Incidents List
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Year Month Day Surname Forenames Location Contractor Client Depth Type of Diving Details -
2003 8 19 Zinck James Canada Fish Farm SCUBA Tuna holding pond, Nova Scotia, Owner charged. -
1996 0 0 Zimmerman Frank USA Divetech? Romulus, Missouri, three man team on dam spillway, diver trapped in valve? Confusion, valve may have been operated on diver or umbilical, diver possibly crushed in valve -
1945 8 7 Zetterstrom Arne Sweden Navy 160 S/S Mixed Gas SWEDISH DIVER KILLED ATTEMPTING RECORD DESCENT. London, August 8 (AAP) – “Arne Zetterstrom (27), a Swedish navy diver, holder of the deep sea record of 364 feet, was suffocated when ascending from a dive in which he attempted to set a new record of 525 feet. Zetterstrom made his record last December, breathing a mixture of air and hydrogen, largely eliminating the narotic effect of nitrogen�. Reported in the Cairns Post, Qld. Arne Zetterström (1917 – 7 August 1945), researcher into the breathing mixture hydrox for the Swedish Navy. Zetterström first described the use of hydrogen as a breathing gas in 1943. From 1943 to 1944, a total of six ocean dives were made utilizing this mixture with the deepest to 160 meters (96% hydrogen and 4% oxygen). On 7 August 1945, Zetterström experienced technical problems diving from the HMS Belos. His support divers misread his signals and this was followed by a rapid ascent that resulted in severe decompression sickness and hypoxia. -
2010 9 9 Zarafu Cristian Romania Hunter SRL 40 SCUBA Turkish cargo vessel 'Medy' sank six miles off Constanta breakwater on the 1st September 2010. Private diving contractor put 4 divers onboard an ARSVOM (Navy) vessel to do a pollution survey to establish a contingency plan. First team dived successfully, second team (Ispas and Zarafu) followed, but nether surfaced. Romanian authorities intervened to remove the 22 tons of fuel and about two tons of oil and hired in a specialist Turkish diving contractor. To reach fuel tanks and engine room of the wreck, divers made a hole in the hull and began emptying the fuel tanks. The body of Ispas was found inside the engine room on the 12th December (Drowned, but with 20 bar air pressure still in his cylinder). Attributed to Nitrogen Narcosis. Apparently entered the wreck without using a lifeline (Ispas worked for the emergency services but worked also for the diving contractor, unclear if he was a qualified commercial diver, Zarrafu was a full time commercial diver. No DDC, no medical back-up. The body of Zarafu was recovered on the 23rd December. Reported by Jurnalul.ro -
2016 11 19 Zambre Jaime Marcello Chile Fisherman SCUBA Aged 42, shellfish diver working the El Sauce cove, Ovalle, decompression incident, transferred to hospital in Coquimbo, suffered cardiac arrest and died. No other details. Reported by Diaria el Dia -
2012 8 1 Yusuke Miura Russia EMAS Saturation Japanese diver working in saturation onboard the "Lewek Crusader" at the Arkutun Dagi platform Gravity Base off Sakhalin. Reported as heart attack whilst in the water installing a flange catcher. NB IMCA member, therefore should see a report in due course. Longstreath/PDA -
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 -
2012 3 17 Yuge Saturo Japan SCUBA Aged 45, one of three divers (with Mitsui Shiotsuki and Taizo Yokoyama) who died on the same dive, removing submerged concrete blocks from a marine farm off Tsukumi in Oita Prefecture. The three entered the water at 09:30, located unconscious underwater at 10:00, all apparently with empty tanks. Coastguard suspect faulty procedures and awaiting autopsy reports. The Japan Times online -
1965 2 16 Youmans John USA Military 72 Chamber One of two enlisted divers (the other was Frederick Jackson) killed in a flash fire in a chamber during physiological experiment (250' for two hours) at the 'old' experimental diving unit at the Washington Navy yard (It was relocated to Panama City in 1975). Two other divers (not named) acting as tenders were treated for smoke inhalation. navydivers.net. An alternate report states that the research recompression chamber contained 28% O2, 36% He, 36% N2 at 3.8 bara (91fsw) with the most probable cause of the fire being an overheated electrical motor in the CO2 scrubber. Downstream of the motor was a filter element of the type normally used for filtering jet fuel. Following manufacture, it had beem tested with kerosene, leaving residual kerosene as the probable primatry fuel in the fire. A chamber occupant called "We have fire in here!", the two outside observers noted a flame coming from the CO2 scrubber followed immediately by a flash fire in the compartment and smoke obscuring their vision. The occupants did not have time to use the bucket of water provided as a fire extinguishant. The internal temperature rose to about 800 F, the pressure went up to 8.9 bara (260 fsw). Sheffield and Desautels “Hyperbaric and hypobaric Chamber fires, a 73 year analysis�, Undersea Hyperbaric Medicine, 1997, 24 (3): 153-164 -
2009 10 6 York Jamie Canada ODS Marine 4 SCUBA Paraphrased from press reports. “Canadian, from Ottawa, aged 35, contracted by Parks Canada to carry out cleaning operations along the Trent waterway drowned following the accident on Dam 1 at Trenton's north end despite dramatic attempts to rescue him. Initial reports indicated the diver became trapped while removing logs in four metres of water. He said the ministry dispatched their own divers to the scene in order to help with the rescue attempt. At one point one of the ministry divers supplied air to the trapped man. Fellow dive team members called for help at about 9:20 am when the diver did not surface. At that point, reports to rescue officials said, he'd been down for five minutes without contact from the surface. It would be more than two hours before his body was recovered and resuscitation efforts would be called off.� The Belleville Intelligencer. Parks Canada later disbanded their part-time in-house dive team ('having reviewed their insurance') even though they had a 100 year safe diving record and the diver that died was working for a diving contractor. Court case in 2011 The trial was told that he was diving from a pontoon boat positioned near the dam when he reported that a “stop log,� the device used to control water flow, was not sitting properly. He told the support crew aboard the boat that the water was “ripping� through the gap. He was told to try to get a closer view of the stop log, but was sucked by the current into the gap. A crew from the Quinte West Fire Department used underwater cameras to find York’s body and was able to free him, but he was pronounced dead at Trenton Memorial Hospital. A post-mortem found York had died from chest compression while he was trapped. A Ministry of Labour investigation found that the pontoon boat had been positioned in such a way that York’s umbilical cord to the surface had been sucked into the gap by the current, pulling the diver in with it. The Ministry found that the dive should have been stopped as soon as York reported the gap. Contractor was fined $100,000 and also ordered to pay a 25-per-cent victim surcharge to assist victims of crime. The diving supervisor was personnaly fined $8,000 for failing to ensure the diver was provided with safe working conditions, protection, measures and procedures (Specifically the diving supervisor "shall ensure that diving is not conducted in hazardous water flow conditions" The Ottawa Citizen/Belleville Intelligencer -
1976 8 20 Yore USN Thomas John "TJ" Denmark Military US Navy diver, reported as 'Lost at sea off Greenland 20th August, declared dead 30th September". No other details. Navydivers.net -
2012 3 17 Yokoyama Taizo Japan SCUBA Aged 45, one of three divers (with Mitsui Shiotsuke and Saturo Yuge) who died on the same dive, removing submerged concrete blocks from a marine farm off Tsukumi in Oita Prefecture. The three entered the water at 09:30, located unconscious underwater at 10:00, all apparently with empty tanks. Coastguard suspect faulty procedures and awaiting autopsy reports. The Japan Times online -
1983 6 21 Yeo Sgt. Soon Seng Singapore Commando Surface Swimmer Aged 22, First Commando Battalion, diver training circuit swimming exercise with 7 other trainees on 13th June. Surfaced in distress before sinking from sight, found unconcious in the sea and taken to Toa Payoh Hospital where he died 8 days later of bronchial pneumonia. Coroner recorded a verdict of death by misadventure. Straits Times -
1929 9 1 Yasiu Kakaturo Australia Victor Clark S/S Air Pearl diver working off the lugger 'Dona Matilda', 40 miles NorthWest of Bathurst Island, "Suffocated owing to his air pipe coming into contact with the propeller", Inquest returned a verdict of accidental death. Northern Territory Times -
1956 8 23 Yanase Masumi Australia Topsides “Japanese Diver Found Dead� BROOME (WA), Wednesday. — A young Japanese pearl diver, Masumi Yanase. 23, was found dead in the water alongside his boat today. He had noosed a rope around his neck which was made fast to the lugger's diving platform. It is thought Masumi Yanase jumped overboard and accidentally strangled himself. He had been in Broome for the past year and was considered an efficient diver�. Reported in The Canberra Times. -
2008 11 14 Yan Juan Camal Mexico Potable Water Inspection (Canadian contractor) Aged 36, one of two rescue divers (with Raciel Hernandez) who went into the three metre diameter Cutzamala fresh water pipeline system to rescue two divers who had gone missing earlier in the day (Cayetano Cordoba and Manolo Diaz) , like the divers they were trying to rescue, they suffocated and were swept away by the water. All four bodies were recovered two days later. "There was no intentional homicide in the death of the divers who technically died of lack of breathable air" - they entered the confined space without using diving gear. Quadruple fatality. El Siglo de Torreon.com.mx.com.mx -
2005 7 4 Yamashita Takahiro Japan Scientist SCUBA Aged 30, Research scientist (Marine invertebrates) at the University of Tokyo, taking water samples, failed to surface, searchers located his body on the seabed. University of Tokyo report -
1936 3 17 Yamamoto Gonzabaro Australia E. J. Hennessey 64 S/S Air Japanese, aged 28, diving from Mr. E. J. Hennessey's pearling lugger “Keriri" near Darnley Island diving at 20 fathoms when his air lines became entangled. Discarded his helmet but dead when he got to the surface�. This is the first fatality of the season. The pearling fleet has been out only four days. Reported in the Northern Times, Examiner etc -
1937 3 23 Yamada Kiachichi Australia Gregory 29 S/S Air Aged 52, diving off the lugger D36 'Red Bill' at the Goulburn Island Pearling beds. (Had replaced the former number 2 diver on the vessel who died of fever two weeks earlier). At the Inquest on the Japanese diver, Kiahichi Yamada, a verdict of death from asphyxia, due to drowning was returned by the Coroner, Mr. G. J. Pigott From the evidence given it appeared that Yamada had been down once that morning, and, after a spell of about 20 minutes, went down for a second trip. He mentioned that the water was very dirty, and he had to lie down to gather shell, so he asked for a slack life-line. About half an hour after his second descent, his tender got an urgent signal to 'haul up,' Quickly followed by a second urgent signal, so the tender called for help to haul Yamada up as quickly as possible. He came up, feet first but was quickly righted, and guided to the ladder, where the helmet was removed. He then appeared to be dead, but his suit was cut off him immediately, and artificial respiration tried for about an hour, but without success. As the body was growing cold, It was placed in the cabin and covered with rugs, but when all hope was abandoned, it was sewn up in canvas, and the lugger made all speed to Darwin, which was reached about two days later. The doctor who performed the post mortem said that the body was much decomposed, but it was evident that death was due to asphyxia, probably caused by drowning. The second tender, who was in charge of Yamada said that when the suit was cut off him it was found to be half full of water, and when they tried to revive him, water came from his mouth. The inquest was adjourned for a while to permit of the production of the suit the dead diver had worn and also to obtain the services of Mr. David Carruth, whose long and varied experience of diving made his evidence of the greatest value In this case. A diver showed how the suit was worn, and Mr. Carruth explained the uses of It, and the method of controlling air inlets and outlets On examining the dead diver's suit, it was discovered that the rubber cuff had a long tear In It and It was then evident that the water had entered the suit through this tear, so that when the diver capsized, either through stumbling into a hollow on the ocean bed, or through over-balancing owing to the weight of the pearl shell be had gathered, the air rushed to the bottom part of the suit (that now was upper most) and the water filled the helmet and corselet, thus drowning the diver. What the tender had mistaken for urgent signals, to haul up must have been the last struggles of the diver in his dying agony. Reported in the Townsville Daily Bulletin, Qld. -
1975 10 16 Yagushi Koji Singapore Toa Harbour Works Company S/S Air Japanese, described as a 'master diver' aged 49, diving with other divers from the launch 'Sentosa' on the PUB submarine cables South-West of Singapore (off Jurong Shipyard). The launch followed the diver as he walked on the seabed between the Esso mainland jetty and Pulau Ayer Chawan. His tender said that there was a violent tug on the line and hose at about 11:00. He pulled but they would not budge. They stopped the launch and a crewmember dived in to see that the line and hose were entangled in the propeller. They pulled him to the surface but 'he was already dead". At the inquest a former Naval diving unit officer testified that 'he might still be alive if other members of his diving team had been qualified divers as they would have acted faster and would have known exactly what to do which might have prevented the death of the diver'. Straits Times -
