Venice Dive Death

[mlynch21]

While at Florida West Scuba yesterday I heard a report of a death of a diver off Venice... No one had specific details but from what i was hearing they thought it was a "heart attack or something" and that they thought it was a shore diver. This all supossedly happened on Saturday.

Any more info? Confirmations?

 

[ReefGuy]

Last Saturday a diver went missing off Tremblay reef, approx 5 miles out from Placida. That's the only one that I know anything about.

 

[SRQCO]

http://www.sun-herald.com/NPNewsstory.cfm?pubdate=061108&story=np6.htm&folder=NewsArchive2

"FROM ARTICLE"

06/11/08

Diver death near Venice Beach

David Flom is still in shock from a rescue that took place two weeks ago -- and wondering about the health of two distressed divers he plucked from rough Gulf Waters.

Flom, a Venice resident, moved to Florida from Russia 17 years ago where he was a registered lifeguard.

On Saturday, May 24, he was at the beach with his son between Sharky's Pier and Service Club Park. The waves were too big to go swimming, he said, so he and his son began playing volleyball when they heard a faint scream.

"The beach was pretty empty," Flom said. "When I heard the screaming, it really surprised me."

Flom immediately swam out about 80 yards to help who he thought was a distressed child.

What he found were two scuba divers -- one floating face down.

Flom dragged both Clifford J. Ellis, 77, of Gulfport, and his partner, Elizabeth Indriso, to shore as bystanders called 911.

Flom and others performed CPR on Ellis, but he didn't respond.

Flom said Indriso was shaking and seemed to have lost direction.

"I was in shock," Flom said. "I didn't think of myself. I just thought I had to help."

"I asked the woman (Indriso) if she was alright, but she told me to just save him (Ellis)," Flom said.

Within five minutes, a Sarasota County EMS Rescue Unit responded to take over the medical treatment. Ellis was transported to Venice Regional Medical Center where he was later pronounced dead. Fire medics believe the cause was a massive heart attack.

Flom instructed his son to take photos for investigation purposes, which Flom brought to the Venice Police Department the following day.

Indriso could not be reached for comment.

By Jessica Miller

Intern

 

[SRQCO]

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[jimdiverman]

I know the subject of health and diving has been bantered about, and there are varying opinions. It would seem, however, that there are a large amount of "diving fatalities" that are not so much diving fatalities as heart attacks or other conditions that have the appearance of being a heart attack which are health-related and not diving-related (except for the level of exertion), and may have just as easily occurred on land, or may have occurred under other situations where the individual exerts him/herself to a point that causes unrecoverable physical distress to the heart.

The problem with elevated stress happening in the water is that critical lifesaving support is not immediately available as it would be by just calling 9-1-1 on land. Calling 9-1-1 is not a guarantee of survival, but certainly, it could be argued, that individuals susceptible to heart issues are at higher risk in the water than on land, and those who choose to SCUBA dive knowing of their predisposition or susceptibility to a heart condition due to general physical condition, genetic or other factor should consider this ahead of the dive.

I don't believe the answer is to require to perform mandatory physicals, but it is certainly in the best interest of anyone considering diving who is not physically active to consider the stress and effort required for the dive, and what they will do if there is an emergency, and then to consider whether the level of effort required is achievable in their current physical condition.

No one ever wants to have a problem on a dive, but all of us need to consider our physical readiness not only to save ourselves, but also to help others if called upon in an emergency.

 

[Bottomfeeder Brodie]

I dive there alot and conditions can get very bad. I can see stress in divers there when surf is high and viz is zero, caught up in your own line and getting tossed around. If not good with dealing with panic....well.....you know...ticker can just give out....mans gotta know his limitations

 

[EPD]

Why do you say the person panicked? Were you there or is it just conjecture on your part? If you don't really know what happened, I don't think it's appropriate to fill in the blanks with inaccurate information. That's gossip!!

 

[24940]

Why do you say the person panicked? Were you there or is it just conjecture on your part? If you don't really know what happened, I don't think it's appropriate to fill in the blanks with inaccurate information. That's gossip!!

Welcome to the SB A&I forum. Long on gossip and short on facts, it is what it is.

 

[Walter]

Why do you say the person panicked?

I missed the part where he said this particular person panicked.

 

[ReefGuy]

So did I