Underwater Welder Fatality - North Dakota

[DandyDon]

From Drowned diver working on Parshall water intake

A Minnesota man who drowned in Lake Sakakawea Wednesday was making repairs to the city of Parshall’s water intake structure when the accident occurred.

The body of Joseph Patrick Gould, 32, of Brook Park, Minn., was retrieved and taken to the State Medical Examiner’s office for an autopsy, said McLean County Sheriff Don Charging.

The intake was about 125 feet below the lake surface and it appears Gould’s diving equipment became tangled and he couldn’t come to the surface. Charging said the usual communication system failed and his surface support was alerted to trouble when Gould tugged on his lines.

A coworker who went down was unable to untangle him, Charging said.

He described Gould as an experienced underwater welder who worked for Midco Diving Co. of Rapid City, S.D.

Charging said one of his deputies and investigators from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration were at the scene Friday.

 

[randy88k5]

I looked at several other articles, but it isn't clear if the welder was alive or dead when the coworker tried to free him. If he was still alive, why couldn't the coworker supply more air? Did the coworker not have surface communication also? If the pull line was a safety measure, and the welder used that as a last resort, did that not signal he was in trouble and bring help? I hope more details come out of this story. I know a few underwater welders.