1985 0 0 Yacob Samsi bin Malaysia BUE Malaysia SCUBA Diving off the DB Thor (8 point anchored crane barge, built 1972 from a 20-year-old vessel (The ‘Veedol’ built 1955) which was cut in half (The stern section was converted to a bulk oil carrier). Its old bow was towed to Rotterdam and used as the basis for a new vessel, ‘WS Thor’, IMO No 8626898, launched in 1974, a diving support derrick pontoon for operation in the North Sea. It was fitted out with, among other things, a diving bell, compression chambers, and pile-driving hammers. In 1982 she was renamed the DB Thor, in 1989 she became the McDermott DB 52, final fate of the vessel is not known ). The diver had swum a line under the barge and was being recovered to deck in a diving basket when it was hit by the swell and he fell out. He had used the line as a lifeline during his swim but had tied it off to the basket. Body never recovered. PC -
1935 11 1 Yachie Sahden Bin Australia 37 S/S Air "Malay Diver's Death While Pearl Fishing". Perth, Friday, "Sahden Bin Yachie (24), a Malay Pearl diver, died off the coast of Broome after having operated at 20 fathoms from 7 am to 4 pm. When Yachie was pulled up he complained of paralysis symptoms, and for several hours after was subjected to three further stagings at various depths to counter the effects. It was thought that he had been cured, but four hours later he died after a convulsive fit. Word of this tragedy, which happened on November 1, was received by police today (3rd January, 1936). reported in The Barrier Miner, Broken Hill, NSW. Another report sates "MALAY DIVER'S DEATH. The report of the death of a Malay diver, Sahdan Bin Yachie, apparently from paralysis due to deep water diving, was received from Broome by the Commissioner of Police (Mr. D. Hunter) yesterday. The diver was engaged on the pearl lugger Esquimaux, and replaced the first diver, who was sick, on October 31. He came to the surface at 5.30 pm, complaining of sickness. The first diver ordered him to be staged.' This process was continued until midnight, when the diver stated that he was feeling well. He suffered a relapse, however, and after an unsuccessful attempt to equip him for further staging he died" The West Australian. -
1935 5 15 Wunderlich Albert Edward Australia 2 S/S Air Aged about 40, single, working on the construction of the high level bridge over the Herbert river near Ingham, diving routinely in 7 or 8 feet of water, had been down sometime, at smoko they signalled him to prepare for pulling up but received no response and immediately hauled him up. The diver reached the surace minus his headdress which had become detached from the costume. A doctor and ambulance were hurridly summoned but after arduous endeavours at respiration life was pronounced to be extinct. Reported in the Nothern Miner. -
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 -
1991 5 18 Worthington Chris USA Aged 22, Killed while preforming a wheel job when the engines were started and engaged. Body recovered -
1985 3 26 Workman Jim USA 9 S/S Air American, aged 29, umbilical cut by passing boat propeller, drowned -
2009 10 15 Woriki Johnson Nigeria Nigerian Navy diver SCUBA Paraphrased from reports:- “A Naval rating on board the new Navy gunship, NNS Zaria, stationed at the Escravos river in Warri South-West local government area of Delta State got drowned in the sea trying to recover the detached anchor of the gunship last Thursday. Informed sources told Vanguard that the rating, from Rivers State, was a diver and was well kitted before taking the plunge into the sea in a bid to retrieve the detached anchor of the new gunship and never surfaced again. His corpse only came afloat Saturday morning and was brought to the Warri Central Hospital morgue where his brother and some relations were on hand planning to take the body for burial immediately since he is a young man. Hospital sources confirmed the incident, just as security operatives kept mum. However, some officers were heard grumbling over why a "so-called new gunship would lose its anchor in so short a time," and also “bemoaning the untimely death of their fallen colleague�. Vanguard. -
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. -
1889 0 0 Woods James W USA Merritt Wrecking Company 18 S/S Air American, drowned under the wreck of the "Iberia" (Sank three miles off New York, 10th November 1888, collision in fog) whilst salvaging cotton, his helmet flooded through a tear in his suit near his neck. His signal line was tied off to a stanchion some distance from the worksite. Quote from proprietor of the salvage company, Israel J Merritt, who was “of the opinion that the death was due to Wood's own carelessness�. -
2010 2 16 Woodle PO Ronald Tyler USA US SEAL SCUBA Known as Tyler, Aged 26, Enlisted in 2007, Special warfare operator 2nd class (SEAL) died during a diver training exercise near Key West. Found unconscious in the water, failed to respond to treatment. Citizen times -
1925 7 5 Woodhead Australia S/S Air Photograph of a diver in standard gear with the caption "Geraldton's Official diver, Mr. Woodhead, who is seen here in his armour about to descend. He is the first diver in Geraldton to be equipped with the latest telephone apparatus". Reported in the Sunday Times, Perth, WA. -
1931 3 30 Woodcock Percy Ingram UK Liverpool Salvage Company S/S Air "Diver's death at Salcombe. Mr Percy Ingram Woodcock, one of the divers working on behalf of the Liverpool Salvage Co. on the SS ….". No other details (Pay for access archive) Reported in the Western Morning News/The British Newspaper Archive -
2021 7 15 Wood Jaxxyn Lee USA Bulldog Diving S/S Air "Aged 19, inspecting inlet pipes at the LG & E Mill Creek Power Plant (A 1972 coal fired power plant set in a 544 acre site on the Ohio river supplying power to Louisville, Kentucky). Initial press reports stated 2 man team, 'lost communications' and 'sucked into a pump'. Reported by 14 News, houston Chronicle and others. Later social media reports stated 4 man team (Including the diver's brother) which exceeds the minimum OSHA 3 man team, pump LOTO but adjacent pump running in next bay. Appear to have windows between bays that should have been blocked by power plant personnel (part of LOTO procedure). Diver was in water in zero visobility to confirm stoppers in place prior to commencing debris clearance, umbilical sucked through open window trapping diver. Unclear if he had a bailout but body not recovered for several hours. OSHA questioned contractor's umbilical management, LOTO verification, zero flow verification, clients LOTO and stop logs. Accident Report Detail. Accident: 137498.015 - Employee Is Killed On Dive After Being Pulled Into Pump. Report ID: 0452110 -- Event Date: 07/15/2021. On July 15, 2021, an employee performing underwater diving operations at a elect rical generating station inspecting pipes and clearing debris from a pump basin. Coworkers for the power company reported to the dive crew that the stoplog gates ""should be in place"" but they were unsure. The employee verified that LOTO was performed on the two pumps in the immediate work area and the employee entered the water to check for the presence of stoplogs and water flow. The employee mistakenly verified that stoplogs were down and that there was no water flow or cur rent present (which was incorrect). The employee then continued his work and returned to the water to make a last check of the area. During this final check, the employee's umbilical was caught in a current caused by a pump in an adjacent bay that was still in operation. The current pulled the umbilical into the pump, which in turn, pulled the employee into the pump, killing him." -
1889 1 1 Wolter John USA, Philadelphia S/S Air Putting a patch on a vessel that had hit a shoal. Lost air supply (hose came off helmet). Pulled up by deck crew feet first but the two guys were unable to lift him into the boat, dropped him back to the bottom, got more help and dragged him out. When recovered was black in the face and unresponsive, thought to be dead. They unscrewed his face plate, "poured whiskey down his throat and rubbed him vigorously". 15 minutes later he recovered consciousness. -
2005 2 15 Wolmarans André South Africa Subtech Diving and marine SCUBA South African, aged 19, Durban harbour, cleaning the propeller of a fishing vessel, "someone inside the vessel accidentally activate the propeller". He was standing on it at the time, it took police divers 7 hours to find his body. Outdoornewswire. -
1970 6 21 Wojcik, RAN CD Bogdan Kazimierz Vietnam Military In May 1966 Clearance Diving Team 1 spent a short period in Vietnam working with US Navy Divers. Clearance Diving Team 3 was deployed from February 1967 until May 1971 for clearing rivers and shipping channels of mines and booby traps. The team also carried out salvage work and trawler searches to protect and secure South Vietnamese ports from sabotage. Over this period there were 7573 ship searches, 153 major diving tasks, 78 explosive devices removed from ships, 352 tons heavy ordnance destroyed, 42,000 items of unsafe ammunition destroyed, 68 special operations including canal barricades, search and destroy missions plus reconnaissance and ambush missions in three fire zones. Casualties were one clearance diver killed and one clearance diver wounded on active service. -
1979 11 10 Wodeco V lost bell Incident Ghana or Ivory Coast Comex 130 Saturation Entire dive team, including the supervisor, - dived in rotation, bell bounce diving. Single bell lift wire plus two guide wires tied up to the wellhead. About a month prior to the incident, the main wire had been ovalised above the socket but judged fit for purpose. On this day, during bell recovery, when the bell had reached the top of the "A" frame, the wire parted.. The bell ballast hit the water, the bell hit the ballast which had been slowed down entering the water and sank. Communications were lost with the bell. The surface team expected the divers in the bell to shed its ballast, but that did not happen. The team was without supervisor (he was in the bell) and there was no lead diver. On advice from company HQ, they mixed some 10 % Heliox and built a surface umbilical by connecting three lengths of flexible hose. The first diver started breathing the 10 % prior to entering the water and passed out. The rest of the team assumed that this was due to the fact that the components had not "mixed up properly". They equipped the next diver with a bail out cylinder filled with Air, he breathed the Air from the surface and switched to Heliox at 10 metres. On the way down, this diver pulled himself with his arms, head down along one of the bell guide wires instead of "hanging out" in the current on the way down. As a result, him and his umbilical rotated around the bell guide wire several times to the point were he could not progress any more and he exhausted himself in the process. It is possible that he had passed out underwater. The surface crew retrieved him, it needed several men to haul on the umbilical. He was suffering from pulmonary barotrauma. However, he was conscious when he reached the surface, he cleared the several turns the umbilical had made around the guide wire himself. He went in the chamber still conscious and standing with a doctor and male nurse. Short of Helium, so they only pressurized the main lock. The nurse was claustrophobic and started panicking and they had to decompress him. In order to do so, they pressurised the entrance lock with the only gas they had left, air. When the nurse left the chamber he was told that if he was not feeling well to return to the chamber to be treated. Instead he went into hiding, laid down and was found later, dead (Isobaric counter diffusion). The diver died in the chamber (Pulmonary Barotrauma),. -
1979 11 10 Wodeco V lost bell Rescue Ghana or Ivory Coast Comex and Oceaneering 130 Saturation Rescue teams arrived on board perhaps 24 hours after the bell was lost with a team from Oceaneering and a "JIM" atmospheric suit but without their normal winch/umbilical/comms (too heavy to fly) First two dives aborted due to suit flooding and retrieval was hampered by the current, but on the third attempt, the JIM got close enough to see the bell which was not floating up from its ballast but lying on the seabed, indicating that it was flooded or partly flooded. One of the guide wires had ruptured and was no longer attached to the wellhead and there was some tension in the remaining guide wire, so every time the drill ship was lifted by the swell, the was being rolled from side to side on the seabed. The JIM could not get any closer without being hit by the rolling bell so the dive was aborted and the bell grappled (NB, the JIM rescue mission in itself is an epic tale, TC). The bell was caught first time. On deck, some 30 hours after the wire failure, it was established that the bell was 2/3 flooded, both divers were floating face down, dead. Analysis of the bell atmosphere confirmed there was no measurable CO2. Both men had suffered facial injuries, one with a broken nose, one with knee injuries. It is likely that the first shock, when the bell collided with its own ballast, had thrown them down, causing the injuries. They had managed on the way down to open the bell pressurisation valve. The dive was a bounce dive, and decompression had started while the bell was on its was up before the accident. As a result the bell would have started flooding at some point before they even reached the bottom. At some point the inner door had closed, but not before the bell was 2/3 flooded. The pressurisation valve having been open, and left open on the way down, ensured a seal. The two divers (the second diver's identity is not recorded), hurt by the initial impact, drowned. -
1862 3 13 Wlliams UK Dock Board "…diver in the employ of the dock board who fell overboard at woodside on the 31st March last and was drowned, the body which was in fearfully..." Report from an inquest held in Birkenhead by Mr Churton over the body in June 1862. No other details (Pay for access archive). Reported in the Liverpool Daily Post/The British Newspaper Archive -
