Incidents List
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Year Month Day Surname Forenames Location Contractor Client Depth Type of Diving Details -
2004 7 31 Benton Liston Darren USA Aged 37, former Navy diver and Gulf War veteran. Greenville County pond (private pond near Jones Gap State Park) Trying to move a bucket clogging a drain , when brought to the surface, he was wearing everything but his mask and all his equipment was intact. Reported that as he removed the drain plug to empty the pond his arm was pulled into the outlet, trapping him. Emergency services called within 10 minutes (By his wife, he was diving solo). The Greenville County dive team found him a short time later, but it took more than a dozen men to pull him free of the suction holding him in place. He was pronounced dead a short time later. Reported by WIS -
2004 7 27 Londo Luigi Italy Geomar 14 Rebreather 34 year old, off Trieste, three divers together off a small boat free swimming clearing pipeline outlet, died during the dive -
2004 7 11 Beek Raymond van Malta 3 Freeport of Berzebbugia, conducting a video survey of hull of vessel "Verlaine", bow thruster started, Master & Chief engineer charged with involuntary homicide, prosecution failed on lack of proof, March 2007. Two other divers were reported injured in the same incident -
2004 7 11 Not Recorded Malta 3 Freeport of Berzebbugia, Raymond van Beek was killed whilst conducting a video survey of hull of vessel "Verlaine", bow thruster started, Master & Chief engineer charged with involuntary homicide, prosecution failed on lack of proof, March 2007. Two other divers were reported injured in the same incident and were taken to St Luke's hospital for treatement but were never mentioned in subsequent reports. -
2004 7 10 Davidson Robert New Zealand SCUBA Aged 35, recreational diver with 20 years experience, failed to surface from a solo crayfish collecting dive, death attributed to asphyxiation due to high carbon monoxide content in his cylinders -
2004 7 3 Byrne Damien Ireland North East Diving Services Irish, aged 24 died after he became entangled in lines during a salvage operation on a sailing yacht that sank over the weekend in Dublin Bay. Sunday, three man salvage crew, only one experienced in salvage operations. On arrival at site, they did not anchor over the yacht as the owners were afraid that it could damage the yacht. This meant the dive boat was not firmly anchored and drifted some distance from the dive site. Straps and lifting bags were attached to the yacht in preparation for raising it. After discovering one of the lifting bags would not inflate, it was decided to abandon the operation for the night. However, after consultation with the owners, it was decided to deflate the bags in case the yacht would drift and damage its hull. Mr Byrne dived again at 8.05pm and sometime later it was noticed that no bubbles from his air tank were visible on the surface. Diver 3 dived at 8.15 pm. He was low on air so he had to come up before freeing Mr Byrne from the lines. After he was rescued, first aid was administered to Mr Byrne on the dive boat before he was transferred to hospital where he died later that day. €25k fine imposed on the diving company and €20k on the company's director (Who was out of country at the time of the accident) who pleaded guilty to not having adequate safety equipment during the dive. Diving Company closed down. -
2004 6 0 Not Recorded Chile Sermar Double fatality, port of Coloso operated by Minera Enscondida. No details, reported in a BHP Billiton Safety Case Study -
2004 5 14 Not Recorded Venezuela Diver drowned in lake Maracaibo -
2004 5 12 Shultz Don USA Police SCUBA Aged 43, part of a four man Phoenix Police team searching a canal for a wheelchair belonging to a woman who had drowned in the canal on Monday 10th May. Life line came off, found in a one foot gap under a lock gate mouthpiece out. Hospitalised in a critical condition, taken off life support on Wednesday and died three hours later. Reported by KVOA -
2004 4 25 DSV 'Ocean Winsertor' Indonesia Topsides In transit from East Timor to Singapore, off Lingga Island, 12 armed pirates boarded the DSV and robbed the crew at gun point. No deaths, minor injuries. Reported in the Sydney Morning Herald. -
2004 4 23 Buttrey Curtis USA 18 SCUBA American, aged 41, Contract diver working for the St Paul Regional Water Services, in Vadnais lake, cleaning water plant intake filter, at end of dive he and his partner left the job site but he failed to surface, apparently got caught in some weeds and cables. His body was recovered about three hours later. Drowned. No explanation. Reported in Star Tribune (MN) -
2004 4 16 Yusof Kadis Singapore Described as a freelance commercial diver who carried on diving after an underwater welding accident in 2003 left him with a burnt face, 'failed to surface after fixing tanker'. No other details. Straits Times -
2004 4 11 Kneen Christopher UAE SCUBA International SCUBA British, aged 19, sucked into a pipe, desalination plant at Fujairah, UAE. Sports/tourist SCUBA diver doing a commercial dive, diving instructor who sent him to the plant was found guilty of causing death, plant operators were not held responsible for not turning off the pump that sucked him in. -
2004 3 15 Bennett John Korea 45 SCUBA Trimix salvage operation -
2004 3 11 Miller Mark USA Fireman SCUBA American fire-fighter/diver aged 43, testing new equipment in a lake, not tethered to partner, drowned under ice, ill fitting dry suit and 44lb weight belt blamed as contributory factors. NIOSH Report -
2004 3 0 Not Recorded USA Fireman SCUBA Laconia firefighter, experienced diver died, during a practice dive on Lake Winnipesaukee. No details -
2004 3 0 Not Recorded Egypt SCUBA Port Said, two man SCUBA team, inspection an offshore vessel hull. Completed but one diver was asked to re-inspect bow thruster. Bow thruster was activated during dive. No details, though same diving contractor is reported to have had fatalities in November 2007 and October 2008. -
2004 3 0 Roy Matthias Francois Australia Holothurian Diving Pty 30 SCUBA Canadian, aged 24, recreational SCUBA diver, employed by a commercial diving company in Cairns to harvest sea cucumbers off Lizard Island, North Queensland. First dive of trip. No occupational experience. Possible entanglement whilst on beche de mer drift dive. Became detached from air hose. Recovered by co-workers after 16 hours. Significant marine predation post mortem. Drowned. Detached from air hose. Mouthpiece missing on regulator. Bailout worn but not turned on. Bail out regulator secured to cylinder. Owner of the company was fined $60,000, third breach of Workplace Health and Safety Act, diver "dangerously unqualified". Workplace Health and Safety, Queensland and Cairns Post. -
2004 2 16 Kowalski Kamierz Canada SCUBA Aged 44, harvesting geoducks at Eppers Passage, near Morfee Island (Close to Tofino on the West Coast of Vancouver Island), rescued from the water by the coastguard, died in Tofino hospital, reported as heart attack. Reported by Vancouver Sun and the Committee to Abolish Sport Hunting -
2004 2 16 McLellan Sgt William Germany Army SCUBA REME Officer based at Osnabruck, routine exercise in the river weser with two colleagues, drowned, faulty SABA gear (SABA was condemned as unsafe by a 2002 MOD inquiry into two previous deaths by drowning) -
2004 2 12 Walters Jeff UK Royal Navy 36 years old, Royal Navy Northern Diving Group based at HM Naval Base Clyde (Faslane), died during a training dive off Oban, heart attack, no details -
2004 2 2 Elof Dr Paul South Africa Chamber Dr. Paul Elof, 76, died when his (home made?) DDC exploded during self administered hyperbaric oxygen therapy, his brother, Gerhard aged 65, was standing close by and also killed. -
2004 2 0 Remeze or Remese Floriant France Trtavaux Ocean 3 S/S Air French, (Surname could be Remeze or Remese), French Canal (L'Eecluse' de Bollene - the Rhone). Drilling concrete underwater with a big machine. His umbilical caught by the machine. Did not or could not open his bail out (possibility of contaminated air supply). -
2004 1 17 Grant Ribert David Australia Melbourne Diving Services SCUBA Australian, aged 32, SCUBA training in open water after a three day course, inexperienced. Company into liquidation, fined $200,000 for negligence "failing to ensure the safety of people other than employees" AAP News, Australia. -
2004 0 0 Frigg Field During decommissioning of the Frigg field remains of munitions (Allegedly WWII mines) were seen during the “as left survey�, obviously inert/corroded but philosophically interesting that for 30 years a significant proportion of the UK gas was produced through a facility sitting on top of a 'bomb' -
2004 0 0 Not Recorded Saturation Release of gas from pipeline (gel barrier), diver skin burns, bell contamination (condensate?) (See IMCA SF 01/04) -
2004 0 0 Not Recorded 11 S/S Air Diver bruising plus damaged helmet during concrete mattress installation (See IMCA SF 04/04) -
2004 0 0 Not Recorded Deck Diver serious head injury working on deck (See IMCA SF 10/04) -
2003 12 23 Wiggins Neil UK Neil 'Wiggy' Wiggins died on 23 Dec at the age of 47. Paraphrased from MCDOA article:- "Neil joined the Royal Navy in 1972 at the age of 15 as a trainee electrical engineer. He qualified as an engineer but decided on a change of direction in 1977 to pursue a career as a Navy Clearance Diver. One of his first postings was to the Naval base at Rosyth where he was a member of the bomb disposal team. He returned to Portsmouth to complete the Leading Diver’s course at HMS Vernon, subsequently joining the saturation diving team (1981) which involved experimental deep diving and various diving trials. He joined Naval Party 1007 on board MV Seaforth Clansman where he was a member of the diving team that was responsible for the recovery of the navy’s first submarine, Holland One. A personal letter from the then Flag Officer Submarines, Admiral Herbert, read as follows: “His skill and leadership as the main dive team leader clearly provided inspiration to the other divers and he made a marked contribution.� Neil’s time served in the navy gave him a thorough grounding and the necessary discipline to pursue a successful career as a commercial saturation diver, working mainly in the North Sea with many of his old Navy team mates. Neil’s first contract was with the Aberdeen based diving company, Comex. It was in the summer of 1984 whilst working for Comex that he was called upon to carry out the heroic rescue of his colleague George Lawson who was rendered unconscious by an explosion during an underwater cutting operation (4th May 1984, Kingsnorth Explorer). Without a shadow of a doubt, Neil’s clear thinking, professionalism and determination saved George’s life. Neil was awarded the Frank Dearman award for bravery and a Queen’s Commendation. Neil’s calm and selfless bravery was again called upon in 1987 when he saved two hypothermic divers, Fred McNally and Kanute Monstra, from a stranded welding habitat. Again, Neil was recognised for his valour by being presented with the Silk Cut award for Nautical achievements -
2003 12 6 Norwood Michael Palau TV 76 Rebreather British TV presenter filming a documentary in the series “ Deep Sea Detective�. Technical dive on the wreck of the second world war wreck of the USS Perry off Palau. Ran out of gas, attempted sharing, lost consciousness, failed to activate reserve, did not respond to treatment. -
2003 10 28 Anderson Michael R USA 11 S/S Air 33 year old, commercial fishing (sea cucumber harvesting), but though experienced SCUBA diver, inexperienced with surface supply, mask off, no fins, heavy weight belt, recovered to surface but no response, drowned. Reported to have gone without air for 5 to 10 minutes Alaska Digest -
2003 10 24 Harrison USA 70 miles south of New Orleans, three men, the diver, his son (tender) and boatman, in a boat working on a pipeline attaching a clamp when there was an explosion. The two men in the boat suffered serious burn injuries, the diver's body was recovered two days later. Probably live leak repair. No real details. Kansas City star. -
2003 10 22 Watson Christina Mae Australia SCUBA American, aged 26, on her honeymoon, dive on the SS Yongala, off Queensland. Allegedly murdered (Turned her air off) by her husband, David Gabriel Watson, In June 2009, he was convicted of manslaughter in a Queensland court over the death of his wife who died while diving in his company on the Great Barrier Reef in October 2003. Tina Watson died after being seen, by other divers in the area, in a close underwater embrace with her husband. She sank to the seabed while he headed for the surface, having failed to attempt a buoyant lift, to inflate his wife’s BC independently, or dump her weight belt Tina Watson’s inert body was captured unwittingly on the sandy bottom by another diver taking underwater photographs. It was suspected that Watson had deliberately restricted his wife while turning off her air supply, and upon her loss of consciousness turned it on again before letting go of her. The motive was suspected to be an attempt to cash in on her life insurance policy. Watson’s story was that he had tried to help his wife when she experienced difficulty in breathing, had a panic attack and knocked out his regulator, and that he had elected to go to the surface in search of outside help. While his wife was an inexperienced diver, Watson was experienced and held a rescue-diver qualification. He was sentenced to four-and-a-half years in jail in Australia, to be suspended after 12 months. The lightness of the sentence caused an outcry, particularly since the manslaughter conviction came after a coroner’s report stating that there was a good case to charge Watson with murder. After appeal, the sentence it was ruled that Watson should serve 18 months rather than 12 in jail, extradited to Alabama in 2010 facing further legal action in the American courts -
2003 10 20 Patterson Paul H USA American, aged 29, Coffeen power Plant, Illinois, working on the circulating cooling water system, sucked into the cooling water inlet. One report went “A diver was killed while doing maintenance for a power plant in Illinois. The diver was preparing to do routine maintenance at an Ameren generating facility in Coffeen, Illinois, when he disappeared from a tether Monday morning. Rescue divers were called to the scene in Montgomery County, but the situation was so dangerous they were not permitted to enter the lake. Investigators believe the diver was drawn into one of the two major intakes of the power plant, where he was killed. His remains have been identified�. The power company was fined $58, 500 after admitted directing the diver to wrong intake hatch, and it was ruled an accident. -
2003 10 19 Stevns Power Nigeria Saipem Rolled over and sank during AHT operations in support of the Castoro Otto, All 11 crew died. -
2003 10 1 Not Recorded Germany Kiesper 35 S/S Air Aged 41, two children. Working at the Wiehl Dam intake tower with a six man team. After a dive to 35 metres reached his in water oxygen stop at 6 metres but vomited (reported as wearing a KMI band mask, all diving gear stated as fully functional), aborted decompression and surfaced, collapsed and died. May have been ascribed to a heart attack but no details or official reports. Reported in Taucher.net -
2003 10 0 James Leslie UK Coflexip Stena Saturation Crushed hand, court case in October as unable to return to work, employers fined, no details -
