Surgeon killed on wreck dive - Lecce, Italy

[DandyDon]

Immersione fatale, sub muore in Salento: era un noto chirurgo ortopedico

Google's attempt at translation:
Immersion fatale, sub dies in Salento: it was a known orthopedic surgeon

LECCE - Tragedy in the waters of Casalabate where a diver died this afternoon during a fishing trip in the waters in front of the Tower. Fabio Lodispoto , known as a brindisian orthopedic surgeon, was with a friend when a sudden illness caught him, even when he was deeply engaged in the exploration of a wreck, at a depth of 33 meters. Unnecessary help: when the man was brought to shore his heart had already stopped beating.

 

[npole]

Not a scuba diver.. but a freediver.

 

[DandyDon]

I am personally appalled that we having news slipping in that are not about scuba. Is the site going to pieces? Where are the mods? Do we even have any?

Well, even tho the name says Scuba Board, we do discuss various types of diving, like rebreather, hardhat, freediving, etc. I often post news articles with little information supposedly about dive injuries and deaths, not knowing the details that weren't given, in hopes that locals or others who have knowledge will add. If he was diving on a wreck at 33 meters, I would guess that he was an accomplished freediver, even tho he didn't survive this one for reasons unknown to us.

Mods may not have time to read all of the posts on SB, so we have the Report button. Feel free to use it if you'd like.

 

[АлександрД]

He was a fishhunter.
L'ortopedico Fabio Lodispoto morto a Brindisi

Drama in the waters of Brindisi for Fabio Lodispoto , 55, an orthopedic doctor, known throughout Italy, who had graduated from the University of Pisa. Lodispoto felt sick while he was doing an underwater fishing trip, yesterday afternoon, June 14th. His passion for the world of the sea was a great passion, but something went wrong yesterday.
His mate came up, he did not find him. He did not see it. He got worried, got on the boat and called the rescue in the meantime trying to get off again in the hope of being able to save him, but there was nothing to do. Probably the victim of an anoxic syncope. The body of the sub was recovered in the waters of the Canuta area, on the border between the provinces of Brindisi and Lecce. The prosecutor of Lecce has placed the autopsy to ascertain the causes of death.

Lodispoto was born in London and had studied in Pisa where he had graduated with honors. He then specialized in Orthopedics and Traumatology in Perugia and in Sports Medicine in Pisa. He has been a lecturer at the Sapienza University of Rome for the Chair of Locomotor Apparatus Diseases. He had a studio in Brindisi. A prestigious curriculum, also an orthopedic consultant for the national team of Tae Kwon Do, a member of the Italian Society of Arthroscopy and of the Italian Society of Foot Medicine and Surgery. Among the collaborations, also the one with the 'Salute' de la Repubblica insert and with Radio Rai Uno for the medicine and society column.

Fabio Lodispoto

 

[pepperbelly]

The original story said he was deeply engaged in exploration of a wreck at 33m.
Why the thinking of him as a free diver?

 

[boulderjohn]

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A ScubaBoard Staff Message...

A number of posts debating having a discussion on freediving deaths and other tangential issues have been removed. ScubaBoard has traditionally included freediving incidents in the A&I forum.

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[Kay Dee]

The original story said he was deeply engaged in exploration of a wreck at 33m. Why the thinking of him as a free diver?

Maybe the 'exploration' word is somthing that just got 'lost in translation' using Google Translate when translating the original article from Italian. Or maybe just another goofy reporters turn of phrase for free diving on a wreck at 33m? Or maybe he was 'exploring' the wreck, in free diving 'speak', if you get my drift that is.

 

[npole]

It's the usual journalist that doesn't understand the difference between a scuba diver and a freediver, in Italy they call them all "sub". He was inside/around the wreck hunting fishes, he wasn't "visiting" (to use the more generic term of "exploring") the wreck.

 

[Nirvana]

The original story said he was deeply engaged in exploration of a wreck at 33m.
Why the thinking of him as a free diver?

The passage in Italian reads as: "[Lui] era insieme ad un amico quando un improvviso malore lo ha colto, proprio mentre si trovava in profondità impegnato nella esplorazione di un relitto, a una profondità di 33 metri."

I think a more accurate translation than the Google Translate one would be: "[He] was with a friend when he was taken by a sudden illness, while he was at depth engaged in the exploration of a wreck, at a depth of 33m."

So, he was not "deeply engaged" in exploring the wreck. In addition, I believe that it is illegal to spearfish with scuba gear in Italy. Given that the article says he was taking part in a "fishing trip", he was likely not doing a scuba dive.

 

[pepperbelly]

Is freediving to 33m common when spearfishing?
When I was much younger and in much better shape I could freedive to 40 feet and stay down for 2-3 minutes. I thought that was good.