1981 2 1 Withheld pending agreement of the diver Gabon Comex 60 S/S Mixed Gas Diver was deployed using SS HeO2 to carry out a short intervention on the subsea experimental template station at Grondin NE field. About 5 min into the dive, diver shouted; "NO AIR" then silence. The standby diver entered the water and located him at about 30 metres tangled in the ROV umbilical with his helmet off. He was unconscious. Brought up to surface and transferred to the DDC attached to the SAT system and given resuscitation and first aid. Breathing was restarted but he remained unconscious. He was blown down to -50m on air. Local Comex diving doctor was flown to the site. She entered the DDC and gave therapeutic medical treatment. The casualty recovered and came out of DDC at end of hyperbaric treatment. He went back to diving and was a member of one of the deepest experimental dive conducted by Comex. The reason for the lack of breathing media could not be ascertained even after multiple tests on the umbilical and panel. The bail out cylinder was found full of water. Reported about a year after that the diving supervisor at the panel admitted not setting up the panel regulator to cater for the water depth. -
0 0 0 Witherow David Mexico American, head injuries during spoolpiece lifting operation -
2016 9 22 Winters Sgt. Kerry USA Police SCUBA Aged 51, 30 year veteran of the Ulster County (NY) Sheriff's office, died in a dive training exercise at Ashokan Resevoir. No details. Reported the Daily Freeman, Police news -
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 -
2019 6 21 Wingard Steven F. Dahowa Hydro power plant, Greenwich, USA Commercial Diver Systems SS Air GREENWICH — State Police are investigating a fatal accident that occurred Friday morning at a hydropower plant on the Batten Kill that claimed the life of a commercial diver. The incident was reported at the former Dahowa Hydro power plant off county Route 53, near the hamlet of Middle Falls. The diver, Steven F. Wingard, 25, of Falls Village, Connecticut, died while underwater in a pool below the hydro plant. State Police said Wingard was working for a company identified as Commercial Diver Systems to clean an underwater drain valve at the hydro plant when some sort of accident occurred. How he came to be injured was still under investigation Friday afternoon, State Police Senior Investigator Robert Stampfli said. Stampfli said Wingard was the only diver in the water, and was connected to a crew on land via an “umbilical” cord with an oxygen line. “There was some sort of event that caused them to pull him back up” and he was unconscious, Stampfli said. Exactly what occurred remained under investigation later Friday, Stampfli said. But there was no indication of foul play. The accident was reported just after 9:30 a.m. Easton-Greenwich Rescue Squad members and Middle Falls firefighters responded, but efforts to revive the man with CPR were unsuccessful. Dahowa Hydro sold the 10.5-megawatt plant to Gravity Renewables earlier this year, according to an article on Renewable Energy World’s website. Numerous streams and rivers in the region were running very high Friday after Thursday’s rain, and the Batten Kill was running at nearly triple its median flow for June 21 as of Friday morning. Stampfli said it was unclear whether the drain issue was related to the rain or was regularly scheduled maintenance. Julie Smith-Galvin, a spokeswoman for Gravity Renewables, said the company was trying to figure out what occurred as well. “Our thoughts are with Mr. Wingard’s family, friends and loved ones,” she said in an email. “We appreciate the work of all those involved in responding to this morning’s emergency call. We are working closely and cooperatively with local authorities to investigate what caused today’s tragedy.” https://poststar.com/news/local/updated-diver-dies-at-batten-kill-hydropower-plant/article_75176eb1-cc99-53dd-9963-cbc3657242e4.html -
2009 5 4 Wilson Christopher USA Veolia 63 Saturation American, aged 38, Vermillion area, Stingray pipeline, DSV Kingfisher, floating a pipeline 10 miles south of Sabine pass, oversized air bag, no hold back, inverter line tied to inadequate weight, failed air bag rigging, dragged from depth to 22 metres. -
2007 7 22 Wilson Stephen USA SCUBA Sports diver, aged 36, fatally injured when struck by lightning as he surfaced. Miami Herald -
1975 3 1 Wilson Kevin UK CUE 43 SCUBA British, aged 20. Southern North Sea installation 49/27B, Leman field, pulmonary oedema caused by cardiac myopathy, heart failure, natural causes (Reported by JW as the last 1974 fatality, TC) -
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. -
1957 10 11 Williamson Stephen I USA Daspit Bros Marine Divers American, court case quote "engaged in the clearing of a pipe line of debris in navigable waters,and that an employee of Daspit was lifted too rapidly, causing a release of his diving mask and belt, that the vessel and its appurtenances were defective and unseaworthy and that these circumstances were the cause of decedent's death" -
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. -
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. -
1936 6 4 Williams Roy Australia S/S Air PARALYSED DIVER. DARWIN, Wednesday. Roy Williams, the pearlshell diver, who was suspended for four days in diving dress in Darwin Harbour for diver's paralysis, was taken today to Darwin Hospital, where he will undergo different treatment. Williams was becoming weak from his exhausting treatment. He was paralysed below the waist, but he is now able to move his toes, and is given some chance of making a good recovery. If necessary, he will be staged again when he regains his strength. Reported in the Sydney Morning Herald, NSW -
1926 7 13 Williams Irving USA 15 S/S Air Described as a native of Kennebunk, working near Harpswell attempting to raise the power sloop 'Bradley A' which went ashore 10 days earlier on Bold Dick, a rocky pinnacle near Ragged Island in Casco Bay with the loss of three of the four crew. Reported as drowned at work, apparently an incident involving his air lines (being tended by his brother) which parted, but no details . Reported in the New York Times -
1922 8 0 Williams UK "Diver's Accident in Tobermory Bay. While engaged in the search for sunken treasure, Mr Williams, the principlal …" No other details (Pay for access archive) Reported in the Evening Telegraph/The British Newspaper Archive -
1898 3 22 Williams Henry Cuba Merritt Wrecking Company S/S Air American, one of the divers on the tug "Chief" died Havana from chronic haemorrhage of the stomach "It was not unexpected. Mr Collins was ill before he left the United States" -
2021 12 24 Williams Rodney Dale USA Canon's Service SCUBA Aged 57, died in a retention pond. OSHA report stated "Investigation Nr: 142251.015, Event: 12/24/2021, Employee Is Killed, Drowned When Diving With Defective Equipment. At 10:20 a.m. on December 24, 2021, an employee who worked as an independent con tract diver was entering a retention pond for a second dive to place a buoy on pipe that was broken. A coworker (the employer) who was observing from the shore noticed about 15 minutes into the second dive that employee's bubble trail had made a circle and then stopped. Coworker #1 called 911 immediately as Coworker #2 entered the water and tried to rescue the employee. Local police and Fire/EMS a rrived on scene, but were unable to rescue the employee. EMS called for the Coun ty Dive Team to assist but by the time the team arrived the rescue operation had turned into a recovery. The employee was retrieved from the pond approximately two (2) hours after he was last seen. The employee was pronounced dead at the sc ene due to drowning. The employee's personal dive equipment was not functioning properly which potentially lead to hypoxia and then death. -
2011 8 0 William Sabri Qatar El Safwa Topsides Egyptian diver working on the Pearl Island residential development, working in a confined space, gas leak. Triple fatality with two killed on site, the third died in hospital. Initially not reported in the public domain but Qatari authorities now investigating. PC -
2013 7 13 Wilkinson-Lowe Richard James Boris Germany RS Diving 20m S/S Air British, Aged 26, Riffgat Windfarm (15 km NorthWest of Borkum Island), diving from the 4 point moored vessel 'Union Beaver' (Built 1991 as the 'Salvage Chief' by Fulton Marine, Ruisbroek, Belgium, 56m long, Belgian Flag, IMO No 8918564, Owned and operated by URS Salvage and Contracting (Smit Transport, Belgium), installing 6 ton mattresses over cables, appears to have had a concrete mat dropped on him. Reported by Radio Bremen -
1986 9 1 Wilkinson Guy UAE Ruwais, UAE, pulled unconscious from the water after an argon cylinder was tied into the gas supply, did not respond to treatment. -
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. -
2007 3 27 Wildin Leading Seaman Timothy Australia HMAS SCUBA Aged 24, diving off HMAS Frigate “Parramatta�, Jervis Bay, removing snagged commercial fishing gear from the propellers. “Seriously injured, spent time in intensive care�, Navy inquiry, report not seen, made a full recovery and returned to duties. At the Inquiry it was reported that he was found underwater, unconscious, entangled in fishing lines and may not have had easy access to his secondary breathing gear (Not fitted with a clip to keep it near his head), recovered to surface 'limp and vomiting'. smh.com.au/abc.net.au/news -
2010 11 18 Wilbert Valiente Zapata Peru SCUBA Aged 38, one of two shellfish divers (Roberto Villata Nolesolo was seriously injured) diving from the scallop boat 'Robert Alexander' off the island 'Lobos de Tierra' involved in a decompression incident. No details. Reported by GPS Diving -
1949 10 13 Wila Poeloe Australia N. Paspali S/S Air "Death of a Diver". Darwin, Friday, pearling from the lugger 'Pam'. "Stricken with diver's paralysis, a Koepang pearl diver died on the pearling grounds west of Bathurst Island, yesterday. It was the first case of paralysis since the war". The Advocate, Burnie, Tas. -
1986 1 10 Wiker Scott W USA DiveTech SCUBA Aged 26, cleaning inlets of Crystal River nuclear power plant run by the Florida Power Corporation, cleaning filters on the cooling water inlets, pumps running at 28,000 gallons per minute sucked him 600' up inlet to grid, drowned. His team mate, Timothy Boyle, drowned trying to rescue him with the pumps still running. Double fatality. OSHA cited the contractor with six violations and 'they were fined nearly $5,000'. Florida Power officials admitted the divers were not warned that the pumps were operating but were not cited because they were not involved in the dive. OSHA stated that had the divers equipment met federal standards they would not have been sucked through the underwater pipe “Should have been attached to lifelines, received their air from the surface rather than SCUBA tanks and been attached to a voice communications line� Also cited for failure to have a standby diver, failure to wear inflatable buoyancy, no person in charge at site, safe practices manual not including a copy of OSHAs diving requirements and no plan to recover an injured diver from the water. Reported in the Gainesville Sun<br />OSHA Report:- Accident: 14346597 -- Report ID: 0420600 -- Event Date: 01/10/1986. TWO COMMERCIAL DIVERS WERE KILLED WHEN THEY WERE DRAWN INTO AN INTAKE PIPE WHICH CARRIED COOLING WATER TO A NUCLEAR REACTOR IN AN ELECTRIC GENERATING PLANT. THE PUMPING SYSTEM HAD BEEN MISTAKENLY LEFT RUNNING WHILE THE DIVERS WERE ENGAGED IN CLEANING AND INSPECTING ACTIVIES. DESPITE THE POOR VISIBILITY AND THE RESTRICTED CONFIGURATION OF THE WORK AREA, THE DIVERS WERE USING SCUBA GEAR WITH NO SURFACE LINE TENDING. SINCE ACCESS INTO THE DIVE AREA WAS THROUGH A MANHOLE, NO ONE TOPSIDE COULD MONITOR THE LOCATION OF THE INWATER DIVER. WHEN THE FIRST DIVER FAILED TO REAPPEAR IN A TIMELY FASHION, THE SECOND DIVER ENTERED THE WATER TO BEGIN A SEARCH FOR HIM. THE RESCUE DIVER ALSO BECAME TRAPPED IN THE MECHANICALLY INDUCED CURRENTS. ONLY AFTER THE PUMPS WERE SHUT DOWN WERE THE BODIES RECOVERED -
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 -
2007 7 18 Whittal Robert USA Speciality diving, inshore 3 S/S Air From South Africa, Jetting, lost air pressure from topside, not wearing a bail out. Ditched his hat but fouled in his umbilical and jet hose. By the time the crew got him on deck, no pulse, not breathing, bleeding from the head. Revived with CPR, medivac-ed to hospital, initially on life support. Ongoing lawsuit. -
1962 12 3 Whittaker Christopher USA 305 Saturation Aged 19, safety diver, record deep dive with Hans Keller, experimental dive to test new breathing mixture, Peter Small died in the bell (reported as 'bends' which he had suffered from in a previous dive, two days earlier),, Christopher Whittaker disappeared whilst checking the bell externally at depth and was never found. Keller survived after a safety diver removed a fin jammed in the bell hatch allowing it to seal. Reported by multiple sources. -
2005 11 21 Whitekettle John W Romania Titan American, aged 48, Underwater burning in during salvage of the 'Rostok' from the Danube (second fatality earlier, see Eke, 02/01/2005) European press reported his surname as 'Warren', suspect that his full name was John warren Whitekettle (TC) -
1978 0 0 White or Whitehouse? David UK Reg Clucas (Civil Engineering) Working for hydrospace in India, went on leave to the UK (via Sharjah) and was killed in a burning explosion underneath a small barge or tanker during his field break. PC. Has anybody got aditional details? -
2010 12 2 White Danny Williams Nicaragua Pasenic SCUBA Aged 31, diving to retrieve two anchors from the fishing vessel “Lady Sylvia� owned by Pasenic (Nicaraguan Shellfish growers). Solo dive, 30 minutes into the dive was found by colleagues dead on the seabed between the two anchors. Medical examiner stated cause of death was a heart problem. Survived by wife, 3 year old son and 1 year old daughter. Had worked for Pasenic for 11 years. Reported by GPS Diving -
1944 7 28 White Peter Australia Harbor Trust S/S Air “RESOURCEFUL DIVER. Peter White, of Lyons steet, Harbor Trust diver, during the week captured a giant sunfish by pushing a boathook down its throat and then roping it. The fish was hoisted with a crane�. Williamstown Chronicle, Vic -
2016 11 2 Whitcher Staff Sgt David USA Military Aged 30, from New Hampshire, died during a special forces training (Combat diver qualification course) dive off Key West, Florida. No details. Reported by CBS/AP. -
1940 7 31 Whipple W. O. USA Aged 32, rigger/diver employed at the Puget Sound Navy Yard, sucked feet first into a 40' horizontal pipe, around two right angle bends and then down 35 ' through a 24� pipe on a dry dock. His helmet was ripped off, possible broken neck, it took two and a half hours to extract him from the pipe. (dive was to cap the outlet of the pipe on the new dry dock). Spokane Daily Chronicle -
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. -