2003 9 11 Rig 'Parker 14-J' USA Manti Operating Co 4 leg Jack Up owned by the Parker Drilling Company, was jacking up at new location when a problem arose with the number 2 jacking motor on the starboard bow leg. Jacking operations ceased and repair operations commenced, where a chock block was inserted to prevent movement of the jacking cogs and the defective motor was removed. Whilst easing the weight onto the chock block, gears on the number 1 jacking motor starting turning causing the starboard side of the barge to lower. The aft starboard leg brakes then failed causing the rig to fall onto its starboard side. Several men, including the crane operator, were injured during the collapse as personnel were being transferred onto the rig from a crew boat by crane. Most of the forty-one crew were picked up by nearby vessels, with two crew airlifted by the Coast Guard to a Gulfport Hospital. -
2003 8 19 Zinck James Canada Fish Farm SCUBA Tuna holding pond, Nova Scotia, Owner charged. -
2003 7 22 Rotaru Mircea Romania Stef and Fan SRL 30 SCUBA Paraphrased from reports :- Aged 54 years, lexNavy diver, leader of 6 divers onboard a vessel undertaking installation cleaning operations (Black Sea, Gloria platform). After they arrived in the area, two divers went a depth of 30 meters to check the platform legs, and because they were late to emerge, Mircea Rotaru jumped into the water after them, but as he went down, they surfaced. They noticed he was missing and searched for him. He was found face up to the bottom and brought to the platform where he tried to resuscitate him, but without any result. His body was taken ashore to the morgue in Mangalia. Experts say it is possible that he had a heart attack when he jumped into the water. The contractor stated he had a medical� Reported by Kappa.ro -
2003 7 21 Rudorf Peter Iraq Subsurface Engineering 14 British, aged 25, clearing routes for vessels in the port of Umm Qasr, reported as "taken ill during diving", Inquest was held in the UK. No details. -
2003 7 13 Not Recorded USA Apache Topsides Overboard fatality during mooring operations, South Timbalier, crew fell overboard while taking a line off the platform, 30 minutes to recover him, deceased on recovery, crushed to death -
2003 7 5 Begneaux Marc Damon USA Caldive 193 Saturation Ewing bank 827, DSV "Witch Queen", Wellhead burning, oxy/arc, U/W explosion 191, (see IMCA SF 10/03) -
2003 7 3 A Raphael Poland Fire Brigade 10 Aged 34, firefighter/diver, breath hold exercise during training at the postgraduate fire school in Poznan, got entangled in the ropes of his marker buoy, could not cut the rope, pulled to the surface unconscious and died in hospital of cerebral hypoxia two days after a training accident. Reported in Virtual Poland/Wirtualnapolska -
2003 6 28 Not Recorded USSR SCUBA Sakhalin district commercial sea cucumber harvesting (мор�кого ежа). One of the divers failed to surface . His body was found some time later. -
2003 5 28 Not Recorded USA Topsides Liftboat "Amberjack", West Delta Block 61, dewatering a pipeline, product pumped to temporary tanks on deck, gas release, explosion, no injuries USCG report -
2003 5 23 Bradley Michael South Africa Police 30 SCUBA Aged 35, Police diver searching Lesotho Katse Dam for victims of a helicopter crash. Reported as stopping breathing, probable natural causes, but no details. South African Press Association -
2003 5 7 Ferguson Jeff Canada Sunset Diving SCUBA? Initial press reports said 'Commercial diver recovering car from inland lake'. Later:- "Sunset Diving, a Kenora diving outfitter, was convicted on three charges under the Occupational Health and Safety Act’s diving regulations following a fatal diving accident in May 2003. The provincial offences court in Kenora levied fines totaling $10,000, plus a victim surcharge of 25 per cent on conviction of three of nine charges. The off-duty Kenora Police officer who was contracted for a commercial diving operation by Sunset Diving, died from a massive air embolism May 7, 2003. Ferguson, 30, dove to the bottom of Deception Bay in an effort to retrieve a truck (Fell through the ice during the previous winter, Sunset Diving was hired by the Insurance Company) became entangled and was unable to free himself, a Ministry of Labour spokesman said. The deceased was motionless and not emitting bubbles by the time a standby diver reached Ferguson and cut him loose, bringing him to the surface where resuscitation efforts failed. Sunset Diving was found guilty on three counts of practices contrary to Section 271(a) of the Occupational Health and Safety Act. On the first count, under Section 38-1(c) of the diving regulations contained in the act, Sunset Diving was found guilty of failing as the diving supervisor to ensure the worker had proper protective devices, which in this case were an emergency reserve or emergency bailout system (a small reserve tank). The company was fined $5,000. The company was also convicted of the sixth count, under Section 18-1, that the standby diver who attempted the rescue dove without being attached to a live line. The fine was $1,000. On the seventh count, Sunset Diving was found guilty under Section 12-4(b) of failing to ensure the standby diver was adequately trained for a dive of approximately 70 feet. The standby diver was a restricted diver under CSA standards (Z275.4) and therefore not qualified to dive operationally in depths exceeding 60 feet. Sunset Diving was fined $4,000. Reported in Ecoweek -
2003 5 0 Harley Stephen Saudi Arabia ADAMS One of three divers (With Andrew Iles and Michael Hopley) allegedly exposed to toxic chemicals chemicals discharged from a vessel owned by Saudi Aramco, in May 2003. All three were admitted to hospital with rashes and nausea and were then readmitted for a further ten days after they experienced difficulties in breathing and became lethargic. None have been able to return to diving as an occupation. They are bringing a negligence action in the UK against the diving contractor and diving supervisor (March 2009). Details sub judice -
2003 5 0 Hopley Michael Saudi Arabia ADAMS One of three divers (With Andrew Iles and Stephen) allegedly exposed to toxic chemicals chemicals discharged from a vessel owned by Saudi Aramco, in May 2003. All three were admitted to hospital with rashes and nausea and were then readmitted for a further ten days after they experienced difficulties in breathing and became lethargic. None have been able to return to diving as an occupation. They are bringing a negligence action in the UK against the diving contractor and diving supervisor (March 2009). Details sub judice -
2003 5 0 Iles Andrew Saudi Arabia ADAMS One of three divers (With Stephen Harley and Michael Hopley) allegedly exposed to toxic chemicals chemicals discharged from a vessel owned by Saudi Aramco, in May 2003. All three were admitted to hospital with rashes and nausea and were then readmitted for a further ten days after they experienced difficulties in breathing and became lethargic. None have been able to return to diving as an occupation. They are bringing a negligence action in the UK against the diving contractor and diving supervisor (March 2009). Details sub judice -
2003 4 12 Williams Douglas USA NW Diving and Marine SCUBA American, 42 year old, just North of the Hood Canal Bridge, using a drill u/w to install buoy anchors, entangled, umbilcal wrapped around neck, asphyxiated or drowned. No other details, reported in the Spokesman review and Moscow Pullman Daily News. -
2003 4 0 Not Recorded UK In April 2003, a hazardous incident was reported to the HSE, which involved divers changing seals on a propulsion shaft while a vessel was alongside. Although the engines had been isolated and a diving permit to work was in place, the engines were started by the engineers shortly after a watch change. There were no reported injuries. This incident referenced in MAIB report 3/2009 into the 'Norma' thruster incident in June 2008. No other details -
2003 3 24 Riani Avishai Israel Ardag Fish Farm SCUBA Aged 42, dive team leader at the Ardag Fish Farm in Eilat where had worked for the previous 10 years. Around 9 o'clock in the evening in a storm, 20 -25 knot winds, 3 metre seas, went with one other diver went out to repair a seawater inlet pie (supplying fresh seawater to land based fish breeding tanks). Onshore team noticed his body floating on the surface and pulled him ashore but were unable to revive him. No obvious injuries, no details. -
2003 3 22 Whelan Peter UK BNFL 3 S/S Air Umbilical sucked into support vessel jet propulsion intake, took 25 minutes to cut him free, on bail out, HSE prosecution, £30,000 fine. -
2003 3 21 Elela Waleed Abo Egypt Maridive 15 S/S Air "Maridive MD 300" on the East Face of 'Ramadan 1, Gulf of Suez, Diver 2 Superlite floated off, Diver 1 unable to redress/give air, diver was tied off to platform, no stand-by diver dressed in, dive basket was on the surface, it took 8 minutes to recover the diver to surface. Bent hat Pin on yoke. IMCA Safety Flash 04 2003. Appears pin was unlocked prior to incident. This incident led to review of other lost helmet incidents No conclusion as to whether maintenance issue, poor dressing procedures or underlying design issue, but KM issued safety notice and secondary securing mechanism for all new helmets (plus retrofit to older helmets). -
2003 3 20 Moore Steven Allan Canada Courtnakyle Fisheries Limited SCUBA Canadian, aged 40, one of a three man commercial sea urchin harvesting diving team in Nova Scotia, failed to surface, body recovered 3 days later. Company charged with failing to ensure workplace safety by allowing Mr. Moore to dive without a knife, secondary air supply, standby diver, recall system, diver buoy and life-line; failing to ensure safety equipment was available; failing to follow a code of practice; and failing to ensure the propeller on the vessel Doug's Dream was adequately guarded -
2003 1 25 Humphreys Tracy USA SCUBA Sports divers. Two men died while ice diving in a Lowden quarry, drowned, apparently after their tanks ran out of air as they searched for an opening in the ice. An investigator for the Cedar County medical examiner's office, said Thursday that Kevin Petersen, 31, and Tracy Humphreys, 30, were dropped off at Wendling Quarry Saturday. Their bodies were found Sunday morning, authorities said, with their air tanks empty. One man had PADI advanced open water and rescue level diver's certification but police could find no diver certification record for the other. The two had trespassed to dive in the quarry, which prohibits diving, authorities said. Authorities tested the rental equipment used by them and found the gear was working properly. The only problem was a hole in one pressure hose that would not likely have been the primary cause of the accident. Restrictors on either end of the hose prevent it from leaking air too quickly. Investigators found a rope tied to a tree hanging down into the water, but not tied to the divers. Quote:- "That would have been totally useless if they weren't tied to it, if you could find a rope in the water, you could see the hole anyway." Reported in the Cedar Rapids Gazette -
2003 1 25 Peterson Kevin USA SCUBA Sports divers. Two men died while ice diving in a Lowden quarry, drowned, apparently after their tanks ran out of air as they searched for an opening in the ice. An investigator for the Cedar County medical examiner's office, said Thursday that Kevin Petersen, 31, and Tracy Humphreys, 30, were dropped off at Wendling Quarry Saturday. Their bodies were found Sunday morning, authorities said, with their air tanks empty. One man had PADI advanced open water and rescue level diver's certification but police could find no diver certification record for the other. The two had trespassed to dive in the quarry, which prohibits diving, authorities said. Authorities tested the rental equipment used by them and found the gear was working properly. The only problem was a hole in one pressure hose that would not likely have been the primary cause of the accident. Restrictors on either end of the hose prevent it from leaking air too quickly. Investigators found a rope tied to a tree hanging down into the water, but not tied to the divers. Quote:- "That would have been totally useless if they weren't tied to it, if you could find a rope in the water, you could see the hole anyway." Reported in the Cedar Rapids Gazette -
2003 1 14 Regnolio Simone Italy Fireman and Adriatica Subsea Services 10 SCUBA Italian, 33 years old. River Tiber near Rome, Castel Giubileo, power plant water intake partially blocked, S/S Air diver trapped by differential pressure, No appointed supervisor or stand-by, Fire brigade attended, rescue diver in SCUBA on lifeline, he drowned, trapped diver managed to free himself. Fire brigade supv on site, Fire brigade diving team leader (not on site) and director of diving contractor (not on site) prosecuted. La Republica.it -
2003 0 0 IMCA SF 01 03 IMCA Saturation Saturation Bell diving off a DP DSV, main bell winch failure (Bell recovered to deck by crane). IMCA Safety Flash SF 01/03 -
2003 0 0 IMCA SF 01 03 IMCA 13 S/S Air Diving fatality during the installation of a 20� flexible hose (40m long) between a pipeline end manifold (PLEM) and a new buoy in a water depth of 35 metres. According to the original approved operational procedures a top-hat flange with a valve for flooding was to be installed. Due to the absence of the top-hat flange, a modified blind flange with a valve and pull-eye was to be provided for floating transport and installation of the under-buoy hose. Eventually the sub-sea hose was delivered on location with a blind flange at the bottom end of the hose. After complete removal of the blind flange prior to the installation, the risk of damage to the flange and O-rings during passage of the anchor legs and skirt of the buoy was recognised. As a quick solution, a solid wooden plate (10mm thick) was placed across the flange at the bottom end of the hose to protect the O-rings. The intention was to remove the wooden plate immediately after passage. The flexible hose was then pulled down to the PLEM by a cable and winch (located on the buoy body) via a snatch block (located on the PLEM). At about 13m water depth the hose stopped due to the increased buoyancy forces in the flexible hose, which had not, or only partly, flooded due to the sealing effect of the wooden plate. The diver, who had installed the snatch block and guided the wire at the PLEM, reported a lot of tension on the wire and noticed during the first in water decompression stop, that the wooden plate was still in position. The diving supervisor asked the deck-crew to make preparations for flooding of the sub-sea hose from topside. After the first diver had entered the decompression chamber, another diver, who had placed the wooden plate on the bottom end of the sub-sea hose, asked permission to inspect the bottom end of the hose. After reaching the bottom end of the hose, the diver tried to remove the plate with his knife, but due to the high suction forces involved, he broke his knife. The force holding on the wooden plate was likely to have been approximately 2 tonnes. The diving supervisor, who was aware of the danger, told the diver that preparations were being made to flood the hose from the topside and in combination with slack on the wire the differential pressure would be eliminated. The diver was warned to stay well clear of the bottom end of the hose. Meanwhile the diver took his broken knife blade and with his hammer he punched the wooden plate. At this stage there was a loss of communication with the diver and there was a fast payout of his umbilical. The umbilical was recovered to the surface along with the diver’s Kirby Morgan 18 bandmask. The bandmask was damaged but intact except for the video camera which had been smashed off. Also hooked to this equipment was the ring shaped remnant of the wooden plate. Diver rescue procedures were then launched. After a little time searching the diver was found. He had massive head injuries. Death was evident. IMCA Safety Flash 01/03. This report refers to the death of Ranier Roon in December 2002 in the Congo (TC) -
