What would you have done?

[mislav]

On Saturday, Sept. 15th a diving incident occurred involving 5 Dutch divers diving in Croatia. It's a very interesting story that got me thinking of would I have done anything different, whether I were the DM on that dive, or just a part of the group. Here's the story:

A group of five Dutch divers went diving the wreck Lina in the evening hours. Three of them used rebreathers, while the other two used OC. Their max depth is reported to be about 50m/165ft, but there's no mention of their bottom time.

Apparently, during their ascent on one of their deco stops - one of the rebreather divers drifted away and got to the surface unconscious. DM and the crew of the diving boat got the diver out of the water at which point it was discovered his vital signs were weak. They began resuscitating him and he was administered oxygen. He regained consciousness but his condition was still serious.

The rest of the divers from the group were still decompressing. Right then, the crew and the DM decided to cut the groups deco stop short. They reasoned that the group had only a couple of minutes of deco left anyway and the diver aboard was too unwell to waste any more time.

The group got out and each got his own oxygen tank to breathe from. Their condition was monitored for signs of DCS and two divers did show some symptoms. All five divers were treated in a deco chamber. Four divers from the group are ok, the one that got unconscious is still in intensive care.

So, would you have done anything different if you were the DM? And would you let yourself be pulled out before you've finished your deco? Any other thoughts on this?

Btw, my avatar photo was taken on that wreck, but not on that dive.

 

[Ken abucs]

It's hard to second guess what was done, because their may be more to the situation than a casual observer can see. But one of the primary rules of first aid is not to turn one casualty into two (or more) casualties. They put four additional lives at risk, and the original victim could have still died. How could the people on the boat be certain of how much deco time was left?

 

[ronbeau]

On Saturday, Sept. 15th a diving incident occurred involving 5 Dutch divers diving in Croatia. It's a very interesting story that got me thinking of would I have done anything different, whether I were the DM on that dive, or just a part of the group. Here's the story:

A group of five Dutch divers went diving the wreck Lina in the evening hours. Three of them used rebreathers, while the other two used OC. Their max depth is reported to be about 50m/165ft, but there's no mention of their bottom time.

Apparently, during their ascent on one of their deco stops - one of the rebreather divers drifted away and got to the surface unconscious. DM and the crew of the diving boat got the diver out of the water at which point it was discovered his vital signs were weak. They began resuscitating him and he was administered oxygen. He regained consciousness but his condition was still serious.

The rest of the divers from the group were still decompressing. Right then, the crew and the DM decided to cut the groups deco stop short. They reasoned that the group had only a couple of minutes of deco left anyway and the diver aboard was too unwell to waste any more time.

The group got out and each got his own oxygen tank to breathe from. Their condition was monitored for signs of DCS and two divers did show some symptoms. All five divers were treated in a deco chamber. Four divers from the group are OK, the one that got unconscious is still in intensive care.

So, would you have done anything different if you were the DM? And would you let yourself be pulled out before you've finished your deco? Any other thoughts on this?

Btw, my avatar photo was taken on that wreck, but not on that dive.

I agree with Ken abucs.

It was stressed during my first aid, NAUI Rescue Diver and NAUI Master diver courses that you never put additional people at risk for the sake of the diver/person being rescued.

 

[Bratface]

I'm wondering if they could have called the Coast Guard for help with the unconscious diver. I'm sure they meant no harm, but I wouldn't have wanted my deco stop interrupted.

 

[mislav]

I'm wondering if they could have called the Coast Guard for help with the unconscious diver.

The reasoning was that that still would have prolonged diver's arrival at the chamber.

I'm sure they meant no harm, but I wouldn't have wanted my deco stop interrupted.

That's the part of the story I also have problems with. I'm not sure I'd let them pull me out before my deco was over. :no

Wreck Lina lies very close to the very steep coast of island Cres. One can easily swim to it, hang in there and wait for 30-45 minutes which is the maximum time needed for any rescue boat to arrive at the scene provided there really was none around at the time of the accident - in which case it would have been even less.