1949 12 22 Whap Tom Australia “Diver Finds £3000 Pearl� Darwin, December 28.— “The largest pearl ever found off Thursday Island was recovered last week by diver Tom Whap, in the lugger ‘Galton’, owned by Burns, Philp. It is worth approximately £3000, but owing to its shape it could be worth £4000. It is pear-shaped, of perfect lustre, weighs 40 carats, and is an inch long. The diver, a full-blooded Torres Strait native, will receive 75 per cent, of the value of the pearl�. Reported in the Kalgoorlie Miner, WA. -
1995 7 31 Westell Bradley UK Stena 26 Saturation British. DSV "Orelia". Shallow saturation, DP, tied off umbilical released, caught in thruster. Head injuries and multiple trauma. Supervisor fined for erasing black box tape, family awarded £104,000 in compensation, Contractor fined £200, 000 -
1912 8 16 West Edward Canada The Great Lakes Towing Company S/S Air Married with wife and amily in Port Huraon, Michigan, one of two divers in the waters of Lake Erie, four miles southeast of Port Burwell working under the overturned wreck of a sunken scow owned by the M. J, Hogan Company (Sank in May whilst loaded with stone, under tow by the steamer 'Lakeside'). Air was being pumped into the overturned hull, the two divers 'had gone down to see how work was proceeding when the scow, estimated to weigh 150 tons rolled over on top of them. One diver was pulled out by the combined efforts of 10 men but the body of West is still at the bottom of the lake". The Evening Recors -
2010 7 21 Wesley Skiles USA 21 Rebreather Aged 52, Professional underwater photographer and explorer of underwater caves in Florida, diving 3 miles off Boynton Beach, found unconscious on the seabed by colleagues, did not respond to treatment. Gainsville Sun -
1975 9 25 Wendelaar Joachim USA 322 German, aged 36, from Hamburg, described as a veteran diver with the West German shipbuilder GKSS, was part of a three man team preparatory works to the 100 ton underwater NOAA habitat 'Helgoland' sponsored by the US, West Germany, Poland and Norway off Roskport. Quote “It appeared something went wrong with his oxygen regulator and he suffered the bends on surfacing�. Confused reporting - it appears he actually fell unconscious on deck, initially reported as a surface accident - but no details Reported in 'The Hour' -
1993 3 27 Wells, USN PO Kimberley L Honduras USN American, aged 24, assigned to Mobile Diving and Salvage Unit 2 working with a group of salvage experts from Little Creek Naval Amphibious Base, , died while working to raise a sunken coastal freighter. The ship was blocking the entrance to a harbour in Roatan, Honduras. No details except that it was during underwater cutting operations. Reported in the Virginia Pilot -
1991 2 8 Wells Sub-Lt Corey Portugal Canadian Navy SCUBA Aged 27, diving off the Canadian destroyer 'Margaree', visiting the Madeira Islands. It was stated that the propeller being started had nothing to do with the death of the two divers who were inspecting the hull who both drowned after being trapped in the engine room cooling water intake pipe. Double fatality (Master Seaman William Hynes). Reported in the Toronto Star -
1989 2 11 Wells Timothy L USA Police SCUBA American police officer aged 36, Williston, North Dakota, cold water training dive in the Missouri river, found under thick ice near the shore by colleagues, tank empty, drowned -
1979 5 6 Wells Robert Lloyd USA S/S Air Aged 33. Quote:- “Working at the Simtag Farms intake pumps at the confluence of Willow Creek and the Columbia River when his air lines apparently were sucked into the pumps and cut. His partner was at the surface at the time. When he realised something was wrong, he dove under and attempted to free Wells and bring him up for air but the lines were stuck in the intake pumps and another diver had to be called before Wells could be freed, police said� Reported in the Tri City Herald. -
1996 0 0 Weir Jock Asia McDermott Negative pressure pipeline accident (incoming tide) sucked him into the pipe, body was recovered using a pig to push him out of the pipeline some 28km upstream of the accident location. -
1912 0 0 Webber RN William Australia S/S Air "In 1912. William Webber, a darling of the British Diving Fraternity, lasted only 4 months in the waters off Broome before he suscumbed, apparently to the bends" One of 9 British Navy divers sent to Broome to "Claim the industry for the white man" White divers were not wanted, not because of goodwill towards the so-called Asiatics but because they threatened the wealth of the pearlers who could employ Asiatics for a pittance. His family were told his air hose had been cut and believe the master pearlers put a price on his head. Reading Eagle -
1995 0 0 Webb John India CCC Saturation Salvaging concrete coated pipe lost off a materials barge in zero visibility on Bombay High, crushed between pipes during crane operations. When the incident happened, the bellman (On his first sat) was slow into the water and did not flood the bell, could not reach the diver so had to climb back into the bell to release more umbilical, diver's umbilical trapped under pipe, the bellman initially cut the divers umbilical on the wrong side of the pipe and then had to use the divers's own knife (his own knife by then being blunt) to release the diver and take him back to bell. The diver's KMB 17 side block had been knocked off, probably by impact from a swinging pipe caused by a sling coming off, and his umbilcal trappd. Pipe sections were scattered in a loose unstable pile and recovered using modified shackles hooked into the ends of the pipe sections (This method - as opposed to burning lifting holes in each end of the pipes - was adopted because 'the client wanted to speed things up and avoid damaging the pipe'. Longstreath blog. -
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....� -
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. -
2004 11 12 Watts Superior Saturation Injury claim and counter claim, court case, no details -
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 -
1985 1 23 Washington Luis Brazil Comex Saturation Incorrect oil (selected only for oxygen compatibility, management of change process not followed) used in regeneration system coupled with a series of circumstances that allowed the oil to come into direct contact with a heater element. The oil broke down producing by-products that included phosgene and fluoridic acid gases that were released into the chamber atmoshere. Cause of death recorded as lung oedema. Double fatality (Ruben Cavalcanti). PC -
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 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 -
1990 12 0 Warrender Stuart UK STS Topsides British, drill support, ROV launch via moon pool, fell out of latches hitting handrails, crushed against container, chest and neck injuries, pronounced dead offshore. -
1872 6 25 Warner George UK S/S Air Melancholy Fatal Accident to a Diver. It in our painful duty this week to report one of those melancholy accidents, which fortunately are not of frequent occurrence, viz., the death by drowning of a diver, named George Warner, while following his occupation. It appears that the unfortunate young man was on Tuesday last engaged at a ship sunk off Dungeness, and while searching in the cabin for a sum of money amounting to about £800, supposed to have been left there; the air pipe suddenly burst, the result being, of course, that the communication of air to the deceased was instantly cut off. Mr. Philip Warner, a brother of the deceased, was attending him, by whom the bursting of the pipe was felt, and he immediately took measures to raise him to the boat; this was accomplished in about a minute and a half, and on his being dragged on board he exclaimed “ Oh, my poor head; I am dying' and then breathed his last. The body was taken to Dover, where an inquest was held, the jury returning a verdict of “Accidental Death." On Wednesday the corpse was brought home to Whitstable for interment. The deceased was a very steady young man, and his untimely end in lamented by a large circle of friends and relatives. He was a son of the well known diver, Mr. Philip Warner, who, as many of our readers are aware, was employed for several years in the construction of the harbour of refuge at Alderney. Deceased was twenty-six years of age, and was, we understand, shortly about to be married. Reported in the Whitstable Times -
2007 10 5 Ward David Nigeria Hydrodive Topsides Kidnapped in August on the way to work in Port Harcourt, held for 56 days until rescued during a raid on his captors base. Daily Telegraph, UK. -
1978 11 36 Ward Mike UK Northern Divers 116 Saturation British, aged 25. Beryl Alpha, DSV "Star Canopus", DP incident inside anchor pattern, lost bell, double fatality (Prangley), hypothermia, drowning -
1961 6 2 Ward James UK Kirkaldy Corporation 6 S/S Air Diving from a tug near the dock gates in Kirkaldy Harbour, alarm raised when tugman could not get response on lifeline. A team of divers from HMS Safeguard, Rosyth, raced to the harbour and located the diver trapped by his left arm under the sluice gates and by water pressure. In addition to his lifeline, a further two ropes were tied to him and the sluice gates lifted until he could be pulled clear. On deck, he was cut out of his suit and a doctor attepted CPR, but he failed to respond. Evening Times. His widow was awarded £3,487 and 10 shillings. The jury assessed the damages at £4,650 but held that the deceased was 25% to blame for the accident that led to his death. Unknown to the diver the sluice gates had been left partially open. As soon as he approached the bottom of the gate he was caught in the current of water passing through thr sluice and asphyxiatyed. The Corporation denied responsibilty and claimed Ward stumbled and fell. The Glasgow Herald -
2017 7 23 Waqa Felix Fiji Triton Marine SCUBA Aged 43, diving 600m from the shore with two other workers 'repairing a submarine pipeline' in Vuda, near Lautoka. 'Discovered lying motionless on the seabed 10 metres from the worksite', did not respond to treatment, conveyed to Lautoka hospital, pronounced dead on arrival. Coroner recorded death due to heart attack, but no real details. Reported by the Fiji Times Online -
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 -
1980 2 15 Walter Brian Qatar Comex 37 SCUBA Diving untended off Halul Island. Vomited underwater, failed to surface. PC -
1975 7 7 Walsh Peter UK Underwater Security Ltd. 37 SCUBA British, aged 25. "Celtic Surveyor", Scapa Flow, double fatality (Carson), shore approach, pigging operation, diver sucked into pipe by wave action or incorrect valve operation, differential pressure, stand-by diver and second stand-by (third diver) also sucked in though second stand-by managed to get out, two divers drowned -
1991 3 13 Wallace Timothy USA 8 SCUBA Aged 27, from Winter Harbour, one of 4 men onboard the scalloper 'Yellow Bird' trying to raise another scallop dragger that had sunk at its moorings in Gouldsboro bay the day before. Reported as diving alone, surfaced, told his companions - which included his father - that he had found the boat and asked for a marker buoy which was thrown to him. He didn't catch it but disappeared below water at around 09:00 and did not resurface. Reported in the Sun Journal. -
1983 6 2 Wallace R M UK Mobell Marine 16 SCUBA British, aged 30. Diving from inflatable, body recovered with SCUBA mouthpiece out of mouth, drowned -
1994 0 0 Walker Pat USA 24 SCUBA American, aged 24, Tightening a pipeline flange at working pressure, flange parted, gas explosion blew his hat off, body recovered some days later -
1979 8 7 Walker Richard A UK Infabco 162 Saturation American, aged 32. DSV "Wildrake", Thistle field, parted bell wire, secondary means of recovery failed, screwed up rescue, died from hypothermia, Double fatality (Guiel) -
2021 7 27 Walker Staff Sgt. Micah USA Military Surface Swimmer Soldier assigned to 10th Special forces at the John F Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School (SWCS) in Key West, Florida, undergoing the CDQC (Combat Diver Qualification Course) drowned during pool training. "The Staff Sergeant was a student in the Special Forces Combat Diver Qualification Course, and was participating in a conditioning exercise in the pool, which stresses the students’ cardio, respiratory and muscular endurance,” the release said. During the training event, the Soldier submerged and did not resurface. The cadre immediately entered the pool and found him unresponsive, read the release. “The Dive Medical Officer attempted to resuscitate him, and he was transported to the Lower Keys Medical Center Emergency Room where he was pronounced dead following full medical intervention". Second CDQC fatality in under a year (Staff Sgt Paul Olmstead during pre-selection 'martime assessment' 23rd September 2020) -
1936 6 14 Wakino Yasujiro Japan S/S Air Akashi diver, had spent 20 hours a day in the water off Higashidecho, Kobe, for 14 days in an attempt to treat decompression illness. "…making good progress so much so that the doctor allowed him a little rice and beef on June 13. On the following day he was able to walk. While in the water the same afternoon, however, he complained of feeling bad again. He was again taken out of the water. By the evening he was unconscious, and he finally died". Straits Times -
1893 5 10 Wahoo Johnnie Australia 36 S/S Air From Honolulu, diving off the Thursday Islands from the pearling lugger 'Premier' After 5 dives on deck, removed gear, but 30 minutes later complained of feeling unwell. In spite of vigorous massage, after about 12 hours became unconscious and died two hours later. Inquiry concluded that he died of diver's paralysis. Reported in the Brisbane Courier -
2012 1 2 Voiles David USA Golf ball diver 3 SCUBA Aged 43, Staff Sergeant in the Florida National Guard, ex 53rd infantry, Purple Heart, Army Commendation Medal, part time work retrieving golf balls at the Sherman Hills Golf Club, Brooksville. Disappeared, noticed only when his golf buggy was found unattended. His body was recovered by SAR divers the day after. Reported that the SAR diver found a nylon bag containing around 500 golf balls (Later weighed - in air - at 85 pounds weight) attached to a rope. He followed the rope and found the diver face down on the botton in 8 feet of water. His regulator was entangled in the line and pulled behind his back out of reach, mask still in place, single tank, gloves, wet suit, fins, knife hanging from his harness. Daily Mail -