2003 0 0 Not Recorded Gabon 61 Saturation Diver suffered muscle spasms, difficulty in breathing and unconsciousness. Recovered safely, no residual symptoms of any kind, no biological, physical or chemical influences. Suspected electrocution between IC anode system and installation but never proved. -
2003 0 0 Not Recorded USA NY or NJ, single diver working hull bottom, lost communications/air, drowned. -
2002 12 16 Arnold Christian UAE CCC Topsides Aged 29, fell from the 12th floor of the International Hotel in Abu Dhabi three days after arrriving in the Middle East. A fire gutted four rooms and set off the fire alarms at 03:00, smoke came under the door of the room he was sharing with a colleague who tried to calm him down (He had a phobia about being trapped by fire), but he jumped from the balconey. A large number of other guests, including 11 other dive team members, were treated for smoke inhalation. The Sun -
2002 12 15 Roon Reinier Congo Smit 25 S/S Air Dutch, 38 years old, SBM hose, negative pressure incident. See IMCA Safety Flash 01/03 below -
2002 12 13 Not Recorded Liberia Rescue diver Wooden Ferry 'Papa Friends 2000' Lake Piso/Mofo river, rolled over and sank with over 200 onboard (max capacity reported as 100), returning from the funeral of a local footballer , at least 60 dead, but over 100 others not accounted for. Fatalities included a diver trying to rescue people from the wreckage. Reported by BBC, Telegraph, etc. -
2002 12 10 Not Recorded USA 9 S/S Air The dive-boat crew said the diver had been diving for sea cucumbers at a depth of about 30 feet in Canoe Cove near Cedar Point off Metlakatla Island. The diver was the only man in the water when the accident occurred. Just before the accident took place the weather was overcast with winds of approximately 15 knots. However, after the diver had been in the water about 30 minutes, and receiving air through an air hose connected to an on-board compressor, the weather suddenly turned and strong winds, estimated at more than 50 knots, developed. The anchor began to drag, forcing the vessel toward the rocky shore, so a crewman tugged on the air hose line, signalling the diver to abort the dive. But the diver tugged back, indicating his desire to continue his quest for sea cucumbers. A short time later, worried that the vessel was getting precariously close to the rocky shore, the crewman again tugged on the air hose. This time, the diver failed to signal, nor did he surface. Shortly thereafter, the air hose line became taut, indicating the possibility of a problem with the airflow. About five minutes had elapsed since the crewman had signaled the diver to surface, so a crew member immediately donned his dive suit and entered the water. He was too late. The diver was found underneath the vessel, unconscious, his diving mask pulled from his face. He was pulled from the water and CPR applied immediately. Medical technicians arrived shortly and they administered advanced CPR and life-saving measures, also to no effect. There was no evidence of foul play and the diver's death was deemed an accidental drowning. According to the Metlakatla sergeant, the diver had a cut on the bridge of his nose and what appeared to be a bump near the back of his head, suggesting he may have hit his head on the dive boat's keel or a rock. An examination of the dive equipment was conducted and everything appeared in good condition. USCG Report. -
2002 12 9 Not Recorded Australia Australian Army Special Forces Topsides Paraphrased from press reports:- "Oil Rig Raid Death a 'Freak Accident'. The Australian Army Special Air Services was running a mock raid on a oil rig in Bass Straight with four inflatable boats, each carrying six divers were traveling about 3 meters apart in a staggered formation. The coxswain of one boat lost control when a diver caught his flipper strap on the tiller when he was entered the water. The driver slipped and fell onto his knees. He looked and saw a man being dragged by his leg, the boat then veered to the left and struck another diver. He saw a diver about 10 meters away with a face that "looked like it was mangled". The supervising officer said in hindsight, "propeller guards should have been used", however the boat was harder to control with guards. The soldier killed by the propeller was a 33 year old sergeant from Perth� Reported by Polson Enterprises list of propeller incidents/Herald Sun (Australia) -
2002 12 7 Not Recorded USA Topsides Overboard Fatality, Ewing Bank, crew member of a contract work/dive boat rescued a man overboard, later pronounced dead -
2002 12 3 Not Recorded Australia The 22-year-old man was diving for sea cucumber on Kelso Reef, 80km north of Townsville on the Great Barrier Reef was injured when boat propeller sliced open his buttock. Treated in hospital, no details, Reported by AAP -
2002 11 28 McAulay Lt Paul UK RN 3 Surface Swimmer British, aged 27, Breath holding exercise, (recovery of mask from bottom of lake) during training at Horsea island, dived at 10pm after eating, vomited, inhaled, choked, heart attack. No stand-by diver. MOD prosecuted, family awarded £750,000 damages -
2002 11 27 Kaluom Jengi USA Stolt Offshore Topsides Malaysian, pipe facing machine operator, injured onboard the DLB 801, medivac, no details -
2002 11 5 K Bernhard Austria Lestin, Vienna Diving and Salvage Company S/S Air Aged 24 from Gfohol, one of a four man diving team installing wooden strakes on a water inlet to the Pernegg power plant at the Mur dam run by Austrian Hydro Power, possiobly disoriented in low visibilty, pulled into the inlet, lifeline boke, disappeared. After a large scale search his body was located downstream of the dam. Cause of death may have been a broken neck. News At -
2002 10 14 Fedin Sergy USSR Topsides Village of Slavyanka, Diving compressor operator, cylinder failed during pumping operations, lost one leg, other severely injured. Undersea Review -
2002 10 6 Tanker Limburg Yemen Franceship Small boat used in a suicide bombing of a tanker off Mukallah, 1 crew member killed in the explosion. -
2002 10 4 Not Recorded Norway Aged 27, Scallop diver off Froya -
2002 10 2 Hurricane Lili USA Topsides A late season hurricane in early October 2002, Lili peaked as a Category 4 in the Gulf of Mexico but rapidly weakened as it approached the Louisiana coastline. A BP spokesman reported that offshore platform sensors recorded 150 mph winds and 50-foot swells. The final toll for Hurricane Lili was 6 platforms destroyed, 31 seriously damaged, 4 MODUs were broken from their moorings and set adrift, including the Ocean Lexington, 2 jack-ups capsized. Oil Rig Disasters -
2002 10 2 Rig 'Nabors Dolphin 105' USA Jack Up, sank, Hurricane Lili -
2002 10 2 Rig 'Rowan Houston' USA Prior to hurricane Lili, the jack-up was drilling for Anadarko Petroleum adjacent to a production platform in Ship Shoal Block 207. It was evacuated 2 days prior to Lili's passage over the Gulf, standing with the hull pre-loaded and jacked-up 63 feet above the water. After the hurricane, the rig's severed legs were found leaning over on location, and the sunken hull was found resting on the seabed approximately 1600 feet north-west. Initial reports speculated that the Rowan Houston had been toppled after a collision with the drifting MODU Ocean Lexington, but this was later proved not to be the case. Inspection revealed that the starboard leg had initiated the collapse, with possible failure of the gear train-deck connection of the starboard leg during the hurricane. As the hull fell towards the water, the substructure and derrick may have impacted the starboard leg, causing the observed impact damage. The hull then drifted off and sank approximately 1600 feet north-west of its pre-storm location. The rig was subsequently salvaged by SMIT. Oil Rig Disasters -
2002 9 30 Rig 'Arabdrill 19' Saudi Arabia Jack Up, leg punch through, blowout, caught fire, destroyed rig and a production platform in theKhafji field, 3 fatalities. -
2002 9 0 Maric Oliver Croatia Police SCUBA Aged 25, died during the search for missing Czech scuba diver Miroslav Kuklis whose body was later found in an underwater cave off the Adriatic Island of Sol. Reported that another police diver was nearly killed during the same operation. (Kuklis died of stab wounds, two men initially charged with his murder - 'homosexual love triangle' according to the press - were later released and sued the newspaper saying that Kuklis had most likely committed suicide by stabbing himself when he realised that he was lost in the underwater cave and trapped). -
2002 8 9 Ramsey Gary USA Army Corps of Engineers S/S Air Apparent DP, Dam 52 on the Ohio river, . Died after being trapped inside a temporary dam for nearly 50 minutes while caulking cracks near a water intake valve, (may have been surfaced rapidly and suffered embolism) Recovered with no pulse. Lexington Herald Leader -
2002 8 9 Rig 'Ocean King' USA Jack Up, drilling at Grand Isle 93, blowout and fire. -
2002 7 8 Not Recorded USA Montgomery county SCUBA Diver died during a body search in Muddy River Lake, south lancaster County. No details. Reported by Lancaster Newspapers -
2002 7 6 Mouritson Chris USA Caldive 32 S/S Air 34 year old with 12 years experience from the DSV 'Mr Fred' at Eugene Island 273, BP, KM 17B, helmet flooded, drowned but unclear if he ditched it, poorly maintained hat with valve issues (see IMCA SF 01/03). -
2002 6 25 Jelasi Cristiano Italy Tecnosub 80 SCUBA Aged 25, off the island of Capri (Thyrrenian Sea), diving in SCUBA to 80 metres, alone, off a small boat to cut ropes off a recently installed water pipeline prior to trenching operations. Died in the water -
2002 6 19 Leoni Helga Italy Marine Consulting 25 S/S Air 33 year old female NDT diver, daughter of the owner of the diving company. DSV "Palinuro II" diving on/near the Agostino B platform. No stand-by diver. Engine "mistakenly" started, Umbilical caught in propellor. -
2002 6 14 Jolliff Paul USA 15 SCUBA Firefighter, aged 37, died during the final dive of a 21 day open water SCUBA training course. Objective was to locate a cinder block by conducting sweep searches from a marker buoy and then bring it to surface using an inverted 5 gallon bucket as a lifting bag. Zero visibility, cold water. Underwater comms set only partially operational (he could hear, but not transmit). He and partner located block, as they were rigging it, he suddenly grabbed for his partner's face mask knocking him to one side, dropped his weight belt and disappeared. Second diver surfaced and raised the alarm. Stand-by diver entered the water immediately to commence sweep searches from the original marker buoy but after his 4th sweep was pulled to the surface by the crew pulling up the marker buoy in an attempt to see if the lost diver was still attached to the swim line. Buoy reset, but in a different location.. Search continued and the body was located over two hours later by sonar from a surface support boat. He was tied to the cinder block (They were using 5' long lanyards as the lifting rigging, he had gone into the water with his attached to his harness 'D' ring. It appears he attached it before releasing the second end from his harness). Death certificate recorded death as due to drowning. SCUBA cylinder was empty when recovered, some equipment breakages, but not concluded whether factors in the incident. The investigation made 3 recommendations:- 1: Fire departments should ensure that equipment checks are performed before each dive and defective equipment is repaired or replaced before the dive takes place. 2: Fire Departments should ensure that all participants in diver training have practiced the specific evolution in a controlled environment such as a swimming pool before attempting the evolution in open water.. 3: Fire departments should ensure that search-and-rescue operations establish and use reference points to conduct searches -
2002 5 23 Macko Steven C USA SCUBA Aged 42, off duty firefighter/diver, working for a contractor installing a fountain in Petersen Lake, a 15 acre lake in the centre of O'Hare Office Plaza, with 4 other divers, died, no details but reported that he and his colleagues planned to swim across the lake to the fountain but that when he was pulled from water his air valve was turned off -
2002 5 22 Blackley Martin UK Seahorse Aquaculture 16 SCUBA British, Royal Marine commando, aged 26, Altbea Fish farm, Loch Ewe, entangled in rope, valve not fully functional, speculated that he hyperventilated, panicked, drowned. He was unqualified, 3 man dive team, no dressed in stand-by, no lifeline, no communications, no knife, no risk assessment, no dive logs, On medical leave with a leg injury, diving in exchange for a £300 drysuit -
2002 4 30 Buckland Paul William Australia 10 SCUBA Australian, aged 23, professional scallop diver, Shark attack. Was wearing a "shark pod" (Electric shark repellor), may not have been switched on at depth but was on at time of attack on the surface. May have been incorrectly fitted (electrode position). Recommendation from coroner that at all commercial and recreational divers working in waters where the presence of sharks is a risk should wear at shark repellent device. -
2002 4 30 Not Recorded UK Police 42 SCUBA Police dive team trying to recover the bodies of three family members from the hull of their vessel that sank off the South Downs Coast, two divers surfaced, one with pains in arms and shoulders, the second with ruptured eardrums, treated in a DDC, OK -
2002 4 0 Not Recorded Australia 3 SCUBA Deckhand on lobster boat trying to free a snagged pot in 2.7 metres, drowned, skipper fined $20,000, no stand-by diver, not anchored (live boating, engine running). -
2002 3 14 Christie, RN Lt. David UK RN British, aged 28, RN, training dive under HMS Grafton in Portsmouth harbour, found unconscious under hull, when dislodged surfaced rapidly by inflated buoyancy device, fatal pulmonary barotrauma but may already have been dead from lack of oxygen -
2002 3 7 Thomas Darrin Paul USA Divcon 6 S/S Air Working beneath the 'Horseshoe' riverboat casino on the Red River, Baton Rouge, with dredging equipment when he lost comms with the surface. A standby diver was slow entering the water and once in the water was unable to locate the diver. The diver's body was recovered by civil rescue divers called to the scene. Reported in “The Advocate� -
2002 3 2 da Silva Marcos Francisco Brazil Campos basin, Petrobras platform P-20 died in an accident on the first day he worked on the platform, no details. Viaseg.com -
2002 1 8 Bowling Jay Allen USA FMSM Aged 24 from Danville, one of a four man team of divers who arrived on site on that day working for Fuller, Mossbarger, Scott and May, diving contractors at the Mt. Sterling water and sewage plant on the Greenbriar Resevoir in Montgomery County. Died after his leg was sucked into an intake pipe he was attempting to install an addtional valve on, drowned. The valve had been opened without his knowledge before he entered the water (It was his first day with FMSM and first day on site) Lexington Herald. -
2002 0 0 IMCA SF 06 02 IMCA Diring DP DSV Saturation diving, vessel suffered a black out, Investigation revealed a history of unexplaned shutdowns whose significance had not been recognised. IMCA Safety Flash 06/02 -
