. It is prudent to remember these public servants with a moment of reflection and/or prayer.

As more information comes available, I will try to keep members of this forum advised.

Blades Robinson, Executive Director
International Association of Dive Rescue Specialists
www.IADRS.org

 

[Gary D.]

Not a good way to start the day. Prayers for all involved.

Gary D.

 

[The Chad]

Huh, sounds like Los Arcos in PV, thats pretty much were everyone goes to dive at least once real close to Mismaloya beach and the hotel down there. I can't remember which side of he rock Devils Canyon is on, but I belive it had some sort of small swim through @ 106' the otherside was a wall that dropped off to 4000'. Either way real bummer

 

[BladesRobinson]

NOTE TO MODERATORS: Because this is story of particular interest to the PSD community I have posted to both the "Accident" and "PSD" forums

I pass this along as FYI. The translations are rough and the final story is a combination of translations and some assumptions on my part. Accuracy is not promised! -Blades-



US divers search PV waters for missing men

Story by : CR STAFF Four Americans have joined in on the search for three missing divers in Puerto Vallarta. The professionals were brought in after the Jalisco Secretary of Government determined that the Mexican diving team wasn't capable of diving to sufficient depths for an adequate search.
On December 1, Alejandro Tovar Garc�a and Ad�n Ulises S�nchez Mayorga, both members of the Puerto Vallarta Civil Protection Service and Sergio Lopez Gomez an employee of a local Television station were participating in an advanced diving course in Ca�on de Diablo. The three men did not resurface after diving in an area that is more than 1,000 meters deep.
Before the Americans were flown in, the search party already included members of the Civil Protection Service, local PADI dive instructors and a local parachuting organization that provided boats for the operation. As of Wednesday the underwater search covered the area from Los Arcos to Mismaloya Beach.

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Ocho Columnas : Notas


Nature Caught The Divers
Inside the bay there are continuing dynamics of materials, by the sea currents, tides and frequent seismic activity
OC | Guillermo Go'mez Pastén

An intense vertical flow, more likely the phenomenon known as "turbidity current", dragged the three divers that disappeared in the Bay of Banerderas Friday last in the zone of Mismaloya, which would practically rule out a human error, because the diving plan was fulfilled exactly.
According to information obtained by EIGHT COLUMNS, the previous week a group of divers participated in a course to obtain the official certification of the Advanced Open Water or Advanced Open Water Diver (AOWD).
This program is the second level of certification and extends the concepts acquired in the OWD (Open Water Diving) course and learn "things that can be done under the water".
To that end, in addition to providing the necessary skills to perform deep dive (at depths greater than 18 meters) and underwater navigation, it enables the diver in three specialties.

Specialties. Among the specialties usually available: Night Diving, Wreck Diving, Current Diving, Multilevel Diving, Fish Identification, Peak Performance Buoyancy, Underwater Naturalist, Boat Diving, Search and Recovery, Underwater Photography and Underwater Videographer. The course consists of lectures and practice and certification is achieved after an evaluation that includes five open water dives.To that end, the group, composed even by members of the State Civil Protection Unit, appealed to the company Unzueta Scuba, which has highly trained professional divers.

The facts. On Frday, November 30 three groups formed and the diving plan was followed exactly, that is to say, the dive would be to 110 feet (33.5 meters) and a buoy with reference line (downline) was established, normal proceedure for these dives. It would be wrong to say it was a "life line" that had to be moored to a boat. Two of the groups fulfilled the dive as planned, nevertheless, according to statements of divers, the other group, when they reached 110 feet were caught by a strong vertical current, of such intensity that the computer worn by the instructor registered that it arrived up to 200 feet (61 meters).

Also, according to what he told the authorities Jose Antonio Hernandez Rodriguez, a key group of Civil Protection of the state, suddenly felt a wave of cold water and limited visibility, since the water was too dark to see the depth guage made an alert, announcing to him that it was to a depth of almost 200 feet. After the signal stopped and reality set in, the instructor escaped and thus managed to save the life. He stressed that the dive was done with the necessary and appropriate safety measures. A different fate befell the other two elements of the UEPCJ (Unidad Estatal de Protección Civil de Jalisco), Ulises Sanchez Tovar Mayorga and Alejandro Garcia, 29 and 32 years respectively, as well as the reporter for Televisa Guadalajara, Sergio Lopez Gomez, who could not escape the current.