1993 1 23 Vognetz David A. USA SCUBA (Surname was Vognetz, not Bognetz, incorrectly reported in early articles). Aged 39, described as an experienced diver, Unami Creek at the Delmont Boy Scout Camp in Marlborough township. "Attempt to rescue diver fails Phoenixville man". The victim and two other men were at the dam attempting to drain water through the pipe to lower the overall water level of the dam and may also have intended to clear the pipe of debris. With a rope tied to him, he descended into the pipe. His co-workers soon realized he was in trouble, Buza said, and called in rescue personnel. Throughout the afternoon and into the evening, rescue workers tried to stop the tremendous flow of water through the pipe, without much success. The danger of the strong current prevented any rescue divers from venturing into the pipe. When a plug could not be found to fit over the mouth of the pipe, rescue personnel tried a different idea. His body was finally retrieved from the pipe at 7:20 p.m. after rescue workers built a temporary dam to divert water around the pipe. After diverting the dam water, rescue personnel were able to retrieve the body with the tripod winch. The Morning Call -
1942 12 8 Visintini Lt Licio Gibraltar Military Submarine Three Italian Navy divers were killed by depth charges by British harbour defences at Gibraltar during an attack by “Human Torpedoes� from a mother ship (the ‘Olterra’). Among the dead were Lt Licio Visintini, commander of the torpedo unit, Petty Officer Giovanni Magro and Sergeant Salvatore Leone, from Sicily. Sgt. Leone's body was never found, he was awarded the Medaglia d'oro al Valor Militare and a memorial was erected in the Community Gardens in Taormina (his home town in Sicily) on the 50th anniversary of the attack. The memorial includes a rebuilt torpedo ('maiale', Italian for 'pig', a reference to it's poor handling) and a description of the events. Wikipedia and other historical sources -
1900 0 0 Virco Alexander Joseph S/S Air Extraordinary death of a diver. … held an inquiry at Wimbledon concerning the death of Alexander Joseph Virco, aged 37 years..." Report dated Saturday 1st December 1900. No other details (Pay for access archive) Reported in the Illustrated Police News News/The British Newspaper Archive -
2021 5 9 Villegas Rogel Jorge Chile SCUBA Aged 29, Diving from the 'Genesis II' at a Fish Farm in the Punta Valentino Sector on Dawson Island, South of Punta Arenas, recovered unconscious, did not respond to treatment. Declared deceased on arrival at Punta Arenas. No other details. Reported by subaquaticamadazine.es -
2006 4 9 Villanueva Lorenzo Chile Pesquera San Jorge SCUBA Salmon fish farm, Hornopiren, Commercial diver, Source: Ecoceanos, based on data from the Dir. of Labor, Directemar, Mariscope and the Tenth and Eleventh Regions District Attorneys Offices. No details -
2010 9 7 Villalobos Roberto Antonio Chile S/S Air Aged 36, one of three brothers (Victor Manuel, Julio Humberto and Roberto Antonio) crewing the fishing vessel "Manchita" out of the port of Ovalle (La Lobera) in Talcaruca inlet harvesting limpets. Victor and Robrto dived, but after 20 minutes it was noticed that Roberto's umbilcal was not moving, pulled to the surface but appeared already lifeless. Taken to port where paramedics confirmed him dead. GPS Buceo -
2016 11 0 Viernes Eleazar Philippines Keppel Subic In a Manila Times report dated 9th December:- 'SUBIC, Zambales: A contractual worker for Keppel Subic Shipyard Inc. and a sandblaster at Hanjin Heavy Industries and Construction-Philippines (HHIC-Phil) died in separate accidents here last month. Eleazar Viernes, 63, a diver from Olongapo City, died while working underwater with another worker to install a dummy gate for replacement of valve of its Pacific Dock. Viernes, however, was reported by another worker to have suffered difficulty in breathing underwater. He died an hour later at the hospital. -
1986 7 30 Vienneau Alain Canada Repechage et Recherche Sous Marine Marcoux Inc Aged 23, working at the entrance of the Lachine canal on a Parks Canada project to clean up the waterway. Police said he got caught in the circular opening in the locks that allows water from the Lac St. Louis to spill into the canal. He was removing debris in a strong current when the accident occurred. Reported in the Ottawa Citizen. However, the Montreal Gazette went on to say (paraphrased) Clean-up work on the Lachine Canal continued yesterday, one day after a diver died clearing debris from a water intake in a lock at the canal's western end. “He may have been knocked unconscious when currents banged his head against underwater debris�, his boss said yesterday, “we would have stopped working for a week or so after the accident, but since we already had police and a crane arranged for today, we went ahead� The team had been trying to block a 15 centimetre opening in the lock with metal plates. Vienneau, who had been working for Marcoux for 6 months was going to block it with a piece of wood. “He went down, and after a few minutes he stopped giving us any signals� said Marcoux. “And he didn't give a distress signal either� He said he pulled the lifeless diver from the water about 30 seconds after his last signal. A witness who works at a nearby gas station, said he what all the activity was and saw five men pulling on a rope tied to something in the water. “I didn't know what it was, they brought it out and I saw it was a man in full diving gear with his mask off. He was completely blue�. Emergency services spent half an hour trying to revive him on site. A Parks Canada official said that he did not have any details about the accident but “had no reason to suppose that the work will be delayed� because of the death. They began lowering the water in the canal two day before the accident (which explains the differential pressure) and “planned for environmental experts to examine the toxic sediments that cover the bottom of the 13.4 kilometre long waterway once it was drained.� -
2012 2 23 Vezzani Francis Italy 40 South Energy SCUBA Aged 38, doing maintenance work on an experimental wave measurement buoy a mile offshore from Punta Righini (Castiglioncello, Livorno). Seen motionless on the seabed (at 'several 10s of metres deep') by his colleague (Daniele Cappanera) and brought to the surface but was pronounced dead when they reached port. Daniele Cappanera was taken to Pisa hyperbaric centre for treatment (suspected DCI). La Republica -
1904 6 17 Vessel "General Slocum" USA S/S Air Pleasure paddle steamship, caught fire and sank in east River, New York, 15/6/1904, loss of over 1,000 lives. Two days later, divers recovering bodies were endangered when sister ship, the "Grand Republic" ignored police and harbour official and made high speed close pass almost swamping the rescue boats. Decks full of cheering passengers in spite of groups of relatives on the shore waiting to identify bodies. -
1984 11 16 Vessel 'Brigitta Montanari' Yugoslavia 82 The Maltese flagged, Italian owned, chemical tanker, the Brigitta Montanari (Built 1975, 68 metres in length, 1297 GRT) carrying 1,390 tonnes of vinyl chloride monomer (‘VCM’, toxic, explosive and carcinogenic) sank in a storm in the Adriatic Sea on 16 November 1984 in 82m water depth 15 miles off the coastal town of Sibenik (Yugoslavia) with the loss of 3 of its 12 man crew. The sinking was attributed to a loss of stability (improperly loaded cargo, raised metacentre) following a sudden change of course. The VCM was carried in four tanks, two below deck (each 523 tonnes) and two above deck (202 and 247 tonnes). The wreck was known to be leaking toxic chemicals adjacent to the Kornati national park, an area popular with tourists. An initial salvage operation in 1985 was suspended after the death of two Navy divers (Dragutin Siljevinac and Hussein Hadzic) and injury of a third (Dragisa Koprivica) in an uncontrolled bell ascent incident (Lost bell weights) on the 25th September 1985. During successive salvage campaigns the wreck was righted (It had sunk on it’s starboard side), lifted to between 25 and 30 metres water depth (Above that depth the VCM goes from liquid to gaseous phase), and moved to a sheltered area. The VCM was then displaced by seawater and pumped into surface vessels. Following the aborted salvage using saturation divers in 1985, subsequent dives were completed using either gas bounce or air (Over 150 heliox bounce dives were undertaken below 55 metres, the dive between 30 and 55 metres were done using the same bell system on air). There does not appear to have been any follow up study on diver’s health after their exposure to VCM throughout the salvage operation. Centre of Marine Research, Zagreb -
2007 1 12 Verma SK UAE Arab Tanker Services 31 S/S Air Switching gases at first stop, no gas (valve closed on HP bottle but with an 'open' tag) -
2006 12 9 Vera Daniel Castro Chile Invertec SCUBA Diver, Mapué Cultivation Center (close to Tranqui Island, South of Chiloé), Source: Ecoceanos, based on data from the Dir. of Labor, Directemar, Mariscope and the Tenth and Eleventh Regions District Attorneys Offices. No details -
2015 2 28 Vella Patrick Malta SalpaSub SCUBA Married, three children. "A 36-year-old diver from Zejtun, died in an accident at Palumbo Shipyards this morning. A spokesman for Palumbo said the company called SalpaSub for assistance when it noticed that a drydock was taking much longer than usual to be emptied. When Mr Vella, a director of SalpaSub, arrived, he dived to see what was wrong but did not return to the surface. This was around 11.45am. Palumbo called for assistance and a search was launched by members of the Civil Protection Department and the Armed Forces. Mr Vella, a marine biologist, was eventually brought up by the AFM and taken to Mater Dei Hospital, where he died soon after. An inquiry is being held. Five divers conducted the search for the missing worker and eventually found him stuck in a gate valve. It has not yet been confirmed how he ended up there, but sources have suggested that somebody who wasn't aware of the diver's presence opened a valve, consequently pulling him into the hole with a great force. A Palumbo spokesman on Saturday denied reports that the diver had been sucked in by the water pressure, saying there was no such mechanism. Sources told this newspaper the diver was called in to measure the diameter of a defective valve whose diameter was about that of a bucket". Reported by the Times of Malta -
2017 1 5 Vazquez Tojeiro Jesus Ramon La Alcaidesa. San Roque. Cadiz. Spain 80m SCUBA Commercial diver 50 years old born in El Ferrol. La Coruna. Spain. Father of two with more of 26 years of diving experience. On Thursday 5th January 2017 at 11:20 a.m. emergency service number 112 received a call informing that the diver had not emerged from a solo red coral collecting dive after descending around 09:50 a.m. Actuation of Guardia Civil, Salvamento Maritimo and private companies with two ROV without success with poor weather conditions hindering the recovery operation . After several days SAR, on Saturday 14th January at 12:30pm the body was found in 80 m.s.w. and recovered by ROV at 14:30 then transported to the port of Sotogrande. Diver was using SCUBA on air. -
2011 3 31 van Delft Anton Lybia Aged 62, dive team leader working for Zwaytina Zwaytina Oil Company near Ajdabiyah. With two diving companions stayed on site rather than evacuating during the civil war. Compound was raided/looted by government supporters, detained two days, all three escaped to Benghazi. Reported that most of his medicines were lost/confiscated, rationed himself but suffered seizures and died of 'epilepsy'. Reported by Nu.nl -
2012 7 31 Van D Truong Vietnam Pearl or clam diver Aged 25, diver at a fish farm (pearls or clams) in Phu Yen Province. Resident in Ho Chi Minh City, returned to his home povince in July and went diving for clams. Developed high fever and headache on July 29th, the following day was hospitalised at the Nhan Dan Gia Dinh hospital in Ho Chi Minh city then transferred to the Tropical diseases hospital, treatment ineffectual as infection had spread from his nasal passages to the brain leading to Meningitis, fell into a coma, suffered three cardiac and respiratory arrests, was asked to be released on the 31st by his family, died in transit to his home. Subsequent tests confirmed he was infected with Naegleria fowleri. Amoeba was known to be endemic in Vietnam since in 1965, known as the 'brain eating amoeba', typically found in warm fresh water. Can invade humans and attackthe nervous sytem (rare) but when it occurs, typically has a 98% fatality rate. Of 121 cases reported in the USA since 1937, only one survivor. Reported in VietNamNet Bridge -
2013 7 29 Valenzuela Valderrama José Luis Chile Chilean Navy Military One of three Chilean Special Forces divers killed during underwater explosive demolition exercises. The Commander in Chief of the First Naval Zone regrets to inform the public that at 12:45 pm today, Monday 29th July , while an underwater demolition with explosives practice was done at Caleta Hornillos, in Laguna Verde, Valparaiso, there was an accident resulting in death. Should be noted that this exercise is one of the planned activities in the Annual Training Plan. A result of this unfortunate situation were deceased 2nd Lt. Miguel Casas-Cordero Menéndez and 1st. Sgt. Marcos Llancavil Arce, both from the Special Forces Command of the Armada Chilena. Additionally is currently missing Cpl. José Luis Valenzuela Valderrama. Cpl. José Luis Valenzuela Valderrama was later found also deceased.<br />Source: Emol.com -
1984 12 12 Uyeda Engine Man 2nd Class Michael R Honduras US Special Forces SCUBA Aged 22, Special Boat Unit 24 based at Naval Amphibious Base at Little Creek, Va. "Two Navy divers killed blasting Honduran Logjam". Among around 40 special forces dispatched to Honduras to join the Destroyer USS Caron for exercise 'Kings Guard', a coastal surveillance exercise involving the Caron and other vessels from Honduras and El Salvador. As the exercise was winfing down, the Navy dipatched Fusco and Uyedo to the east coast of Honduras for a 'civic action' to help residents of six small villages who had been totally isolated for several years because of log jams on the Amatingri river. The two apparently placed 14 pounds of C4 on a large log jam in a lagoon but they apparently failed to move their small boat far enough away. One man died at the scene, the second died en route to hospital in Comayagua. Shenectady Gazette -