2002 0 0 IMCA SF 07 02 IMCA During DP DSV Saturation diving, vessel suffered a power management incident. Single point failure had not been identified in the FMEA. IMCA Safety Flash 07/02 -
2002 0 0 IMCA SF 09 02 IMCA Report of a survey vessel sinking due to uncontrolled water ingress into the engine room after the survey transponder pole was dropped in the tube knocking off the lower gland. IMCA safety Flash SF 09/02 (This report refers to the sinking of the 'Ocean Voyager' off Iran, no injuries, photos were circulated on the intranet (TC). -
2002 0 0 IMCA SF 11 02 IMCA 19 Saturation DSV lift bag incident. 600 Kg flange to surface after diver lost control of load (No hold back or inverter line) IMCA Safety Flash SF 11/02 -
2002 0 0 Not Recorded USA Liquid Engineering Topsides American, aged 27, three children, part of a three man potable water tank diving team inspecting a water tower. Rung gave way as he was climbing the external ladder to reach the tank, fell 55', died. Bonnier Corporation 'SCUBA' News article -
2002 0 0 Not Recorded Thailand Scuba dive boat 'Laddawan 2' Paraphrased from press reports:- “2002 Unknown Date - 13 October 2010 report in the Phuket Gazette stated that:- 'Phuket Dive Boat Goes Up in Flames. A widely known dive tour operator lost a dive boat to a fire this morning. The dive boat, the Laddawan 2, was in the news eight years ago (2002) when a member of the crew "had his stomach sliced open and lost severed limb while cleaning the propeller" near Koh Racha Yai. The article also provides a photo of the dive boat on fire. Polson Enterprises, List of propeller incidents/Phuket Gazette -
2002 0 0 Not Recorded USA Horizon S/S Air Details not confirmed, Barge "Brazos", lowered a jet sledge onto a diver, two broken legs, hat off, stand-by found the diver breathing off his pneumo -
2001 12 31 Feher Mark USA SCUBA Aged 21, professional golf ball diver, working on the links at Boynton beach with his brother. Both on SCUBA but . Reported as an experienced diver, failed to surface at the end of the dive, recovered by his brother, drowned, no details. St. Petersburg Times -
2001 12 17 James Leslie UK Saturation British, crushed hand during lifting operations. -
2001 12 17 Not Recorded Germany 40 SCUBA Aged 29, wife and six year old daughter, the manager of a 5 man diving contractor from Hamburg, 10 o'clock on a Monday morning, cleaning operations on frond mats at the Droda Dam, two man dive, after 10 minutes partner caught in fronds and had to ditch his weight belt and lost his knife, he surface safely but realised the other diver had not surfaced but could not go down to to lack of weight belt. Body pulled up on a line (lifeline?), may have been without cylinders when recovered (ditched his gear?), entangled, lost his cyliners, no other details. Reported in Schatzsucher.de -
2001 12 4 Cleugh Andrew Ross Netherlands 22 S/S Air British, aged 29, trapped underwater during a pipeline survey, trench wall collapse “caused by an earth tremor�, inquest in March 2006, drowned, no real details. -
2001 11 13 Bray Thomas M USA Police SCUBA American aged 52, Philadelphia police force, assigned to the marine unit, recovering a buoy in the Delaware river near Fort Mifflin in Douth Philadelphia, entangled in the line, drowned. Reported in the Philadelphia Inquirer. -
2001 10 22 Gouveia Nereus Brazil Port of Paranagua, Petobras tanker 'Norma' hit rocks leading to discharge of 1.8 million litres of Naptha. Diver from a local diving contractor in Paranagua hired by an engineer from the Petrobras subsidiary 'Transpetro' died during operations to assess the damage (Reported as 'at 17:30 the diver suffered a sudden illness and was taken to hospital where he died at 19:00 hours'). Cause of death given as 'inhalation of Naptha'. Due to the escaped Naptha cloud, there were both marine and aviation exclusion zones, but they still allowed the diving operation on the leaking hull. Investigation concluded that the diver had standard equipment not suitable for polluted water operations. The Trtanspetro engineer was sacked and also accused of manslaughter, acting negligently and without knowledge of the technical rules thereby unintentionally causing the death of the diver. The courts eventually said the diving contractor was at fault for not assessing the situation correctly. Reported by Amigos de Terra and other Brazilian press sources. -
2001 10 17 Wave Dancer Belize SCUBA 17 out of 20 SCUBA diving American tourists and 3 crew members died when the “Wave Dancer� capsised in harbour when struck by Hurricane Iris. No evacuation, no hurricane contingency plan, worst known single diving accident. -
2001 10 14 Farr Aubrey Jamica Topsides Aged 32, the third specialist drug search diver to have been murdered in 12 months. His body was found by residents on the soft shoulder of Diamond Road, Kingston, with multiple stab and chop wounds. Two other divers, Carl Lubsey and Donovan Henry, were shot dead in separate incidents in Clarendon and St. James last year. It is alleged that Mr. Farr who had replaced Mr. Lubsey, left his home last weekend to check the hull of a cargo ship in Port Antonio, Portland. The threat of Hurricane Iris forced the ship to leave sooner than expected and Mr. Farr, who was travelling with another diver, returned to Kingston. His body was found on the street about 3 a.m. His van was found on Wednesday, parked on the Port Henderson Road, near to Portmore, St. Catherine. The passenger seat was stained with blood, and the commercial radio was missing but Mr. Farr's diving equipment was intact. The killers of the other two divers have still not been found. Jamaia Gleaner -
2001 10 13 Frayne Kenneth USA Firefighter SCUBA American, aged 28. Volunteer fire-fighter with the Channahon fire department. Multi agency dive training exercise included a dive coordinator, an assistant dive coordinator, and seven divers in a man-made lake. They had sunk a boat and two mannequins in the lake to simulate a boating incident. Four of the divers, including the victim, were on their second dive when the victim went missing at the end of the dive. Initial confusion as to whether he had gone ashore, so some time before underwater search commenced. Dispatch was notified of the missing diver, and additional search-and-rescue crews responded to the scene with two rescue boats. The victim was found in the area of his last known location, approximately 1 hour and 15 minutes after he was last seen by his dive partner. His SCUBA cylinder empty, BD partially unbuckled, hood and mask off, regulator out. When the victim was brought to the surface he had blood coming from his nose and mouth. Transported to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead. Investigators recommended that:- 1. Fire departments should develop, implement and enforce standard operating procedures (SOPs) regarding diver training, 2. Ensure that each diver maintains continuous visual, verbal, or physical contact with his or her dive partner, 3. Ensure that a backup diver and a ninety-percent-ready diver are in position to render assistance, 4. Ensure that the dive coordinator stays informed about the rates of air consumption by divers, 5. Provide divers with refresher training on the hazards of lung over-expansion injuries and prevention measures. Medical examiner and the reviewing medical officer noted the possibility that an air embolism may have contributed to the drowning. -
2001 10 4 Udalov S. USSR 4 S/S Air Aged 44 While working on unloading the cargo from the wrecked ship "Volgo-Don-145" Air hose, cut by the piece of metal, diver died. No details. Undersea Review -
2001 9 0 Not Recorded USSR Aged 50, commercial operation on the Neva river, no details -
2001 8 10 Sempert Craig E USA SCUBA Aged 44, Owner of Craig's Dive Shop in Craig, was diving for a survey by Cape Fox Corp. Apparently got trapped in the outflow pipe from the power station pond south of Ketchikan, his body was recovered from the outflow pipe after his wife reported Friday afternoon that he hadn't come back from the dive. Inference is solo dive on SCUBA. Reported in Kenai Peninsula on-line -
2001 7 25 Novichenko A USSR Stavropolsky region, Aged 41, During the repair work at the Sengeleevsky Water reservoir dam. Sucked in a wall break by the water flow. No details. Undersea Review -
2001 7 24 Murray David UK RN 81 Rebreather Diving from the British Underwater Test and Evaluation Centre at Kyle of Lochalsh, RN "Could not reveal the nature of the men's dive" Aged 28, a member of Fleet Diving Unit 3, based at Horsea Island in Portsmouth for just 6 weeks, failed to surface and was reported missing on the morning of July 24. His body was recovered that afternoon. The cause of the incident was not reported pending a Board of Inquiry. -
2001 7 13 Rig 'Marine IV' USA Jack Up, blow out -
2001 6 22 Kin Chong Chee Singapore Aged 28, described as a 'seasoned diver', found floating face down during a tanker inspection dive off Tuas. Straits Times -
2001 6 11 Willis Emmett Clive USA SCUBA Aged 51, professional golf ball diver, 15th hole of the Westport Country club in Hickory, drowned, no details apart him only having been SCUBA certified three months prior to his death. -
2001 5 9 Rig 'Glomar Baltic I' USA, GOM Jack Up, Blow out -
2001 5 5 Draughon USN Mathew Japan USN S/S Air American Navy diver aged 21, diving off USS "Safeguard", salvage of crashed F-16, early hours of the morning, strong currents, hoses wrapped around anchor chains, helmet off, body washed up on beach a month later, 'drowned due to accident', second diver, Bryan Gordon was rescued safely. Navy criticised vessel leadership for not taking account of fatigue, deteriorating weather conditions and poor risk management procedures. estripes.com -
2001 5 3 Devis Craig Australia Relik Pty Ltd. 15 S/S Air Diving off Forbes Island Great Northern Barrier Reef, harvesting rock lobster. Following no response from diver for several minutes tender driver hauled diver to surface unconscious. CPR attempts unsuccessful. Oxygen equipment unsuitable for non breathing person. Air intake hose to petrol driven compressor had split. Weighted vest unable to be released in emergency. No alternate air supply . Prosecution (Above plus unsafe Hookah unit). Drowning with carbon monoxide toxicity and DCI as contributory factors). Workplace Health and Safety, Queensland. -
2001 3 15 Rig P 36 Brazil Petrobras Semi Submersible, (Built in Italy, 'Spirit of Clumbus', converted to an FPU to operate in the Roncador field), explosions in tanks in the columns, listed, further explosions (which killed 11 members of the fire fighting team), rig eventually sank 5 days after the initial explosion in 1300 metres water depth. -
2001 3 8 Rosa Jose Luis Di Cstro Uruguay Navy 3 SCUBA Aged 23, Naval diver with four years experience, Port of Montevideo, propeller inspection of the crane barge 'General Artigas'. Appears to have been entrapment/out of air/drowning, but no real details. La Republica -
2001 3 1 Rig 'Ensco 51' USA Jack Up, Eugene Island 273, blowout when setting casing, fire -
2001 2 21 Tenedorio Manuel Antonio Portugal Fireman Aged 38, Local man, fire department diver cleaning the gates of the Coura Covas Dam at Vila Nova de Cerveira (North West Portugal on the river Minho) with two others, reported as 'fell into the river', recovered from the river alive but died on the way to hospital. 'Diver', part of a 'working diving team' doing 'dive team work', but not diving. Reported as "probably not drowning, might have hit his head". Reported by publico.pt -
2001 1 0 Not Recorded USA Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, diver swept over dam spillway, umbilical snap link broke, air hose pulled out of hat, drowned, no citations issued -
2001 1 0 Not Recorded USSR Military Military student, torpedo tube escape exercise, one of three students failed to exit, system water level lowered, found unconscious, treated in DDC, OK. Undersea Review -
2001 0 5 Harchenko D USSR Aged 27, Yablonovsky village While working on recovering a car from the Kuban river, trapped in car door, lost of regulator. Failed to use knife or drop weight belt, drowned. Undersea Review -
2001 0 0 IMCA SF 07/01 IMCA Diver fatality due to underwater oxy/arc explosion. IMCA Safety Flash SF 07/01. (Possibly refers to either Scott Mercer (GOM, Titam, August 200 or to Chris Hill (UKCS, SCS August 1999) -
2001 0 0 IMCA SF 08 01 IMCA Topsides ROV winch brake failure, winch paid out, lost ROV and umbilical in 2300m water depth. IMCA Safety Flash SF 08/01 -
2001 0 0 IMCA SF 08 01 IMCA S/S Air Dive basket LARS winch brake failure, winch paid out, in between dives, no injury. IMCA Safety Flash SF 08/01 -
2001 0 0 IMCA SF 09 01 IMCA Topsides ROV winch failure, IMCA Safety Flash SF 9/01 -
2001 0 0 Not Recorded IMCA 140 Saturation Diver injured in a negative pressure incident during diving operations on a subsea manifold to install additional 4 inch pipe spools in a well bay. The spools had been transported to the vessel with wooden blind protectors on the flange faces to prevent impact damage. These did not have pre-drilled vent holes and were to be replaced on board the vessel with standard donut protectors. However, two assemblies were apparently overlooked and were subsequently deployed subsea with the unvented wooden blinds still in place. At the time of the incident, the diver had manoeuvred the spool piece close to its final position, removed the tie wrap and then attempted to lever the wooden blind off the flange face using his knife. It appears that the blind then imploded due to the build-up of negative pressure, pulling the diver’s hand through the blind and into the spool, causing a fracture to the arm and dislocation of the thumb, bruising and swelling. IMCA Safety Flash 12/01 -
2001 0 0 Turnbull Robert Qatar Hallul 50 Saturation British, DSV "Khattaf" (Ex "British Argyll"). Died whilst locked out, suspected heart attack -
2000 12 20 Thorpe Danny Australia Aged 47, abalone diver, one of a two man crew, boat overturned on the Monday, after clinging to the overturned hull for several hours, the skipper swam to shore but was swept 30 kilometres in 15 hours to a remote shore where he wae found on Wednesday. Known shark area, crewman decided to stay with the hull. Shredded remains of a life preserver found washed up later. Presumed shark attack. Skipper vowed he would never go back to sea. Philippine Daily Inquirer. NB Skipper did return to sea, only to lose another crewman to shark attack eleven years later (Peter Clarkson, February 2011) -
2000 11 30 Cote Martine Canada Hydro-Quebec 6 S/S Air Aged 28. Paraphrased from the press report:- A team of engineers, commercial divers and their support staff were conducting a routine underwater video inspection of the power-house dam, generating station Hull 2. Martine Côté went under the surface at 12:30 p.m. and within less than half an hour, radioed that she was in trouble. According to the public relations officer for Hydro-Québec, Côté had encountered what is known as "suction." Suction occurs when there is a hole or fissure in the dam wall on the upstream side, and it means death for divers. "We had no idea. The basin had been seen dry, and there was no hole at that time. At 20 feet of water, the visibility isn't so great, unless there was a vortex you can't see it." It is also not clear how she died--whether from hypothermia, suffocation or the tremendous pressure on her body which could have caused a cardiac arrest. Officials at Hydro-Québec say only that she was declared dead at the hospital after resuscitation attempts had failed. The suction pulling on Côté's body was approximately 3,000 pounds per square feet in 20 feet of water. It was so strong that it ripped off her suit. There was no crane on the site, so the 14 workers on the surface were trying to pull her up manually. She was also not wearing a crotch harness. During the pulling from above, her body harness fell apart and her umbilical--a cord that provides air--was severed. They pulled unsuccessfully with nylon cables, finally getting her out at about 2 pm. "This woman was special, she was Hydro's [and Quebec's] only female commercial diver." reported in the Montreal Mirror -