 

[bleeb]

About cutting the deco short: My first assumption was that the people on the surface sounded a recall signal. The divers still deco'ing under water would then have to individually decide whether they could ascend immediately or not. I'm not a deco diver, so I'm wondering what the protocols are. Or is there a bad assumption in there somewhere?

 

[mislav]

My understanding is the DM got back down and thumbed the dive. The group was probably hanging at the line at 5m/16ft at that time. Those are my assumptions, though. Can't be certain.

 

[Teamcasa]

Like Ken said, I would not want to have any additional victims of a tragic situation. I also glad I was not the desicion maker on the boat.

Dave

 

[nereas]

On Saturday, Sept. 15th a diving incident occurred involving 5 Dutch divers diving in Croatia. It's a very interesting story that got me thinking of would I have done anything different, whether I were the DM on that dive, or just a part of the group. Here's the story:

A group of five Dutch divers went diving the wreck Lina in the evening hours. Three of them used rebreathers, while the other two used OC. Their max depth is reported to be about 50m/165ft, but there's no mention of their bottom time.

Apparently, during their ascent on one of their deco stops - one of the rebreather divers drifted away and got to the surface unconscious. DM and the crew of the diving boat got the diver out of the water at which point it was discovered his vital signs were weak. They began resuscitating him and he was administered oxygen. He regained consciousness but his condition was still serious.

The rest of the divers from the group were still decompressing. Right then, the crew and the DM decided to cut the groups deco stop short. They reasoned that the group had only a couple of minutes of deco left anyway and the diver aboard was too unwell to waste any more time.

The group got out and each got his own oxygen tank to breathe from. Their condition was monitored for signs of DCS and two divers did show some symptoms. All five divers were treated in a deco chamber. Four divers from the group are ok, the one that got unconscious is still in intensive care.

So, would you have done anything different if you were the DM? And would you let yourself be pulled out before you've finished your deco? Any other thoughts on this?

Btw, my avatar photo was taken on that wreck, but not on that dive.

Good story, tough question.

My first thought is that I do not dive together with CCR divers. Anything can happen to these guys(gals), and therefore it adds uncertainty to an otherwise textbook perfect open circuit deco dive plan.

My second thought is that the boat should have thrown overboard a marker or raft, and just left the other decompressing divers in the water, with a safety diver at the surface to tend to them and tell them what happened. Then another vessel should have been dispatched to rendezvous with them if necessary, assuming the original boat might have problems doing so itself after delivering the injured diver.

My third thought is that once I plan a decompression profile, I do not alter it nor violate it during the dive. At all times, I am prepare to drift deco to finish my obligation, whatever it is. The risk of bubbles in your bloodstream and paralysis are not outweighed by another diver's needs, no matter what.

Now I will go back and take a look at what everybody else said.

 

[nereas]

About cutting the deco short: My first assumption was that the people on the surface sounded a recall signal. The divers still deco'ing under water would then have to individually decide whether they could ascend immediately or not. I'm not a deco diver, so I'm wondering what the protocols are. Or is there a bad assumption in there somewhere?

The protocol is normally that a marker raft is put over the side, and the recall signal sounded, and a safety swimmer put into the water to recover all the other divers in due course, while the anchor line is connected to the raft, and then slit from the boat.

The boat then takes the injured diver to rendezvous with a helicopter.

The deco-ing divers will have been taught NEVER to cut short their deco. There is no "decision" for these divers to make, other than to cut short their bottom times if their decompression has not already begun. Deco times are never cut short.

BLEEB, if you were ever to decide for yourself to cut short your own deco time, as though it were optional, then you might as well be prepared to kiss your woody and your sex life goodbye too. You might also then need a new wheelchair with a urine bag as well. Keep that in mind; deco divers are trained always to keep it in mind.

Deco diving is not like the zoo that cattleboat NDL diving can become.