1916 0 0 USS F-4 USA 93 S/S Air US Navy divers Crilley, Loughman and Nielson dive to 304' on air during salvage of the US Submarine F-4 using an early version of the Mk V Morse and Schrader dress (Without communications) The finalised version was adopted by the US Navy 1917 and used until introduction of the Mk 12 in the late 1970s -
1975 0 0 USN USA USN 350 Deep Diving System Mk I sets in-water diving record to over 1,100 feet' -
1972 0 0 USN USA Military 308 Deep Diving System Mk II sets in-water diving record to over a thousand feet -
1970 10 0 USN USA Military 259 Deep Diving System Mk I sets in-water diving record to 850' -
2010 2 15 Usimewa Henry Fiji High San Trading Aged 19, had been employed as a diver for three years, diving off the 'Grace III' on Nara reef off Yadua island for sucuwalu (beche-de-mer or sea cucumber). His crew members reported that he was dragged under by an unseen creature leaving only his diving gear behind (Hookah? TC). Search called off two days later, body not recovered. Presumed shark attack. Reported by the Fiji Times online -
2007 3 15 USCG Safety Alert USA USCG Topsides USCG Safety alert regarding increase in commercial diver fatalities and injuries (I think the only diving related alert ever issued in the USA, TC) -
1924 0 0 US Navy USA S/S Mixed Gas US Navy and Bureau of mines sponsor experimental heliox dives -
1983 4 29 Underhill Ernest USA Police SCUBA Aged 32, Sheriff's Deputy, off duty, Little Muskegon dam, helping village employees replace metal plates/grills over openings in the dam wall but got sucked head first into a 4' wide. 8� high opening. Rescuers tried for 5 hours to pull him out, while his wife watched, eventually breaking his surface line, His legs and feet were visible, but the water pressure kept him trapped. 'He was just helping out'. -
2015 4 12 Umudov Kamil Azerbaijan SOCAR SCUBA A diver of the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR) has been killed at about 5 pm today. SOCAR informs that diver Kamil Umudov, 39, died when a pipe was being attached to the jacket at Bulla field. “In 5-10 minutes another diver, who noticed that Umudov does not respond to signals, went down into the water and found him unconscious. Despite the victim was given primary health care, his life was not saved," SOCAR said in a statement. The causes of the accident are being examined by a specially created commission. Reported by ABC.az -
2004 10 6 UK Diver UKCS Prosecuted by the HSE, forged HSE part II, 12 month custodial sentence. -
2006 5 25 Uequizo Lt Wilson Perez Bolivia Navy Bolivian Navy diver, working on a hydroelectric dam in Chojlla (La Paz). Double fatality (The second was Lt Nelson Delgado). Unclear why naval divers were carrying out work for a private company (Commanding officers sued in court and two officers - including the commanding officer of the diver training centre - were dismissed) and it seems that the second diver was ordered into the water to rescue the first, but the details of the incident have not been reported though it appears to have been a Dam/differential Pressure, dual fatality. Reported in Elmundo.com -
1980 3 8 Uehara Tadeo Japan Aged 36, Japanese prawn diver from Naha (Okinawa) died after a one metre long needlfish stabbed him in the neck "It was attracted by his light". The same press report notes that a fisherman on nearby Ishigaki Island was killed when a needlefish stabbed him in the chest in September 1979. Reuters -
2012 8 12 Udoh Godwin Nigeria OMAK / Eidesvik 35 S/S Air Working off the "Atlantis Dweller". Diving contractor was OMAK (Not IMCA) a "Local content' initiative Nigerian subsidiary of Eidesvik AS (IMCA member) set up in Port Harcourt, (subcontracted to Fugro), the diver was locally qualified (PTI in Rivers State) and had a local medical (No evidence to say either had an effect on the incident), his first dive after arriving on board, dive was to 35 msw, Dive time line seems to have been:- 16:16 left surface, 16:31 to 16:36 "about 15-20 minutes into dive displayed signs of distress/panic", 16:39 stand-by left surface and freed umbilical of unconscious but breathing diver, 16:50 Divers left bottom, 16:58 Unconscious diver appears to stop breathing, 17:01 Divers on surface, 17:03 In DDC with DMT, 17:08 Second DMT locked in, 17:53 CPR discontinued 'after 45 minutes'. When helmet was removed on surface, interior was dry and it was reported he had white froth around his mouth. The Police autopsy states death due to drowning, the hospital death certificate says asphyxia leading to cerebral hypoxia and myocardial infarction). Oil Company Incient Report. -
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 -
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. -
2005 9 27 Typhoon' TLP USA Chevron After the hurricane had passed, an aerial survey found the Chevron Typhoon tension leg platform floating upside-down, around 80 miles from its location in Green Canyon Block 236. In May 2006, Chevron declared that it would be donating the damaged platform to a U.S. Dept. of Interior program which uses old oil and gas platforms in the construction of artificial offshore reefs. -
2005 8 21 Tychansky Gerry Canada CJ Productions Rebreather Aged 43, during filming of low budget horror movie "Marina Monster" at the Royal Hamilton Yacht Club. He was pulled lifeless from the water after towing a film prop shaped like a shark. Natural causes, heart attack, coroner indicated natural causes but also concerns with equipment maintenance -
1975 6 14 Turner George W Norway Comex 46 SCUBA British, aged 37. Pipelay barge "Choctaw 1", meant to be doing a survey at max depth of 50m, seabed was 69m, slipped lifeline. Two divers entered water on SCUBA, supervisor returns to surface violently ill, puking, stand-by (also in SCUBA) entered water but also returned to surface violently ill and puking, second standby jumped on band mask, narked but located diver's body on seabed. Official report states 'food poisoning' though nobody else who ate in the galley reported any symptoms.................Bad gas??? -
2001 0 0 Turnbull Robert Qatar Hallul 50 Saturation British, DSV "Khattaf" (Ex "British Argyll"). Died whilst locked out, suspected heart attack -
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 0 0 Tucker John Venezuela 9 S/S Air American, Porto Cabala, Inspection dive during the salvage of the vessel "Zinnia", stopped responding to surface/line signal, stand-by found him on the bottom, unresponsive, helmet flooded. -
1939 3 14 Tsutsui Tanaishi Australia Gregory & Co. S/S Air News from the North. BROOME. From our own correspondent. Broome, March. BROOME DIVER KILLED. Tanaishi Tsutsui (26), a Japanese diver, was accidentally killed on Tuesday. March 14, whilst engaged in pearl fishing operations on one of Gregory and Co's luggers off the Lacepe Islands, some 80 miles north of Broome. Tsutsui was a young married man whose wife is in Japan and who himself had been in Broome for the past six or seven years. A very large gathering of his confreres paid their last respects at a solemn and spectacular oriental funeral on Thursday March 16th. Reported in the Northern Times, WA. -
1992 12 0 Truffant David USA SCUBA Aged 28, Harvesting Sea urchins in Casco bay,reported as his first commercial dive, swam to the surface without exhaling properly, a carpenter by trade with no diving training. The Sun Journal -
1974 0 0 Trautman Richard Wayne Egypt Buck Steber American, salvage diver, injured during suez canal clearance operations. Law suit in 1982. No details -
1907 7 20 Trapnell Walter UK Military 45 S/S Air Reported as “A government diver� at an inquest held in Torquay. Diving operation on the wreck of the RN Torpedo boat 99 sunk off Torbay. Became entangled and was cut free by another diver (Leverett) after 2 hours and twenty minutes. Spent 2 hours at 50' 'staging' brought to the surface alive but 'died as a result of his long immersion' in hospital. Reported in the Nelson Evening Mail -
1930 1 30 Trans Peter Canada 6 S/S Air 30 year old Danish immigrant, trapped by hoses/differential pressure against a coffer dam at the Ontario Paper Company project at Pointe aus Outardes, recovered after 71 hours, but had died (hypothermia). Working to build new life in Canada for his wife and children still in Denmark. Rescue divers Quesnel Morency and Lewis Begin were flown 200 miles north from Montreal into the remote location on the river Outardes, Quebec, to effect a rescue attempt. The Evening Independent. -
2021 7 7 Trahey Brian USA Great Lakes Engineering SCUBA Aged 49, married, two sons. Calkins Bridge dam on the Kalamazoo river/Allegan Lake in Southwest Michigan. Underwater inspection, failed to surface. Body recovered after water levels lowered and dam stopped entirely to prevent current (Suspected differential pressure entrapment). Reported by WXMI-TV. Great Lakes Engineering given maximum fine of £119,000 (No planning, lifeline or comms, repeat offender). Diver's wife was Great Lakes President.... Multiple US news outlets -
1992 1 2 Tortorella Franco Italy Drafin Sub 55 SCUBA Italian, aged 43. Ligurian Sea (off Genoa), off a small boat with a partner inspecting (plus cleaning and fishing!) a loading facility. Died during ascent. Unisuit too small, clear signs of haemorrhage on neck and top of shoulder. -
2010 7 22 Torres Luis Martin Cohuo Mexico From Celestun but resident in Hunucma, wife and two children aged 14 and 7, shellfish diver, died in a decompression incident. No details. Reported by Yucatanalamano.com -
1921 12 20 Torrance Captain william UK S/S Air "Diver drowned. Through air pipe becoming severed, William Torrance, diver, lost his life while…" "Weymouth diver's tragic end. Asphyxiated underwater through air pipe bursting. Weymouth, Wednesday. Verdict of death by asphyxiation was returned today.." "Diver suffocated. Fatal accident in Portland Harbour while diving operations were in progress from the tug..." No other details (Pay for access archive) Reported in the Exeter and Plymouth Gazette/The British Newspaper Archive -
1854 6 1 Tope, third Entry, the investigation John USA Wells, Gowan and Green 12 S/S Air The deceased was a diver of five years’ experience on the Atlantic sea-board, and recently came here from Boston, where he leaves a wife and four children to mourn his death. Those who were with him during the day say that he appeared to have a premonition that some catastrophe would happen to him but could not be dissuaded from trying the experiment, in which he acted on his own responsibility, Mr. Green being in this city at the time. The accident at the wreck of the Erie last year, when Macdonald lost his life, was similar to this, though the victim in that case had but little experience as a diver. Too much care cannot be observed by those who follow this hazardous business. It requires cool judgment and great presence of mind on the part of the diver. Mr. Green informs us he has often experienced the same sensations while in the water, but always rose promptly to the surface until the dizziness had vanished and the armor thoroughly inflated. As long as the air circulates throughout the armor there is no danger to be apprehended. The body of the deceased below the neck appeared as if the blood had been entirely forced out of it, presenting an appearance as white and clear as a piece of sculptured marble. Since writing the above, we learn that Mr. Tope had connected a length of gutta percha hose to the helmet at the place occupied by the escape valve, one end of the hose, remaining above the surface of' the water. This was an improvement of his own which he desired to test, and before going down the last time he had taken the valve out entirely, though he was told frequently that such an experiment would prove fatal to him, and was warned by Mr. Green not to attempt it. On learning of the accident, Mr. Green had the body brought to this city, and Messrs. Wells & Gowan deposited it in a metallic burial case, and Mr. Wells proceeded with it to Boston last evening. The unfortunate man was held in high estimation by his employers, and his loss is deeply regretted. New York Times -
1854 6 1 Tope, Second entry, incident response John USA Wells, Gowan and Green 12 S/S Air On opening the helmet, the unfortunate occupant of the armor was found to be quite dead, presenting a horrid spectacle, blood oozing from his eyes, ears, nose and mouth. Detaching the spring from the escape-valve prevented the air from inflating the armor below the neck of the diver; and when it is recollected that at the depth of thirty feet the pressure of the water is equal to fifteen pounds to the square inch, and hence there must have been a pressure of at least ten tons upon the lower extremities of the diver; and this tremendous pressure forced the vital fluid to the head, bursting the blood vessels, and thus causing immediate death. Not more than a minute and a half elapsed from the time he entered the water, to the time he was hoisted upon the deck of the vessel. The pressure of the water upon the lower part of the armor, on his two previous trials, caused a slight rush of blood to the diver’s head, causing a dizziness, which he imagined was produced by foul air, and he insisted upon descending again with the spring detached from the escape-valve, which be said would allow a free current of air to pass in and out of the armor; but a moment’s reflection will convince anyone that this alone was the cause of the melancholy casualty. The apparatus he used on this occasion was in complete working order, and one of the most perfect ever manufactured. New York Times -