2000 11 29 Not Recorded Fiji 130 SCUBA Two Fijian divers, 'one a master diver, the other less experienced' were hired to recover an anchor lost in 130 metres off Gau island. When they failed to surface, another diver attempted to rescue them, began to lose consciousness and inflated his ABLJ, he was admitted to the CWM hospital in Suva, given therapeutic decompression in a chamber and reported as having survived. No other details. Reported in the Fiji Times Online. (NB As far as I can ascertain, the facts are correct – two divers were hired, agreed to, and then attempted to, recover an anchor in 130 metres on air in SCUBA, TC) -
2000 11 23 Moscow USSR Military An elite, specially-trained team of combat divers guards the Kremlin against potential attackers trying to gain access to the Kremlin through the sewers underwater from the River Moskva and the underground network of sewers. But any would-be transgressors would be met by sinister-looking combat divers - known as strategic-purpose divers. The first units of combat divers were set up in the 1960s to combat underwater saboteurs. They now form part of the Presidential Bodyguard Service. The divers all have officer's rank and get free flats in Moscow. As well as patrolling the sewers, they also inspect the River Moskva around the Kremlin, protect all the presidential residences from offshore and accompany the president when he goes to the Black Sea resort of Sochi. A special underwater pistol was designed as a non-automatic four-barrel gun loaded in the same way as a hunter's rifle, by opening the breach. The bullets look strange too. A bullet is actually a long needle or a "nail" as the divers call it. The nails can kill at a distance of six to 17 metres, depending on the depth. The divers say that underwater fighting with knives only exists in films. A basic principle of underwater combat is that whoever attacks first, wins. Even the slightest wound could be lethal underwater because water pressure leads to massive loss of blood which renders the diver useless in seconds. If their oxygen supply is cut, the special purpose divers have a small reserve balloon attached to their chest with enough oxygen to get to the surface, Reported in the Russian weekly newspaper Versiya and BBC -
2000 11 11 Davis Ted USA Energy Partners or D & W Welding Services 23 South Pass 28, The diver was working on a severed pipeline when he lost communication with the surface. A second diver was unable to locate the first diver. Pressure differential, sucked into a pipe when dredging cleared blocked pipe opening, body reciovered the following day. -
2000 11 8 Miller Gary A UK Arkal Ltd British, aged 36, experienced commercial diver, ex-Navy, bridge construction at Canary Wharf, indications of poor equipment (one missing crutch strap, the other taped on) and band mask may have been incorrectly assembled such that the band holding the hood on parted and the pieces separated. Recorded verdict “diver was unlawfully killed�. -
2000 11 6 Ferreiro Eduardo Spain Tycsub 40 SCUBA Paraphrased from Press reports: “The accident killed a 35 year old diver carrying out commercial diving on a sewage outfall pipe at Mompos in San Sebastian. Contractor did not have the required permission from Maritime to carry out the work, no insurance, the diver had no medical, no in date SCUBA cylinder certificate, The ruling states that "The incident occurred about 11:00 pm on 6 December 2000, when the victim, who was turning 32, was unconscious with narcosis, anxiety, shortness of breath or over-exertion that could lead to carbon dioxide poisoning that caused death by cardiac arrest. These deficiencies pose serious violation of the applicable regulations posing a grave risk to workers leading to the death of the diver which would have been avoided had if the legally required security measures had been adopted by the accused�. Diver had no qualifications, and even if so would only have been certified to 25 metres under current legislation, no permit to dive from harbourmaster, no stand-by diver. The company manager was sentenced to a year and a half in prison, a fine of 1,080 euros, and ordered to compensate the family of the deceased with a total of 160,000 euros 5 years after the fatality. Bajoelagua.com -
2000 10 31 Lubsey Carl Jamaica Police Topsides One of two specialist divers who searched for drugs under the hulls of ships killed within two weeks of each other (The other was Donovan Henry, killed 14th October), was probably slain because he turned down bribes for several million dollars, according to police sources. According to reports, several attempts had been made to bribe Carl Lubsey but that he'd refused the offers. The police reported that at about 8:15 a.m. on Tuesday, October 31, Mr. Lubsey was on his way to Rocky Point to check the ship Orlent River II, which had been docked at the Rocky Point Port, Clarendon, to collect alumina. Police reports at the time said Lubsey was driving his Nissan pick-up on the Rocky Point Pier Road when a grey car drove up behind him. Occupants in the car opened fire hitting him and he lost control of his vehicle which crashed. The gunmen came out of the car and opened fire again, hitting him all over his body. He died on the spot. Senior Superintendent Carl Williams, the island's narcotics' chief, said the police believed the divers were killed because of their occupation and hinted that there could be a breakthrough in another week. However, the Constabulary Communication Network (CCN) said hat while both cases were being investigated, the lawmen were yet to effect an arrest. The Jamaica Gleaner -
2000 10 25 Benvenuto Francesco Italy Barracuda 0 SCUBA Italian aged 32. Workshop in Genoa harbour, charging SCUBA cylinders, explosion, killed by facial impact from fitting/valve. Fitting with incorrect thread screwed into cylinder -
2000 10 19 Reynolds David Grant Australia Cossack Pearls SCUBA Aged 31, from Queensland, was pearl diving with two other men off Onslow in October 2000 when tragedy struck. “His oxygen mask had become separated from his face and he was lying lifeless on the ocean floor�. Attempts by his co-workers to resuscitate him failed. The Perth Court of Petty Sessions found the man's employer was partly responsible for his death and imposed a $10,000 fine on the company. ABC News online -
2000 10 14 Henry Donovan Jamaica Topsides One of two specialist divers who searched for drugs under the hulls of ships killed in October (the other was Carl Lubsey, 31st October 2000), was probably slain because he turned down bribes for several million dollars according to police sources. His body was discovered on the Farm main road, Montego Bay, St. James, on October 14, two days after he was reported missing from his home. Senior Superintendent Carl Williams, the island's narcotics' chief, said the police believed the divers were killed because of their occupation and hinted that there could be a breakthrough in another week. However the Constabulary Communication Network (CCN) reported that while both cases were being investigated, the lawmen are yet to effect an arrest. The Jamaica Gleaner. A third diver, Aubrey Farr, was murdered in October 2001. -
2000 10 11 Linscomb John USA Land and Underwater Welding Topsides American, Bayou Adams near Orange, Texas, incident occurred when the divers were returning to a boatramp at the end of a diving project and their boat hit a power line tower. The diver was killed. Another diver, who was operating the boat, was seriously injured. NAOCD/cDiver blog, No other details. -
2000 10 11 Not Recorded USA Land and Underwater Welding Topsides American, Bayou Adams near Orange, Texas, incident occurred when the divers were returning to a boatramp at the end of a diving project and their boat hit a power line tower. The diver was, who was operating the boat, was seriously injured, another diver (John Linscomb) was killed. NAOCD/cDiver blog, No other details. -
2000 9 19 Cummings Ron USA SCUBA Aged 49, highly decorated captain in the Phoenix fire department. Off duty, One of a three man team of fire-fighter with a commercial diving business, no back up, communications or stand-by, failed to surface after diving in to inspect the entrance gateway of an inlet to a 21' diameter syphon pipe running under the Aqua Fria river into a canal, part of the Central Arizona Project which delivers water from the Colorado river to the Phoenix area. Body recovered later the same day after syphon was drained. No details -
2000 9 4 Diebolt Brian USA Torch Marine Diver was working offshore but ill (reported as pneumonia, possibly developed from poor air quality, complicated with continual diving), but apparently was not allowed to return to the beach upon several requests from himself and others. Eventually taken onshore , then taken immediately to hospital, and admitted right, died 45 days later from complications. NAOCD/cDiver -
2000 8 13 Smith Warren C USA 21 SCUBA Fire-fighter, aged 28, Search and rescue training dive in a lake. Circular search, partner lost the rope and became separated, basic SCUBA gear only, no voice comms, Another diver saw the victim who was distressed and frantically screaming, the victim knocked out the other diver's face piece. The victim, who was entangled in the buoy line was pulled to the surface by the line, given medical assistance and transported to hospital by air ambulance where he was pronounced dead, The cause of death was stated as pulmonary barotrauma. NIOSH report -
2000 7 15 Not Recorded Australia Topsides LST injured (Major hand trauma) during demobilisation gas transfer - a William James compressor explosion. 20/80 heliox. Safety Flash issued by Australia authorities. (See IMCA SF 03/00). -
2000 7 14 Poore Tommy USA SCUBA American, vesssel husbandry work on a vessel in the Houston Shipping channel, reported missing, body recovered two days l;ater. No commercial qualifications. NAOCD/cDiver -
2000 6 27 Winkler Steven USA SCUBA American, aged 27, from Bellingham, professional sea cucumber harvesting off the vessel “Silver sea�, Griffin Bay, off San Juan island, critically ill, intensive care in Seattle hospital after surfacing from dive -
2000 6 25 Banu Fred Australia Oceantech Pty 25 S/S Air Australian (Torres Straits Islander), professional sea cucumber (Beche de mer) harvester. Near Don Cay in the Torres Strait. Diving from tender vessel on hooker style SSBA diving system. Airline pulled tight causing separation of airline at connection. Diver found on the seabed 15 minutes late and recovered unconscious from sea floor. Outboard unable to be started. Drowned. Prosecution (Inappropriate and poorly maintained SSBA equipment. No emergency air source. No current medical. No depth indicator used. No O2 resuscitation equipment). Workplace Health and Safety, Queensland. -
2000 6 24 Climer Michael USA Caldive Topsides American, diver/tender, topsides work removing a helideck, killed in a fall of 30', no details. cDiver -
2000 6 9 Not Recorded Canada Sports diver Big Tub Harbour Resort, Ontario, man killed by exploding cylinder at a diving club. No details. The Record -
2000 6 2 Not Recorded USA Police 0 Police officer, injured on the same dive during which Sgt Alane Soffregen died -
2000 6 2 Soffregen Sgt Alane USA Police 0 Female American police marine unit diver, aged 50, drowned during a training exercise 1 mile off Chicago waterfront. -
2000 5 28 Cronland Kyle USA Bulldod Diving American, Southern Indiana Gas and Electricity Company, Cinergy Power Plant, Indianapolis, Ohio River, zero vis, removing mud from a locked out pump. Pump cells all suck water from a common screen cell. Apparently either diver walked around dividing wall into common cell then was pulled or wandered into a live pump. Drowned when umbilical was cur (Did he have a bailout??). Cause given as incorrect lock out/rag out procedues. Offshore Diver/NAOCD/cDiver/Indianapolis Star -
2000 5 19 Harun Mohd Nor Malaysia Fire and Rescue Services SCUBA Paraphrased from the newspaper report:- “Another diver from the Fire and Rescue Services Department's scuba diving unit disappeared this morning during a search operation for a colleague who had gone missing since Monday around the waters of Pulau Lalang and Pulau Saga. The diver, identified as Mohd Nor Harun, in his 40s, is feared to have suffered a similar fate as his colleague, Idris Ahmad, 36. Idris was believed to have drowned while clearing the waters of discarded fishing nets. A police spokesman said the incident occurred about 11.30am today when the diver failed to surface for a break. His body was found by fisherman 3 days later. 40 divers were taking part in the search. Another diver became unconscious during the search and was admitted to the armed forces hospital at the Lumut naval base�. Reported in the New Straits Times -
2000 5 16 Ahmad Idris Malaysia Fire and Rescue Services SCUBA Paraphrased from the newspaper report:- “Another diver from the Fire and Rescue Services Department's scuba diving unit disappeared this morning during a search operation for a colleague who had gone missing since Monday around the waters of Pulau Lalang and Pulau Saga. The diver, identified as Mohd Nor Harun, in his 40s, is feared to have suffered a similar fate as his colleague, Idris Ahmad, 36. Idris was believed to have drowned while clearing the waters of discarded fishing nets. A police spokesman said the incident occurred about 11.30am today when the diver failed to surface for a break. His body was found by fisherman 3 days later. 40 divers were taking part in the search. Another diver became unconscious during the search and was admitted to the armed forces hospital at the Lumut naval base�. Reported in the New Straits Times -
2000 5 12 King Edward USA Reported as "Quahog diver was found dead after reported missing. Boat and diver was found day after he was lost. Apparent Drowning" NAOCD/cDiver -
2000 5 5 Warzack Mathew USA Lindahl Marine S/S Air American, reported as "Diver was sucked into a 9 ft diameter intake. Lost communications with diver after 15 minutes, body recovered 40 minutes later. Improper tag-out procedures. 3 Citations, informally Settled". No other details. NAOCD/cDiver -
2000 4 20 Primavera Eric Joseph USA Denizens of the Deep S/S Air American, aged 30. Inspecting pilings on the South Cargo Pier at Port Canaveral, told topsides he was in trouble, standby diver found him entangled with helmet off, drowned. Citations/$14,700, The Ledger/NAOCD/cDiver -
2000 4 15 Rig 'Al Mariyah' UAE Abu Dhabi Marine Operating Co. Jack up. Located over wellhead platform 94 (Umm Shaif field), skidding derrick, collapsed (failed jacking system). POB 68, 4 fatalities. After lay up was rebuilt by Arab Contractors Bahrain (2006) for NDC -