This happened although the divers inflated their vests and reached to take hold of the reference line. An inflated vest is able to lift two people to the surface in normal conditions, but with the current force it took to the three divers and they even dragged the buoy to which the reference end was moored. The buoy was initially on 60 feet (less than 20 meters), in platform.

Rare. Well we could say that it was an unusual, but this is nature. Among the various phenomena that occur at the oceans, so-called deep currents or thermohalines in the mass of water below the thermocline. These water moves by differences in density. The cooler water with more salinity are denser and tend to sink, while the slightly warmer waters with less salt tend to ascend. This will generate vertical currents linked by horizontal displacement to replace the water moved. However, there is more data which suggest that in Mismaloya actually saw a phenomenon called "stream turbidity, which can occur in places such as canyons, and this case just happened in the so-called" Devil's Canyon. "

This phenomenon occurs when in a rest surface such amount of material is accumulated that the weight is untenable and then a landslide is registered. The movement of the then water would have catched the divers. The vertical current can reach up to 3 meters per second, comparable to the current of a river with expresses. When a "current of turbidity" is registered indeed the water is clouded, and a member of Civil Defense of the State stated that they felt cold water with limited visibility, then the water was dark.

Earthquake. In addition, it is possible to emphasize that two days before (at 20:26 hours) an earthquake of 3.8 on the Richter scale was registered, with epicenter to 109 kilometers from Vallarta Port, at a depth of 13 kilometers. Specialists have indicated very insistently that the Bay of Banderas is in a zone of high seismic activity, and indeed the canyon in reference has been related to the faults that exist in the region.

Landslide? It was then that the movement may have exacerbated the conditions that led to a collapse in the day on November 30 and dragged the material to 300 or 400 feet deep has been estimated that point. Here it should be noted that the bathymetry done so far is insufficient to provide accurate data on the matter. Had it happened earlier, the divers could have been taken away by the tide and even if the material covered by the collapse. All this could only be corroborated with the sophisticated equipment expected by UEPCJ to search for the divers. A remote operated vehicle (ROV) would be appropriate in such cases, according to specialists.

Sea. The submarine canyons are deep valleys opened in the continental slope of the oceans following the sense of the slope. They are originated by the erosion produced by the masses of sediments that move in water at high speeds towards the deepest zones of the ocean basins. These canyons are continued until oceanic plains the located, in certain cases, between 4 thousand and 5 thousand meters of depth.

Risk. Certainly proper training is essential to avoid mishaps in diving. Actually, there are few accidents involving the practice of this sport, although many of them are serious and it is estimated that about 10% are fatal. However, it is difficult to calculate these figures because there are no official records of injuries or deaths due to diving. The main cause of death was drowning. However, this is the final outcome of a problem that occurred minutes before. The number of accidents is low when you consider the number of people who practice diving. In Cozumel, one of its main attractions is diving, and thousands of divers arrive there each year.

Sure. In the diving accidents are infrequent. There are several types of incidents based on if the cause it is related by the characteristics of aquatic environment or if it is caused by changes of ambient pressure: from hypothermia (the loss of body heat in the water is 25 times greater than in air) to a pulmonary embolism, perforated eardrum or other traumatic injury. Most of these problems, if they are not treated quickly, can cause very serious injuries like a stroke or convulsive episodes. The hyperbaric accidents, those that are related to the change of pressure, can take place to make immersions without respecting the periods of rest very frequently, because the diver does not take a breathing adapted during the ascent or because exists a previous problem of health.

The environment. In the case of Mismaloya, it is likely that the factors of the aquatic environment have been determinative of the accident and not a mistake. And we are talking about a pretty safe place for diving, it is even one of the most frequented by tourists who enjoy this exciting sport.
The area of Arcos de Mismaloya provides an opportunity to dive in waters where there are a variety of fish and colonies of coral , the closest to the tourist destination.
As the diver swims away from the seashore, the depth increases gradually and there is the opportunity to observe different species of animals.

Reduction. Beyond the arches is where a sharp decline starts, the beginning of the canyon, which is also very popular because its walls are other marine species very attractive.
Given the fact that the spotlight has focused attention in Puerto Vallarta, different people warn that it is important to disseminate accurate information and not 'demonize' the practice of diving, much less the destination. Of course, neither the company. Which according to the information that you have, complied with safety standards.