1854 6 1 Tope, First entry, the incident John USA Wells, Gowan and Green 12 S/S Air We learn that Mr. John Tope, one of the divers employed by Messrs. Wells, Gowan & Green, in their operations on the Lake, lost his life while experimenting with a sub-marine armor, a few days since. The circumstances attending this lamentable casualty, as related to us by Mr. Green, are substantially as follows: It appears that Mr. Tope was desirous of testing a sub-marine armor preparatory to commencing operations on the wrecks which the Company design raising this Summer, and on Friday afternoon last, in company with three others, started from Cattaraugus Creek in a small vessel of about twenty tons burden, and proceeded some distance from the shore, where the water was about forty feet deep. Mr. Tope descended into the water three times. The first and second time he went down some fifteen or twenty feet, each time signalizing to those above to raise him. In both instances he remarked that the foul air did not escape fast enough to allow him to breathe freely. Previous to going down, the third time detached the spring from the valve which allows the impure air to escape from the helmet, and desired the man who held the signal line to observe carefully when he should reach the bottom, (some forty feet) and be prepared to answer his signals. He then entered the water, and had descended about thirty feet, when those above thought the armor felt unusually heavy. The signal line was immediately jerked to ascertain whether anything was wrong, but receiving no answering signal, the diver was immediately raised from the water. New York Times -
1985 5 22 Tonkawa USA Temple Drilling 6 Drill rig with crew of 22, under tow overturned in 19' of water, divers cut two men out of the upturned hull 5 hours later, 6 fatalities. Los Angeles Times -
2005 1 22 Toisa Polaris UK SS7 Topsides During mobilisation of a Deep water ROV for West of Shetland a 440V supply was inadvertently de-isolated. No physical injury, but potentially lethal. Very open incident report from SS7 and one of the guys involved, good example of a working and positive safety culture -
2010 9 17 Todirel Iulian Romania Fireman Aged 25 diver in the ISU (Emergency services) with two colleagues went down into a well in the village of Radauti Prut to recover a man, overcome by CO fumes from a water pump. One colleague (Sergeant Marius Loghin) died, Iulian Todirel, along with and the section leader, Major Narcis Jachal were hospitalised first in Darabani City Hospital then transferred to Botsani County hospital. The 33 year old man they went to rescue also died. Discussion after the event centred on apparent lack of training (recognising a contaminated environment) and failure to intiate/use Hyperbaric Oxygen treatment (HBOT) for CO poisoning. Realitea.net -
1911 1 11 Todd George New Zealand Rise and Shine Dredging Company S/S Air Making an inspection of the Rise and Shine Dredging Company's dredge that sank the previous week off Dunedin. "After he had been down a considerable time, those above realised that he gave no answer to their signals. Then he was pulled up and found to be dead". The inquest recorded a verdict of death from natural causes after medical evidence that his heart valves were affected and he died of the effects of heart disease. Northern Advocate, National Library of New Zealand -
2008 8 11 Tiznado Marco Antonio Parra Chile Marine Harvest Aged 21, salmon farming, died in Achao hospital after an accident around noon whilst repairing nets, was working with a partner but went back into the water solo to rectify a fault with the netting. Harbourmaster was alerted around 14:00 hours. Boat then had engine failure on the way in to port so company sent a rescue boat plus paramedic, arrived at hospital with vital signs but declared dead at 15:15 hours. No real details -
2007 9 22 Titanic Key UK White Star Titanic sank 15/4/1912 with a loss of 1522 lives. Keys to the crows nest binocular locker auctioned in Wiltshire (In the possession of second officer who did not sail at last minute) A lookout reported at the enquiry that they would have been able to see the iceberg earlier if they had had binoculars -
1875 8 12 Tippett John Hicks UK 9 S/S Air EXTRAORDINARY DEATH OF A DIVER. The diving cutter ‘Sir Francis Burdett’ has arrived at Hull with the body of James Tippett, diver, aged 37, The crew have been engaged for some time in preparations to blow up the steamer ‘Shamrock’, sunk at the entrance to the Humber in 30 feet of water. Yesterday morning Tippett went down under water fully dressed, when those on the cutter felt convinced something was wrong. He was hauled onboard but was found to be dead. The glass at the front of his helmet had been broken by some means and so had let in the water. He must have been dead long before he was got on board, Reported in the Bradford Observer -
2010 10 18 Tiffin CPO Andrew Afghanistan Canadian Navy Topsides Canadian, 42-year-old father of two, naval clearance diver and explosive ordnance disposal technician. (Friend and colleague of Craig Blake - killed 3rd of May - whose coffin he escorted home). He specialized in the analysis of explosive devices, based in Kandahar, working on a seemingly disabled device when it blew apart in his hands. Severely damaged left hand, also arms injuries, medivac to Germany and then onward to Canada. The Star.com. (Included for information, a diver, but not working as a diver so not counted as a diving fatality TC) -
2005 7 10 Thunder Horse USA BP Reported as the largest offshore platform ever built, BP's Thunder Horse was constructed in South Korea before being transported to the Thunder Horse Field in the Mississippi Canyon Block in the Gulf of Mexico. It is an oil and gas production platform linked to 25 subsea wells, and is planned to be the largest producer in the Gulf. Production was initially scheduled to begin at the end of 2005, but this has been delayed due to a ballast control incident around the time of Hurricane Dennis. As the Dennis approached the Gulf of Mexico in July 2005, the rig was secured and the crew evacuated. After Dennis had passed, the rig was found listing an estimated 20-30 degrees. Subsequent inspection found that key valves had failed and allowed ballast water to move inside the platform. Salvage personnel from Bisso Marine and BP boarded the rig on 11 July 2005 and, using powerful portable pumps, removed water from the platform's 185 foot portside columns and stabilised the installation. As a result, production was delayed whilst repairs were undertaken, with the start of production operations in 2007. Oil Rig Disasters -
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) -
1990 0 0 Thomlinson Goeorge USA SCUBA Ex Seal, professional urchin diver, died of an embolism after an ascent in rough water near Depoe Bay. Reported as the only fatality in that industry in Oregon that year. Eugene Register-Guard -
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� -
1965 4 5 Thomas Lyle E USA Military SCUBA American, aged 38, Navy Deep Sea Diving School, With National Capital Cave Rescue team rescued 4 cavers trapped by rising water from Rowland cave, Ozark mountains, Arkansas, collapsed at end of dive, natural causes, heart attack. -
1878 9 0 Thomas Thomas James UK S/S Air "The diver engaged on the wreck of the sunken German ironclad, the Grosser Kurfurst, who died the other day through remaining…" (The Grosser Kurfurst was an ironclad turret ship that sunk off Folkstone 31st May on her maiden voyage with the loss of around 270 of the 500 men onboard. Turned to avoid fishing boats and was rammed by accompanying vessel SMS Konig Wilhelm). Inquest was opened at the town hall, Folkstone on the 29th August. No other details (Pay for access archive) Reported in the Alnwick Mercury/The British Newspaper Archive -
1876 4 23 Thomas George UK "Accidental Death of a Diver. In London last Thursday (2nd March 1876), Mr. Payne, the coroner, held an inquiry at the Essex Head, Essex Street, Strand, regarding the death of George Thomas.." No other details (Pay for access archive) Reported in the Tamworth Herald/The British Newspaper Archive -
1919 3 27 Thiemann USN USA Military S/S Air American Navy diver, died whilst diving for a torpedo off St Thomas, Virginia -
2014 11 14 Thiago Matheus Brazil Sistac 12m Accident happened on the Petrobras production platform P-31 (Albacore field, Campos Basin, 180 km East of Macae) . Sistac are licensed air diving contactor (not IMCA), possibly working on a conductor slot, recovered to surface but did not respond to treatment, investigation ongoing by union. Reported sindipetronf.org.br -
2012 5 12 Thakur Ramesh Singapore Cutech Marine Services Pty SCUBA Aged 35, ex Indian Navy diving instructor (Left the Navy August 2011, had been working for Cutech for several months) from Kanyakumari (Kerala, South India). Hull cleaning on the VLCC "Kokkari" 4 km Southeast of the South Marine Pier. Singapore Maritime and Port Authority received a report that a diver had gone missing at 14:55, a search failed to locate the diver. Married, two children aged 5 and 7, Reported by AsiaOne -
1887 0 0 Tester Spain 49 Diver engaged to recover the last box of treasure (9 of 10 had been salvaged in 1885) from the Spanish steamer 'Alphonso XII' which sank of Point Gando, Grand Canaria in February 1885. Salvage team was using Heinke equipment and had been on site four months, the deceased had made about 60 dives but on his last dive stayed down some 36 minutes and after a 10 minute break went down again for a further 10 minutes. At first seemed well but then complained of pain in his left arm. Taken ashore and 'the usual treatment in case of pressure attacks was resorted to". Not withstanding all the efforts to relieve him, he expired after suffering considerable, on the evening of the following day. Papers Past/The Aroha News (New Zealand) -
1941 7 26 Tesei Major Teseo Malta Military Submarine Italian human torpedo attack on Valletta harbour resulted in the death of one of the co-founders (With Major Elios Toschi) of the human torpedo unit of the Italian Navy (1 Flottiglia Mezzi d'Assalto) founded in 1938, re-organised in 1940 as the Decima Flottiglia MAS (10th light Flotilla of Assault Craft). -
2009 6 20 Terzuoli Joseph USA 70 Rebreather American, aged 46. Ran a wreck diving company diving from the 50' diving boat 'John Jack', took a party to dive on the WW1 wreck of the 'Texel'. Diving solo, SCUBA rebreather, apparently caught in fishing lines. Recovered by crew members. Had started diving again even though he had had a triple heart bypass in April, two months earlier. -
1996 3 17 Teow Yap Hock Singapore SCUBA Aged 45, checking reclamation materials earlier laid on the seabed off Pulau Sakra, 'died after losing his mask and tank'. No other details. Straits Times -
1986 11 5 Tennant Leroy J USA Roy Tennant Co. 2 SCUBA Aged 62, Owner of the diving Company, inspecting an underwater gas line in the Shetucket river, witnesses on shore observed in trouble but sank below the surface before being rescued. Body recovered 40 minutes later -
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 -
2013 4 26 Tejedar Felix Italy Titan Topsides Philipino diver aged 54, one of the team working on salving the liner 'Costa Concordia' (Ran aground off the Italian island of Giglio in January 2012, found dead in his shower. Apparently had not dived in the previous three days and police were not linking his death with his work. Gazzetta del Sud -
2010 11 2 Tejeda Miguel Angel Molina Chile Chilean Navy Aged 23, Salvage diver, Chief of staff stated that he made a very shallow dive but afterwards reported not feeling well. He was sent to the Naval hospital 'Admiral Nef' in Vina del Mar but during the transfer suffered a possible cardiac arrest. No other details. Reported by GPS Divinig -
2021 4 19 Teigel Coliague Andres Alejanndro Chile SGM Austral/Aqua Chile SCUBA Aged 41. 'Diver dies at AquaChile salmon farming site/The diver was conducting maintenance at the site (In Aysen) when the accident occurred, Reported by Intrafish. Another diver died on the same site on 20th March 2020 (Juan Ruiz Gallardo). Initial reports said "Cause of death was suffocation by decompression sickness" -
1972 5 1 Taylor Robert UK Strongwork 13 SCUBA British, aged 25. Drillship "Britannia", big meal, vomited underwater, found entangled in a rope 11 hours later, drowned. Possibly no training -
1981 7 24 Tay Ah Sai Singapore Aged 41, Fisherman. Vessel owner testified at the inquest that the diver surfaced after half an hour underwater complaining that he felt like he was 'dying'. Two crew members went back into the sea with him to get rid of his bends but he died later of acute decompression sickness. Verdict:- Death by misadventure. Straits Times -
1974 8 23 Tay Chwee Kiat Singapore Diver on a fishing vessel dived to retrieve the vessel's anchor at about 3 pm. Having freed it and surfaced he complained of stomach pains and at about 8 pm on the same day, died. Straits Times -
1941 3 6 Tawn RN, DSM, BEM AB Robert George UK Military S/S Air British, aged 24, Rendering Mines Safe (RMS) unit (Pre-Port Part 'P' groups). - DSM awarded for coolness, courage and resource when dealing with a magnetic mine in a tideway. Performed first underwater RMS attempt (GC mine in Poole harbour) in 42 feet of water from Vernon echo-sounding yacht Esmeralda 14 Jun 1940. Mine exploded while being towed ashore by fishing boat. BEM awarded for gallant conduct and devotion to duty. Clearance diver with 'P' (Port Party) from HMS Vernon when killed in Falmouth inner harbour whist trying to defuse an unexploded parachute land-mine dropped by the Luftwaffe. Diving from a boat towed by 'The Mouse', a small motor launch fitted with a Hotchkiss propulsion unit (No Propeller). 5 or 6 other men also died in the explosion - Lt. JF Nicholson, PO Benham, RB Sutherland (another clearance diver whose body was never recovered), AB Wharton and one or two others, 5 of whom are buried in Falmouth Cemetery. MCDOA archives -
1945 9 8 Tate, RN PO George R Australia 12 S/S Air Aged 25, British, "Assisting the berthing of a large British aircraft carrier in Captain Cook graving dock (Elizabeth Bay, Sydney) when something went wrong with either the air pipes or his diving suit" Reported in The Advertiser, Adelaide. -
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. -
1890 8 26 Tanaka Australia S/S Air Japanese, reported as the first dead pearl diver recorded by name in the Broome cemetary. Died of the bends whilst diving off the pearling schooner "Willie" off Ninety Mile Beach (Stretches between Broome and Port Headland to the South). Reported by John Bailey, page 55, in his book "The White Divers of Broome" -
1972 7 21 Tan Han Siew Singapore 23 S/S air Aged 36, crewmember on a fishing vessel out of Singapore. Anchor stuck on seabed, diver sent down to invesigate and came back up to say it was jammed in rocks, he went down to free it and after 15 minutes was signalled to come up. No response, so was pulled up. Expert witness (bomb disposal unit diver described the effects of losing gas at depth (collapsed lungs, 'died of pulmnary suffocation'). Coroner recorded an open verdict. No real details. Straits Times -