2000 4 1 Connor Gary UK Fathoms Ltd. 61 SCUBA Paraphrased from press reports:- “Diver sacrificed his life to save a colleague as he continued his 15-year quest for the wreck of the Finnish freighter ‘Joanna Thorden’. The freighter sank at the notorious Pentland Skerries in the Pentland Firth during a storm in 1937, reputedly carrying copper ingots (and possibly even silver bullion). Gary Connor, a director of Wick-based Fathoms Ltd, was diving with Kenny Paterson, aged 34, on August nineteenth 1998. As they searched at a depth of 200ft (nearly 40ft more than the legal limit for commercial scuba divers), Kenny Paterson suffered symptoms of the bends and Gary brought him to the surface. Gary also suffered the bends but after treatment contracted septicemia and died in hospital in April this year. The sheriff returned a formal verdict on the medical cause of death and noted Fathoms staff originally told the Health and Safety Executive it was a recreational dive and outwith their scope of inquiry�. Reported in the Scottish Daily Record & Sunday. The FAI notes that Gary Connor died at Caithness General Hospital on the April first 2000, 20 months after the accident (cerebral anoxia, spinal bend, quadaplegia leading to tetraparesis and septicaemia), that SCUBA equipment was not appropriate for the diving operation, that the HSE was falsely induced into believing it was a sports dive and therefore there was no prompt investigation. He also noted that the actions of the deceased achieved the ultimately successful rescue of his colleague. -
2000 4 0 Not Recorded Canada SCUBA Aged 36. A commercial diver with 12 years experience was drawn into a 30" diameter aerator intake pipe while attempting to locate the screens for two fire pump intakes. The pulp mill hired a diving company to inspect and clean two intake screens in their industrial effluent pond. Both parties thought that the work had been planned and all hazards identified. The pumps for the two intakes to be worked on had been identified and locked out. The diver, after entering the water with zero visibility, thought he had located the fire pump intakes when he was drawn into a nearby aerator intake pipe. The screen for this intake pipe had broken off and the diver was pulled, head first, 80 feet up the pipe. As the aerator intake pipe had not been identified on the drawings used, the 3 5,000 litre per minute aerator pump had not been locked out. There were no visual markers on the surface of the pond to identify the aerator or fire pump intakes. Worksafe Canada. Plus an OHS article in 2004 "It seems that Newfoundland's experience is also Canada's experience. In British Columbia, for example, there have been 33 workplace deaths in the commercial diving industry since 1975. The most recent fatality occurred in April, 2000 when a 36-year-old diver died while conducting maintenance work at a pulp mill" -
2000 4 0 Not Recorded USA During 1989-1997, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) recorded 116 occupational diving fatalities in the United States (OSHA, unpublished data, 1998) 13 deaths per year. 49 five per year occurred among an estimated 3000 full-time commercial divers. The average of five deaths per year corresponds to a rate of 180 deaths per 100,000 employed divers per year, which is 40 times the national average death rate for all workers. This group, which accounts for most of the commercial dive time underwater, includes divers involved in construction, maintenance, and inspection of vessels and structures such as oil rigs, bridges, and dams. The remaining 67 deaths occurred among workers who were not full-time divers; these include seafood harvest divers, search and rescue divers, scientific divers, dive instructors, and non-military federal agency divers. Note from TC, this incidents list contains potential reference to less than 50% of OSHA reported cases in the USA -
2000 2 16 Williams Marcus Australia Endeavour Shipping Pty 10 SCUBA Australian, Diving in Investigator Roads, Gulf of Carpenteria. Diving operation to dismantle moorings in poor underwater visibility (<600mm) with surface swell and high current. Failed to surface, body never recovered. Contractor prosecuted (Inappropriate use of SCUBA for construction diving work. Cylinders not in current test. Lifeline disconnected by diver at surface and descended with lifeline over arm. Air purity not tested after previous oil contamination incident of HP compressor. No current medical certification. No standby diver fully equipped to act in standby diver role. No dive supervisor appointed. 30 minute delay to obtain appropriate equipment before search commenced) Workplace Health and Safety, Queensland. -
2000 2 3 Not Recorded Ivory Coast Kenyan Navy 47 SCUBA Kenyan Navy diver died during body recovery operations on the crash site of Kenyan Airways airbus, 310, flight KQ 431 to Lagos, that crashed into the sea 2 miles off Abijan after take off , 169 died, 10 survivors. -
2000 2 3 Weaver Bill USA SCUBA Paraphrased from the 'State News':- “A veteran commercial diver from Kodiak was killed while trying to clear line from a fishing boat's propeller, according to Kodiak police. Bill Weaver, 54, died when the skipper of the 81-foot trawler Lisa Malinda tried to move the vessel while Weaver was under the boat....� -
2000 1 15 Bankert Gary L USA Fire Brigade 7 SCUBA 37-year-old male volunteer fire fighter drowned during a dry-suit certification training dive. The victim was one of six divers which included one certified diving instructor (Professional Association Dive Instructor [PADI] Dive Master) and five students (three of the students were volunteer fire fighters). The victim was a member of the fire department’s search and recovery dive team. On the day of the incident, the training was being conducted at a privately owned freshwater lake that is dedicated exclusively to recreational diving. The training consisted of one, 3-hour classroom training session (held on January 8, 2000), followed by three open-water dives conducted on January 15, 2000. The first dive was conducted in a controlled area near the shore. The second and third dives were logged open-water dives for dry-suit certification. On the third dive ascent, the group made a safety stop at a depth of 15 feet. After the instructor got the okay signal from all of the students, they continued their ascent to the surface. When the victim failed to appear at the surface, two of the divers descended to the bottom and began searching for him. They found the victim at a depth of approximately 22 feet. They brought him to the surface where rescue breathing was initiated while moving him toward shore. Once on shore, paramedics transported the victim by ambulance to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead at 22:38 hours. NIOSH investigators concluded that, to minimize the risk of similar occurrences, fire departments should ensure that divers maintain continuous visual, verbal, or physical contact with their dive partner. The death certificate lists the cause of death as severe metabolic acidosis as the result of near drowning. NIOSH report -
2000 1 12 Washburn Todd USA Marion Hill Associates 18 “A New Jersey diver remained missing in the Allegheny River on Monday even after authorities reduced the flow of water over a dam to aid in the search. Officials said efforts to find the body of Todd Washburn, 33, of Trenton, would continue Tuesday, but water flow would have to be returned to normal. Washburn worked for a company, Marion Hill Associates, that was inspecting the privately owned Piney Hydroelectric Station near Reesedale, Armstrong County.� (Part of the report also states that “Last year, 90 of the nation's 2500 commercial divers were killed on the job�, also that “the diver had 18 months experience as a commercial diver�. His body was recovered 5 days later downstream of the plant. No details of the actual cause of the incident. 2 Citations/$3,000. Associated Press/NACOD/cDiver -
2000 0 0 IMCA SF 01/00 IMCA Report of an unplanned initiation of bell recovery whilst bell door open (Newly modified and installed system) IMCA Safety Flash SF 01/00 -
2000 0 0 IMCA SF 03/00 IMCA Billy Pugh lifting equipment failure, 4 personnel onboard, 1 OK, 3 injured. IMCA Safety Flash SF 03/00 -
2000 0 0 IMCA SF 03/00 Australia IMCA Major hand injuries to LST during heliox gas transfer pumping, explosion inside a Williams and James compressor filter, Australian DSV. IMCA Safety Flash SF 03/00. This happened on the 15th July, see above (TC). -
2000 0 0 IMCA SF 04/00 IMCA 2 Additional Wiiliams and James compressor explosions during gas transfer operations -
2000 0 0 IMCA SF 06/00 IMCA Boatswain's chair lifting fatality incident (incorrect hook, none locking) IMCA Safet Flash SF 06/00 -
2000 0 0 Not Recorded 8 S/S Air Paraphrased from IMCA Safety Flash 1/2001:- “An IMCA member reported a diving fatality that occurred to a contract diver employed by a non-member company. During a surface supplied diving operation at a depth of 8 metres, whilst carrying out hook up operations, a diving fatality occurred. One of the divers was sick, vomiting inside his face helmet and clogging up his mask air demand valve. He pulled the helmet off his head in a rush, undid his bail out bottle harness, unhooked his umbilical safety hook from his body harness but failed to free himself from his bail out bottle pressure gauge hose. He subsequently drowned. In this case the diver appears to have tried to open the bail out bottle air supply in mistake for the free flow air valve. The diver’s breathing rate before the accident was very fast and shallow, and could have led to a build up of CO2 in his mask. CO2 build up can cause headaches, dizziness, nausea, vomiting, unconsciousness and death. The post accident investigation revealed that the diver who had died had no offshore diving experience. The logbook presented for scrutiny prior to the diving operations commencing was new with no dive records; the old book was requested but never received. The diver’s experience was apparently related to lobster fishing and gold digging in Rivers; this only came to light after the accident�. -
2000 0 0 Not Recorded IMCA 8 S/S Air Vomited inside his helmet and clogged up his demand valve. He pulled the helmet off his head in a rush, undid his bail out bottle harness, unhooked his umbilical safety hook from his body harness but failed to free himself from his bail out bottle pressure gauge hose. Drowned. Appears to have tried to open the bail out bottle air supply in mistake for the free flow air valve, breathing rate before the accident was very fast and shallow, and could have led to a build up of CO2 in his mask. The post accident investigation revealed he had no offshore diving experience. The logbook presented was new with no dive records; the old book was requested but never received. The diver’s experience was apparently related to lobster fishing and gold digging in rivers; this only came to light after the accident ( IMCA SF 01/01). -
1999 12 28 Mahoney Michael C USA Bisso Marine American, Mississippi river barge salvage job, oxy arc explosion, stand-by diver not dressed in. Diver was killed in an underwater explosion while performing "hot work" on the sunken barge. Early court documents from a civil action brought by Bisso Marine against OSHA when the investigation was transferred from USCG to OSHA shows that Mr. Mahoney's "autopsy revealed high levels of cocaine and TCH.....that Mahoney likely smoked crack cocaine on the barge shortly before making the dive." OSHA investigation complete. Citations on Appeal. Fine to be Paid, 4 Citations/$8250 NAOCD/cDiver -
1999 12 22 Militello A USA Paraphrased from press reports:- "Lobster Man Dies After Getting Caught in Propeller Shaft. The man, aged 40 from Goucester was on the 'Dean', a fishing boat, near Bakers Island Massachusetts (about 3 miles from the entrance to Beverly and Salem Harbours, when he became caught in the prop shaft.. A nearby fishing vessel notified the Coast Guard which transported him to Manchester Marina. He was then moved to Beverly Hospital and pronounced dead from "multiple trauma". Not clear if this was a diving accident. Polson Enterprises list of propeller incidents/Associated Press -
1999 12 7 Not Recorded Spain S/S Air Paraphrased from press reports:- “ A court in San Sebastian has sentenced company co-owner to a year and a half in prison for the death of a diver who was killed by the propeller of the boat from which he worked, while trying to clear an anchor that had been trapped at the bottom. The boat's skipper, who was also charged has been acquitted as he only complied with the orders of his superior . The deceased was working on a fish farm in Zumaia when about 12.30 the crew found that the bow anchor was stuck on the bottom. When the diver was in the water, the boat manager twice gave the order to go hard forward to dislodge the anchor and the employee complied with this indication, when the diver was dragged into the propeller and sliced to death. The ruling states that the owner and manager of the company "was directly responsible to provide safe working conditions for their workers', despite which he allowed the work to be performed by a single diver, where the legislation requires two. The court also noted the propeller should not have been used with a surface umbilical diver in the water,' reckless manager’ allowing the maneuver. For this reason, it condemned the manager to one year in prison for a crime of homicide by negligence and six months for another crime against the rights of worker plus banned from managing a diving company three years, plus compensation to the parents of 14,100. -
1999 11 11 Not Recorded USA Southwest Marine American, San Diego, This was reported as a drowning fatality by a possibly untrained SCUBA diver doing commercial work. No details, possibly dual report of death of Ramsey Downie reported a month earlier (Died 8/10/1999). NAOCD/cDiver. -
1999 10 20 Not Recorded USA Jim Wright Marine Construction American, Incident occurred on the Isle of Bahia, Lot 80 (Inland of Lake Worth), reported as a drowning of unknown cause. Possibly a case of a sports qualified SCUBA diver doing commercial diving work. Investigation closed. Fines to be Paid, 3 Citations/$3,600 but no details. NAOCD/cDiver -
1999 10 8 Downie Ramsey MacDonald USA Welder diver, 'died in an industrial accident' at Los Angeles Harbour, no details -
1999 8 29 Shepcot Jay USA Oceaneering 296 ADS GB 161, Semi-submersible Diamond Ocean Ambassador with an air gap of approximately 100 feet. ADS (Wasp) was being recovered, a piece of lifting tackle gave away, ADS dropped to the end of a safety cable. The shock load swung the ADS up beneath the semi-sub where it hit and broke one arm off the suit before the safety cable was severed by the edge of the deck. The ADS fell into the sea and because of the missing arm flooded and sank to the pontoon. It is believed that the diver died of a broken neck which occurred at the same time the arm was broken off. Once submerged, the suit flooded. Two standby dives were made before the diver was located and brought to the surface. "This fatality is attributable to rigging failure" Offshore Diver. (USCG found that the shackle pin used in attaching the WASP to the crane was of inferior quality and not rated for lifting the weight of a WASP. NAOCD/cDiver) -
1999 8 24 Swint, Jr Elwin USA S/S Air Initially reported as ‘diver lost at sea while harvesting sea urchins off Santa Rosa island'. Body was recovered. Cause of death recorded as drowning for unknown reasons, but no details NAOCD/cDiver. However a later report gives more details:- (Paraphrased) “The son of a sea urchin diver killed when a yacht ran over his air hose is suing the boat owner. The diver, aged 53, of Santa Barbara drowned last year off Santa Rosa Island. Attorneys for his son argue that the yacht was being operated in an "unsafe manner" before the accident. The U.S. Coast Guard found that the yacht had run over the diver's air hose but the owner was not negligent and that the boat contacted authorities shortly after spotting the diver in the water. The 49-foot yacht was battered by rough seas before the accident and sought shelter next to Swint's boat while the diver was underwater, the Coast Guard report said. The diver, who was not using a diver-warning flag, surfaced and yelled as the boat approached, and the boat owner turned turned his vessel around, the report said. The boat owner has said the diver's air hose became entangled in the boat's propeller as the vessel searched for him�. Associated Press article dated July 2000. -
1999 8 9 Mercer Scott USA Titan Marine Underwater oxy arc explosion, improperly vented tank. Offshore Diver. Also reported as "Diver was killed from a build-up of gases while welding on a salvage operation. Diver had not vented for gases to escape. USCG Findings: 1) Mercer was the diving supervisor of this operation. He was diving at the time without leaving a designated individual as supervisor topside while he was in the water, directly against industry policy. Mercer was Titan’s representative on the ADC BoD and therefore should have especially known industry policy better than anyone. 2) All areas were suppose to be vented first before any welding started. However, there was no records kept and consequently, Mercer begin welding in one of those areas that had not yet been vented. NAOCD/cDiver -
1999 8 6 Hill Chris UK Stolt Comex Seaway 117 Saturation British, aged 42, Buchan template, DSV "Discovery", oxy arc explosion. HSE prosecution, fined £60,000. (See IMCA SF 07/01). -
1999 7 21 Juse Bill USA Black Dog Divers Died 9 miles inside a tunnel dry diving operation in New Deer sewage outfall, Boston, double fatality (Juse). Both divers died as a result of bad air quality that resulted from extremely poor equipment and equipment not made to be used in a tunnel environment. Over $200,000 in fines for wilful violations. Boston Globe and others -
1999 7 21 Nordeen Tim USA Nowesco Died 9 miles inside a tunnel dry diving operation in New Deer sewage outfall, Boston, double fatality (Juse). Both divers died as a result of bad air quality that resulted from extremely poor equipment and equipment not made to be used in a tunnel environment. Over $200,000 in fines for wilful violations. Boston Globe and others -
1999 7 15 Pottberg Brian USA Fire Brigade SCUBA Aged 25, Member of Lee's Summit fire department. Described as a routine training exercise in Lakewood lake (Acting as the centre point for a second diver to swim increasing circular search pattern), “On July 15, 1999, one male fire fighter/paramedic/rescue diver (the victim) drowned while taking part in a drill. The victim, one of four rescue divers and a boat driver participating in a training drill, was assigned the "Pivot Diver" position. During the drill, a Safety Diver was to remain at the surface. The Pivot Diver (the victim), was to enter the water, follow the anchor line to the bottom, set up with a 50-foot length of rope, then signal the Pattern Diver (whose duty is to swim in a circular pattern searching for a rescue/recovery target) to descend and proceed with the drill. The crew on the surface observed air bubbles as the victim descended. Approximately 2 minutes later the rope bag surfaced while the bubbles continued. It appeared to the crew on the surface that the victim was searching for the rope bag because the air bubbles appeared to be moving back and forth. The Lead Diver instructed the Pattern Diver to descend and retrieve the victim. The Lead Diver also started to knock on the bottom of the rescue boat with a dive knife in hopes of signaling the victim to return to the surface. When the Pattern Diver surfaced, he reported the victim could not be found. The Lead Diver then instructed the Boat Driver to radio for emergency assistance and implement the department’s Incident Command System (ICS). The Lead Diver also directed the Safety Diver to initiate rescue of the victim. When the Safety Diver surfaced without the victim, the Lead Diver instructed the Safety Diver to assume the role of Pivot Diver. The Lead Diver assumed the role of Pattern Diver. Both the Safety Diver and Lead Diver dove below the surface to initiate a rescue of the victim. The victim was found during the search and brought to the surface approximately 11 minutes after the Boat Driver initially requested emergency assistance. When the victim was brought to the surface, the air regulator was not in his mouth and he was noticeably cyanotic and unresponsive. The victim received immediate medical attention on the Rescue Boat and while en route to a regional trauma center, where he was pronounced dead upon arrival. The cause of death was listed as drowning. NIOSH report. -
1999 7 11 Imajo Hiroshige Japan S/S Air Aged 32, diving off the vessel 'Sumitoyo Maru' in Osaka, apparently killed in the water after being hit of the head by his deck mounted air compressor that was pulled off the deck by a tight airline. May have been a lightweight hookah system, no other details. AxccessMyLibrary.com -
1999 3 12 Tyre Shelley Tortola SCUBA American recreational diver aged 46, headmistress of a private school in Massachusetts, expert diver. Married David Swain in 1993. Federal prosecutor in Rhode Island wrote that there was "overwhelming circumstantial evidence proving that Swain murdered his wife�, evidence included Swain's "unusual behavior" after Tyre's death, his alleged financial motivation and the condition of Tyre's scuba equipment, which experts suggest "indicate that a violent struggle took place under water." A lawyer for Tyre's parents argued Swain killed his wife for money and had been involved in a romantic relationship with another woman. He said Swain knew he would not have been entitled to any money if he divorced his wife because of the couple's prenuptial agreement. Alleged that Swain cut off her air supply and held her in the water until she drowned. -
1999 1 11 Glazzard Robert UAE Oceaneering Topsides British, aged 28, missing overboard at night from Seabulk Hercules along with New Zealand dive tech Aaron Harper/Aaron Hopa. Suspected garrotted and dead before in the water. Stories of drug smuggling/debts, open verdict, no conclusion. -
1999 0 0 IMCA SF 01/99 IMCA Multiple diver and ROV lifting incidents reported, IMCA Safety Flash, SF 01/99 -
1999 0 0 IMCA SF 07/99 IMCA Alert regarding inland/inshore diving contractor with divers using forged UK HSE diving and medical certificates. IMCA Safety Flash SF 07/99 -
1999 0 0 Lilly Scott USA Global American, kidnapped in Nigeria, he was released and then returned to America where he was attending LST training when he was admitted to hospital in Lafayette and subsequently died of malaria. Reported on Offshore diver website -
1998 12 8 Not Recorded South Korea North Korean Navy Diver Dec. 18, 1998 - South Korean navy sinks submersible North Korean spy vessel on east coast. A scuba diver from the North is found dead. Unfree Media/China Daily. (NB This report is quoted in various sources, the Commando (July 1998) is less widely reported. They appear to be different incidents. TC) -
1998 12 7 Not Recorded USA Commercial diver working on a propeller at Continental Lime, Tacoma, critically injured, taken to hospital, no details -
1998 11 13 Not Recorded Canada RCMP A police diver was drowned in Cambridge, Ontario when he was trying to recover the body of a boy who drowned. The name of the officer has not been released. No other details. Reported by CBC News -
1998 10 12 Not Recorded Tunisia Adriatica Subsea Services 75 S/S Mixed Gas Spanish, aged 33, Bounce diving, Galeazzi type bell, (no DDC, decompression done in the bell). The day before had passed out in the water, recovered by the bellman. Passed out during locking out, recovered dead. Ill fitting unisuit reported as a contributory factor -
1998 9 9 Randolph Jamison Lee USA Aged 24, reported as a commercial diver having died on a boat offshore Louisiana. No details. Lexington Herald-Leader -
1998 8 19 Paterson Kenny UK Fathoms Ltd. 61 SCUBA Paraphrased from press reports:- “Diver sacrificed his life to save a colleague as he continued his 15-year quest for the wreck of the Finnish freighter ‘Joanna Thorden’. The freighter sank at the notorious Pentland Skerries in the Pentland Firth during a storm in 1937, reputedly carrying copper ingots (and possibly even silver bullion). Gary Connor, a director of Wick-based Fathoms Ltd, was diving with Kenny Paterson, aged 34, on August nineteenth 1998. As they searched at a depth of 200ft (nearly 40ft more than the legal limit for commercial scuba divers), Kenny Paterson suffered symptoms of the bends and Gary brought him to the surface. Gary also suffered the bends but after treatment contracted septicemia and died in hospital in April this year. The sheriff returned a formal verdict on the medical cause of death and noted Fathoms staff originally told the Health and Safety Executive it was a recreational dive and outwith their scope of inquiry�. Reported in the Scottish Daily Record & Sunday. The FAI notes that Gary Connor died at Caithness General Hospital on the April first 2000, 20 months after the accident (cerebral anoxia, spinal bend, quadaplegia leading to tetraparesis and septicaemia), that SCUBA equipment was not appropriate for the diving operation, that the HSE was falsely induced into believing it was a sports dive and therefore there was no prompt investigation. He also noted that the actions of the deceased achieved the ultimately successful rescue of his colleague. -
1998 8 13 Nicolson Constable David Canada Police SCUBA Police diver searching dam for missing 12 year old boy was sucked into same sluice. On a life line but it broke (along with his regulator) when pulled by the surface crew. Drowned. Ontario Ministry of Labour investigator concluded the diver would not have drowned had the dive been conducted according to the Occupational Health and Safety Act and its diving regulations and recommended charges be laid against Waterloo regional police for several offences under the act, including failing to properly plan, equip and supervise a dive of that type, but the ministry chose not to lay charges because there was not a reasonable prospect of securing a conviction (his investigation identified safe-diving practices that were not followed that night including lack of identifying and controlling the hazardous sluice, failing to use a supply of air from the surface for a dive near a dam, and limited training in doing dives near dams. Several officers argued that police dive teams should be exempt from diving regulations when they are doing an emergency rescue. Investigators argued that the rules do not distinguish between emergency dives and commercial dives because "the hazards facing divers is the same no matter what their purpose." Police officer in charge of operation said that if it had been a missing adult, the search would probably not have gone ahead at that time, 'but with a child.........' -
1998 8 11 Cranfield Walter Guam Deep Sea Technologies SCUBA Paraphrased from OSHA reports:- “San Franciso. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) fined a diving contractor $75,000 following the death of a diver who died from decompression sickness while working on a project to salvage artifacts from a Manila galleon which sank off the coast of Guam in 1690. After a six month investigation, OSHA cited Deep Sea Technologies, a subcontractor of The Pilar Project Ltd., for willful violations which led to the death, including failure to use two-way voice communication between a mixed-gas diver and surface crew; having no decompression chamber ready for use at the dive site; requiring employees using SCUBA equipment to dive deeper than 130 feet in sea water; exceeding the allowable service pressure on the compressed gas cylinders used by SCUBA divers, and lack of tables at the dive site which outline safe diving depths and durations. The violations are covered under OSHA's Commercial Diving Operations regulations.� The company was also cited for one less-than-serious violation for failing to notify OSHA of the fatality within eight hours. “OSHA will not tolerate this type of situation," said the enforcement director for OSHA in the western states. "This fatality could have been prevented. The employer knew they were diving too deep for the equipment they used, that they had no two-way communication, and that the tanks were over pressurized, and yet they continued to put the divers at risk, resulting in this tragic consequence." Ha also noted that another diver on The Pilar Project died in 1994, and another required emergency evacuation in 1993 -
1998 7 29 Not Recorded Turkey Chamber Turkish doctor and 2 SCUBA divers killed in blast in decompression chamber An explosion in a decompression chamber released a cloud of noxious fumes, killing a doctor and two scuba divers at a hospital, the Anatolia news agency said. The cause of the explosion Tuesday was not immediately known and officials at Capa hospital refused to comment. Associated Press -
1998 7 16 Ibrahim Lt. Cmmdr. Mohamed Arshad New Zealand Royal Malaysian Navy Malaysian Navy officer, aged 37, on a two year exchange training programme with the Royal New Zealand Navy, killed in a diving exercise at the Navy base in Auckland. No other details. Straits Times -
1998 7 13 Not Recorded South Korea Military South Korean military commanders put troops on the country's eastern coast on alert and declared a curfew in the area after finding the body of a diver who they said was a North Korean commando. The diver, whose body apparently washed up on the beach, was wearing a wet suit, goggles and two oxygen tanks and carrying a Czech-made submachine gun, a hand grenade, radio transmission gear and an underwater camera, the military said. Nearby, investigators found a cone-shaped aluminum submersible boat that could carry up to five commandos. ''Judging from the objects found, it has been proven that the dead diver was an armed infiltrator,'' said a Defense Ministry spokesman. A month ealier, a furor erupted when a South Korean fisherman caught a North Korean submarine in his drift net. The North Korean commandos on board apparently killed the crew and then themselves, but South Korean officials said that some of the commandos had recently been on South Korean soil. That incident aroused only limited outrage in the South, in part because the submarine was 12 miles offshore when it was caught in the net. North Korea said it had lost power and suggested that it had drifted south. A more serious episode occurred when a North Korean submarine ran aground on the South Korean coast in October 1996 and 19 crew members and commandos slipped ashore. Some 70,000 South Korean troops were deployed to hunt them down, and in the end all the North Koreans were killed or committed suicide except one who was captured and another who was never found. The body discovered this morning was found by a South Korean man walking along the beach near the city of Tonghae, 110 miles east of Seoul. Defense Ministry doctors examined the body and said that the man had died of a heart attack and had been dead between 24 and 48 hours. New York Times -
1998 7 0 Rig 'Glomar Arctic IV' Rig Disaster Semi Sub, explosion, 2 fatalities -
1998 6 0 Rig 'Mr Bice' USA During a rig move encountered bad weather 15 miles southwest of Grand Isle, suffered structural failure and flooding which caused the capsize and eventual sinking of the rig. In 1998, Bisso began the salvage of the rig, attempting to right and re-float the rig. A sequence of hurricanes, beginning with Hurricane Earl in September 1998, disrupted operations and caused severe damage to rig with the hull buckling and shearing off from the port bow and jacking towers, and embedding the port side in the seabed mud. Due to the damage, attempts to salvage the rig intact were abandoned and the rig was cut into 9 sections then transported away by barge. Marine Link -
1998 5 19 Blackmon Eugene USA Fire Brigade 9 SCUBA Aged 39, SAR diver with the fire department. Accident happened in the Little Calumet river undertaking a search for two victims, drowned. (A man described as being between 40 and 50 fell into the river, a man jumped in to give him aid, both drowned. The fire-fighter was trying to find the two victims). After an initial SCUBA search dive, due to zero visibility and the underwater current, the victim and his partner decided to change over to their underwater communication masks. Returned to the staging area, changed tanks and placed a 50 foot long, 4-inch round air float (rubber-jacketed fire hose) from shore to the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter that had just arrived. The divers decided to remove their SCUBA gear and free float to the Coast Guard cutter using the 4-inch float as a guide and flotation device, determining this would be the easiest way to enter the boat since it did not have a swim platform. Wearing his weight belt, the victim began his free float to the boat, holding on to his Buoyancy Control Device (BCD), tank, and the 4-inch air float as flotation devices. The weight belt consisted of three 10-pound lead weights secured around his waist. As the victim was approaching the boat he lost grip of the flotation devices and instantly went under the water due to the 30-pound weight belt that he did not release. His partner immediately went down after him, free diving with just his wet suit which created a buoyancy problem and limited his dive depth. After two attempts to reach the victim, he surfaced and called for assistance from the Air and Sea Rescue divers. One diver from the Air and Sea Rescue team descended to the area where the victim went down and located him. As the victim was pulled close to the water surface, the victim’s partner grabbed him. The Air and Sea diver lost his grip on the victim while adjusting his own equipment, and because of the 30-pound weight belt around the victim’s waist, the victim’s partner was unable to hold on to him, and he descended for a second time. The victim was located and pulled from the water approximately 10 to 15 minutes later by the police rescue divers. The victim received immediate medical attention on shore before being loaded into the Air and Sea Rescue helicopter which transported him to an area hospital where he was pronounced dead. Reported in the press and official records. -
1998 5 18 Johnson Grey China Oceaneering 40 Saturation Australian, "Ocean Winsertor", on contract to Hyundai Heavy Industries, Poisoned by seabed toxins (H2S, arsenic, Mercury) then circa 12 Chinese divers subsequently medivac'd. All Oceaneering divers survived, but have suffered ever since. -
1998 5 18 MacPhail Alister China Oceaneering 40 Saturation Australian, "Ocean Winsertor", on contract to Hyundai Heavy Industries, Poisoned by seabed toxins (H2S, arsenic, Mercury) then circa 12 Chinese divers subsequently medivac'd. All Oceaneering divers survived, but have suffered ever since. -
1998 5 18 Shord Mike China Oceaneering 40 Saturation Australian, "Ocean Winsertor", on contract to Hyundai Heavy Industries, Poisoned by seabed toxins (H2S, arsenic, Mercury) then circa 12 Chinese divers subsequently medivac'd. All Oceaneering divers survived, but have suffered ever since. -
1998 5 18 Skeate Martin China Oceaneering 40 Saturation Australian, "Ocean Winsertor", on contract to Hyundai Heavy Industries, Poisoned by seabed toxins (H2S, arsenic, Mercury) then circa 12 Chinese divers subsequently medivac'd. All Oceaneering divers survived, but have suffered ever since. -
1998 4 22 Rozhkov Andrei Arctic Moscow State University Diving Club 50 SCUBA First attempt at underwater exploration of the North Pole, Russian firefighter and diver with the support of the Diving Club of Moscow State University, inexplicably went limp and died minutes into a solo dive. Team members later said they'd seen mysterious spotlights and heard a deafening "sonar ping" right before his death, prompting speculation that a patrolling Russian submarine may have caused his demise. Not confirmed, Cause of death reported as heart attack). The next attempted dive at the North Pole was organized by the same club next year, on April 24, 1999, and was successful. The divers were Michael Wolff (Austria), Brett Cormick (UK) and Bob Wass (USA) -
1998 4 16 Not Recorded USA Intercoastal Diving The diver died around 8 am while working at Duke Power's dam at lake Hickory. The divers were under contract to inspect the 70 year old dam. No details. Star News -
1998 4 9 Cook Harold USA Profession Diving and Salvage American aged 55, commercial diver running his own diving and salvage company, died offshore of the Calvert cliffs Nuclear Power plant, Baltimore, natural causes, heart attack -
1998 4 8 Wilkerson Tai USA Quicksilver International Inc 51 Rebreather Aged 41, treasure hunt dive on the wreck of the Spanish ship 'Juno' which sank 40 miles off the Virginia coast in 1802. Collapsed at depth, not breathing, sent to surface by fellow divers, heart attack. -
1998 4 8 Wright Shannon Lee USA Aged 27, commercial sea cucumber harvesting operation off the fishing vessel 'Marlin' (based in Port Angeles) in the Strait of Juan de Fuca . Apparently got into difficulties as he surfaced from his third dive of the day. No details -
1998 4 1 SI 1997/2776 UK, DAW, Diving At Work Regulations came into force with 5 associated ACOPs -
1998 2 18 Not Recorded Israel Israeli Navy SCUBA One of two divers roped together conducting a mine search under an Israeli cargo vessel, the Zim Adriatic, in Haifa Bay. Reported as being “sucked into one of the ship's propellers, which had been mysteriously turned on�. -
1998 1 16 Woods Damon UK SCUBA Aged 25, from Aukland, New Zealand, had joined the Ullapool based fishing Vessel "Our Hazel' 10 days previously. Only had sports diving qualifications, dived under the vessel to clear the propellor at sea, went down with rope, rope came to surface, diver diasppeared, large SAR exercise but body not recovered. 'At work, employed, diving, died' so included in list, but not qualified, not actually employed as a diver, not a 'diving project' but another example of a 'working diver being killed'. Vessel owner fined just £400 under the HASAWA (person was an employee, sprecifically was not self employed). Inquest in Stornoway in August 2000 described the voluntary dive to clear the propellor, surface rope ttached to SCUBA cylinder with a bowline, as he entered the water he lost a fin and then kicked off the other, came to the suface calling to be pulled in, sank, rope was pulled in but knot came undone, diver was never seen again. Herald Scotland. -
1998 1 0 Rig 'Rigmar 151' West Atlantic Jack Up, ex 'Neptune Gascoigne' (lost her legs in Brazil in 1983). Sank -
1998 0 0 IMCA SF 02 98 IMCA Topsides On deck fatality during lifting ROV equipment on a drilling rig (failed webbing strop). IMCA Safety Flash SF 02/98 -
1998 0 0 IMCA SF 02 98 IMCA S/S Air Diver unconscious in the water, recovered to deck and recovered OK. Due to contamination by overheating dehumidifier on the HP compressor air inlet putting fumes into the diver's breathing gas. IMCA Safety Flash SF 02/98 -
1998 0 0 IMCA SF 03 98 IMCA Topsides Lifting wire failure during ROV recovery,the ROV fell onto the gunnel and tumbled onto deck. No injuries. IMCA Safety flash SF 03/98 -
1998 0 0 IMCA SF 03 98 IMCA Saturation Crane boom failure, it fell into the sea and killed a diver working on the seabed.. IMCA Safety Flash SF 03/98. This safety flash relates to the Japanese saturation diver killed on the Kurushio I heavy lift barge in the Bongkot field in Indonesia in 1997. Incident details noted above in 1997 (TC) -
1998 0 0 IMCA SF 04 98 IMCA Topsides ROV LARS failure during launching operations. IMCA Safety Flash SF 04/98 -
1998 0 0 Levi Sgt. Yuval Israel IDF SCUBA “12 years ago, the unit suffered personal tragedy caused by exactly this type of an incident. Sgt. Yuval Levi (dec.), who at the time was a diver in the unit, went with his partner on a routine mission to check a merchant vessel which has requested to anchor in the Haifa port. After descending into the water, the vessel activated its propellers, and Sgt. Levi was killed. His partner in the mission was saved� Quoted in an IDF article in August 2020 -
1997 11 20 Carriere, RCMP Constable Joseph Francois "Frank" Canada RCMP 10 SCUBA Aged 41, Cape Breton, part of a police team carrying out a drugs search on the hull of a Danish registered bulk carrier (The "Donia Portland", beam 80', length 450') at little narrows on the Bras d'Or akes (Cape Bretn). 5 man diving eam, zodiac and spotter, on AGA masks with micom comms. Ran out of air, tried buddy sharing, got separated, lost in bad visibility, body recovered the day after. Drowned. Leaking mask, gauge 'over-reading, possible contaminated air. RCMP prosecuted and fined. Now they use S/S equipment. Halifax Chronicle. Canadian Coastguard vessel ("CCGS Constable Carriere"), launched 2013 is to be one of nine vessels named after fallen Canadian heroes. -
1997 11 11 McHazlett J. Jerry GOM CalDive International Sat Diving Jerry was aboard the Witch Queen and had completed his first 4 1/2 hour rotation of saturation diving at a depth of approximately 300 feet. Upon reentry into the diving bell Jerry fell back towards the moon pool unconscious and was brought back into the bell by diving partner. The diving partner attempted three times to close bell hatch which had a previously noted faulty pneumatic mechanism and seal. Diving partner attempted to do CPR and finally got hatch closed and bell was brought to surface. Top-side personnel did not attempt any resuscitation or medical treatment. Top-side personnel did not contact on-shore physician to get medical instructions including the use of adrenaline which was available. Witch Queen returned to dock and Jerry was transported to morgue. -
1997 10 15 Smith Joseph Michael USA SCUBA Aged 34, professional sea urchin harvesting off Swan Island. Failed to surface, body recovered by other crew members. Initial investigation led to USCG issuing a warning to divers regarding contaminated air. This was later ruled out. No further details. -
1997 9 17 Courcoux Dave UAE Crushed by an 'A' Frame -
1997 9 12 Kielty Steve USA Magone Marine SCUBA In September 1997, a 47-year-old experienced commercial diver on an underwater pipeline construction project, who had made no dives during the previous 2-3 years used scuba gear while attaching a mooring line to a buoy anchor line. The equipment was not in good condition, and both the primary and alternate regulator were leaking and in need of repair. Shortly after he submerged, the tether line floated to the surface. After he was signaled without response, the team leader put on scuba gear, submerged, and found the diver on the sea floor with a weight belt on and both tether line and tank high-pressure hose severed. The diver was recovered, and CPR was unsuccessful. The investigation did not determine how the hose was severed, and the cause of death was listed as drowning. OSHA cited the employer for violations including inadequate training in using tools/equipment and in CPR, absence of a ready standby diver, diver not line tended, lack of a reserve tank, and rescue not conducted in a timely manner. NIOSH review of occupational diving fatalities in Alaska -
1997 9 10 Mahady John J USA City Employee SCUBA Aged 39, Two Harbors City employee, described as an experienced diver, apparently had trouble as he was working to attach a buoy to mark equipment near a municipal water intake pipe just off shore in Lake Superior. Drowned. No details -
1997 9 3 Gouyoumjian Gevog USA Underwater Services SCUBA American, aged 25, died inside a 480,000 gallon water tank in La Place, Louisiana, somewhat weirdly described in one report as “presumed hypothermia/severe dehydration� -
1997 9 2 Loader Scott Marc Singapore From New Zealand, died in a diving accident whilst working on the hull of the vessel 'Sebastion Tong By' No other details, Straits Times -
1997 9 0 Not Recorded USA Two Harbours, Minnesota, Lt in the Fire Department, died while conducting commercial diving work for the municipality, presumed heart attack -
1997 8 0 Pickering Stephen UK SCUBA Aged 41, disappeared while salvaging cargo from a wreck off the Dorset Coast. His remains were recovered by a Dutch trawler in 2009, he was cremated in May of 2010 and his ashes laid to rest in the North Sea. Inquest held in September 2010 was told that a combination of heavy equipment and distress contributed to the death of the experienced diver on a salvage expedition on a sunken First World War ship carrying precious metals off the Dorset coast 13 years previously. “He was diving with new, heavier gas cylinders and ignored advice from fellow divers to ditch his weight belt before entering the water to make him lighter, the inquest heard. According to one colleague, Mr Pickering preferred to dive while weighed down heavily to enable him to work better in the depths of the sea. One of the four-strong team on the salvage vessel Marja said Mr Pickering appeared distressed after losing his mask when he jumped into the sea. After returning to the surface, they threw him a replacement, but despite falling a short distance from Mr Pickering, he made no attempt to grab it. They then threw a piece of rope into the water in the hope that he would reach for it. "He tried to grab for it and that's the last I saw of him." The pathologist said a cause of death could not be determined. "This would appear to be a combination of the loss of the dive mask coupled with the excess weight, which would have ended up with someone who has a degree of hypoxia through over exertion which has precipitated his collapse under the water." Dorset Police found nothing suspicious about the circumstances of the death: “The statements from the men, plus the disclosure of the new, heavier cylinders and the buoyancy problems Mr Pickering experienced, led to the conclusion that his death was an accident. Recording a verdict of accidental death, the coroner said: "I am satisfied with the accounts given by the experienced divers. "I will, on the evidence I have heard, rule out any suspicious circumstances." Yorkshire Post -
1997 7 23 Not Recorded Singapore A shark attacked a diver doing underwater work at a Tuas Wharf "almost bit his arm off". No other details. Straits Times -
1997 7 8 Kwan Lee Hon Singapore SCUBA Aged 31, Last seen entering the water at berth K14 at Keppel Terminal to clean the hull of a ship. Body recovered the day after. No other details. Straits Times -
1997 7 4 Tuomey Garry USA Sports diver SCUBA Aged 42, sports diver, drowned after becoming incapacitated from breathing carbon monoxide. Compressor filter (carbon) had exploded at the SCUBA shop, the burning carbon had contaminated his air cylinder. The shop replaced the broken filter but did not drain the tanks. Explosion reported as due to 'spontaneous combustion ignited in part by pressurised oxygen' The medical examiner ruled the death accidental and investigations closed because no state laws were violated'. St Petersburg Times -
1997 6 25 Cousteau Jacques-Yves France Explorer Legendery diver, inventor (with Emile Gagnan invented the first open circuit SCUBA demand valve in 1942-1943) , ecologist and subsea explorer, died aged 87 at his home in Paris