1966 10 7 Tan Ah Ban Singapore Reported as 'drowned'. Clearing seaweed from the seawater inlet of the Pasir Panjang power station, ran into difficulties and dragged out of the water by fellow diver Patrick Chia, 'but was already dead when the ambulance arrived'. Straits Times -
1974 10 21 Talbot Kim USA Aged 24 from Seattle, working on a sunken barge near Blaine, surface crew noticed his bubbles had ceased, pulled him to surface, resuscitation by fire crew from Blaine was unsuccessful. Spokane daily Chronicle -
1907 7 4 Tacoben or Jacobean UK "Diver named Tacobean (Faulty Scan? TC) died from sudden heart failure while he was underwater exploring the wreck of the Grosvenor, old..." No other details (Pay for access archive) Reported in The Bath Chronicle and Weekly Gazette/The British Newspaper Archive -
1933 9 0 Tacheuchi Sounoske Australia S/S Air Paraphrased report from the Courier-Mail, Brisbane “Japanese, master and diver of the lugger 'Ridgeon' met his death when an air pipe burst while he was diving for pearls near Cook's Reef, about four minutes after he entered the water, he signalled that he had reached the bottom, and almost immediately a distress signal was received. The engineer ordered the crew to haul up the diver. Another sharp distress signal was received. After assisting the diver aboard the crew thinking he was paralysed, after adding an extra length of air pipe, lowered the diver to five fathoms, according to the Japanese fashion of treating paralysed divers. A New Guinea boy went down twice to view the diver, and on the second occasion said he thought the diver was finished." the diver was hauled up and his diving dress was cut off. The body was conveyed to Thursday Island, where a post-mortem examination revealed that death was due to asphyxiation.� -
2005 8 27 Switala Michael USA Firefighter SCUBA American, aged 50, Lower Burrel, Pa, volunteer fire-fighter, Grove City Quarry, third training dive of the day, (purpose was to maintain PADI qualification). Completed dive, partner signaled ready to surface, he signaled back "OK� and began ascent but once on the surface could not locate Switala, but saw a flashlight distress signal underwater. Immediately descended, noticed that the regulator was out, tried to replace but it fell out, inflated BCD and brought him to the surface (estimated elapsed time at this point was less than one minute).. Taken to shore, immediately initiated CPR. Emergency medical services arrived within 15 minutes. Transported to a local hospital where he died the next day. The coroner listed the cause of death as drowning. Investigation recommended, 1: Fire departments should develop, implement, and enforce standard operating procedures (SOPs) regarding diver training. 2: Fire departments should ensure that each diver maintains continuous visual, verbal, or physical contact with his or her dive partner. (line-tended from the surface or accompanied by another diver in the water) 3 : Fire departments should ensure that a backup diver and ninety-percent-ready diver are in position to render assistance. 4 : Fire departments should ensure that positive communication is established among all divers and those personnel who remain on the surface. (In this incident, there were no personnel at the surface to perform monitoring, and underwater diver-to-diver electronic devices were not used). -
2008 6 1 Swisher Donald USA Fireman 4 SCUBA American, aged 51, a member of the Arlington Heights (Illinois) fire department's technical rescue, hazardous materials response, water rescue and recovery dive teams, off duty, cleaning a swimming pool, autopsy concluded that he drowned. No explanation, might have involved heavy weight belt/inlet suction -
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. -
2006 1 9 Swing Rope Fatality USA El Paso Oil & Gas Topsides Swing Rope Fatality, GOM, South Timbalier, block 291 Fatally injured while transferring from motor vessel to platform using swing rope, USCG investigating -
1909 7 12 Swee Ong Singapore Sir John Jackson S/S Air Chinese diver, working near Johnston's Pier laying the foundations for a new sea wall for the Teluk Ayer reclamation. An iron ladder used for his ascent and descent became detached and fell on him breaking his back and cutting his head. He was pulled up, his diving dress was cut off and he was taken to hospital where he died. Straits Times -
1954 5 8 Sutrick Gabriel Australia 17 S/S Air Aged 28, single, from Yam, pearl diving from the Hosking Brothers lugger 'Panton' on Warrior Reef, 86 miles from Thursday Island in the Torres straight, died after the vessel's propellor cut his airline. Adelaide Advertiser -
1941 3 6 Sutherland RN, BEM Sub Lt. Reginald Bruce UK Military S/S Air RN Clearance diver with 'P' (Port Party) from HMS Vernon, killed in Falmouth inner harbour whist trying to defuse an unexploded parachute land-mine dropped by the Luftwaffe. Diving from a boat towed by 'The Mouse', a small motor launch fitted with a Hotchkiss propulsion unit (No Propeller). His body was never found. 5 or 6 other men also died in the explosion (Lt. JF Nicholson, PO Benham, AB Tawn (Clearance Diver) , AB Wharton and one or two others, 5 of whom are buried in Falmouth Cemetery. MCDOA archives -
1933 4 19 Sutherland James UK S/S Air Reported as "Divers death on reaching surface, collapse while climbing ladder. A Kirkwall diver collapsed and died. No other details (Pay for access archive) Reported in the Dundee Courier/The British Newspaper Archive. Reported two months later (in June) in the New Zealand Press as "Aged 31, Working on the Kirkwall Harbour extension (Kirkwall, Orkney Isles, Scotland). "After signalling that he had finished the job, collapsed and died at the foot of the ladder before he could be hauled up". Evening Post, Papers Past, National Library of New Zealand) -
2011 6 21 Surasin Indonesia S/S Air Aged 54, Port of Tanjung Perak, Surabaya, scrap metal diving off Jamrud pier from a small boat with two of his children, compressor may have failed, body floated to the surface, recovered and brought ashore by the children. Surabaya News -
2013 3 13 Sumaylo Alger Philippines Omega Steel & Marine Services 1 SCUBA Aged 27, Double fatality (with Glenn Pahit, also aged 27). Salvage operation on the vessel 'B and E Uno' (en route from Iligan City to Pier 4 in Cebu city carrying 23,000 bags of cement) which ran aground before capsising on July 1st 2012 less than a mile from the coast off Canjulao (Lapu-Lapu city). After 5 months of salvage operations the vessel was refloated in early December but then sank again two days later. The owner of the salvage company said that they had suspended ongoing salvage operations the previous week (waiting on a salvage vessel to lift some components prior to bringing the vessel ashore) and left the two divers guarding the wreck. They were reported missing on Wednesday the 13th, his body was located inside the wreck at low tide (partially submerged but trapped under the hull) by other salvage contractor divers on the morning of the 14th, they called the coastguard who sent a team who recovered both bodies later that day. Initial reports said that when recovered, both divers "were in complete diving gear" and it was reported that the bodies were already decomposing. The owner surmised that the two divers "had decided to dive to retrieve scrap meta whilst everybody was away". Foul play was ruled out as the divers belongings were intact. Later reports said that the coastguard had asked Soco (Scene Of Crime Operations) to check where the bodies were located as they were not discounting foul play. It was then alleged that the divers did not have permission to dive and might not have been in diving gear, though it appears that both bodies showed significantly decomposition and it is not clear when they died. Reported in the Sun Star -
1989 1 11 Sullivan Daniel USA 17 S/S Air Aged 30, State department of inland fisheries and wildlife. A diver working on the 80 foot high Wilderness Dam (Owned by Great Northern Paper), got trapped underwater by pressure at a leak point on the dam face. Sullivan got trapped at the same location about an hour later during a rescue attempt. Both were pulled out using winches after a second rescue diver, Brian Michaud, managed to attached pulling ropes to their harnesses 11 hours after the initial incident, but he died three hours after arriving at hospital Double fatality (Albert Harjula). Michaud was hospitalised but OK. Spokane Chronicle -
1925 3 0 Suketaro Yamakado Australia S/S Air PEARL DIVER SUFFOCATED. PERTH, Tuesday. A Japanese diver, Yamakado Suketaro, lost his life while working on a pearling lugger at sea 200 miles from Broome. He was lowered to the bottom in a diving suit, with an air pipe and life line. When the line was severed by coral rock the air pipe was fully extended, and as the lugger turned to give aid the pipe broke about 100 feet from the engine. When the body was recovered it was found that the Japanese was suffocated inside the diving suit. Reported in the Argus, Melbourne, Vic. Inquest returned a verdict of accidental death. The Age. -
2013 6 21 Sujan Singh Chauhan UAE Mutawa Marine 17 S/S Air Indian. Aged 53. SRP/zodiac dive at dive at Das Island. During dive stopped responding to communications, floated to the surface just as the stand-by was going in, given CPR but failed to respond to treatment. Initial hospital reports indicate a heart attack. -
1991 3 24 Sugrue Jim USA AOD 76 DSV 'American Eagle' U/W explosion, face plate blown in, drowned. “Chasing Hangers after doing an inside burn-off. Paraphrased from reports:- “Chasing hangers after doing an inside burn off below the mud line, almost at the end of his bottom time (gas dive), Said 'One more burn and then I'm getting off bottom'. Topside heard a loud bang, then incoherent speech. His standby diver reached him very quickly (overshot his gas because he wouldn't stop for the switch in order to get to the diver faster) but when he reached him, the faceplate was gone and the diver was unresponsive. He was recovered to the chamber and treated but never regained consciousness. The incident led to a brief and informal moratorium on inside burn offs at AOD but they quickly resumed them when they started to lose work to other companies who did not follow suit. The final verdict the divers all heard was 'improper equipment usage' (as opposed to equipment failure) since Jim's hat (SL 17B) was old and beat up. This incident was a major factor in the introduction of the 'T' type faceplate screw anchors�. -
2007 2 20 Sue Qing Wen Singapore Dolphin Dive & Adventure 35 SCUBA Singaporean, 35m sports diver open water training dive, surfaced, sank, swept away by current, body recovered 3 days later Tank contained 785ppm CO and 12.3ppm H2S. Open verdict. -
1942 12 31 Submarine P-311 Sardinia Military Submarine HMS P311, only unnamed T-class submarine (Was due to have been named "Tutenkhamen"). Fitted to carry 2 human torpedoes (Chariots). Lost while engaged in Operation Principle, a chariot attack on Italian cruisers at La Maddalena. Left Scotland in November 1942 with sister-boats Thunderbolt and Trooper after addition of human torpedo deck-mounted watertight containers direct for Malta. From there, sailed with two (Or three, accounts differ) Chariots (10 charioteers) for Operation Principle. Last signal on 31st December. Probably sunk by Italian mines in the approaches to Maddalena. Lost with all 80+ hands -
1937 12 16 Stroud Fred UK S/S Air "Diver's Death. Engaged on operations off the Devon Coast, Mr Fred Stroud, diver employed on the salvage steamer 'Ophir' which has been…" No other details (Pay for access archive) Reported in the Western Morning news/The British Newspaper Archive -
1942 12 31 Stretton-Smith, RNVR Lt. S Sardinia Military Submarine One of 10 divers trained in the use of the Mark I chariots at the HHZ training base on Loch Cairbawn (Scotland) who boarded the 'T' class submarine P-311 with their chariots in Malta to undertake operation 'Principle', an attack on shipping in the Port of Maddalena (Sardinia). Last signal was on the 31st December as the submarine approached Sardinia. Probably sunk by a mine, submarine was reported as lost at sea with all hands. Underwater Trust, Wikipedia etc -
1970 12 30 Strano John Australia Tweed Heads Porpoise Pool “Diver better� SYDNEY. Thursday. “Mr John Strano, 30, of Palm Beach, Queensland, a diver from the Tweed Heads porpoise pool, was recovering today from an injury he received when he was attacked by a 300 lb groper (Newpaper typo, I think….?) in the pool yesterday at feeding time�. The Canberra Times -
2011 5 23 Strakele Sean USA 11 SCUBA Aged 37, Diving for lobsters out of Provincetown off the commercial fishing vessel "Chase" in the vicinity of Race Point Lighthouse. Entered the water at 06:30, failed to surface an hour later. Diving solo on single SCUBA cylinder. Coastguard searches called off after two days. Body located the day after in 56' of water by another lobster diver from the fishing vessel 'Mad Dog' in the same area he had dived in, half a mile south of the lighthouse. Reported as 'drowned'. Cape Cod Times -
2012 5 5 Stoyanov (or Dimitrov) Radoslav Bulgaria Hydroremont 7 Commercial diver with 3 years expeience, from Varna, aged 29, Kozloduy nuclear power plant. inspecting a shaft between units 5 and 6, lost audio at 09:40, body recovered one and a half hours later, reported to have both audio and lifeline, no explanation for protracted recovery, death certificate states cause of death as 'myocardial infarcation' and that death was not due to an accident but due to heart disease. Rumours of a cover up, running pumps, diver being trapped by differential pressure and injuries to diver denied by authorities, circumstances unclear. Focus News Agency -
1973 6 18 Stover Albert USA Johnson-Sea Link 107 Submarine Aged 51, mini sub pilot. Trapped on the wreck of a sunken destroyer, the two men in the rear compartment (Link and Stover) died (asphyxiation), two in the forward compartment survived -
2012 4 18 Stovall Richard USA Stovall's SCUBA and Travel 12 SCUBA Aged 77, owner of PADI diving business in Midland, collecting underwater soil samples from the bed of the O H Ivie Resevoir on behalf of the Colorado River Municipal Water District prior to a dredging company removing silt from the pipe to the pumping station. Entered the water through a concrete tower on a pumping station in the resevoir, should have been a 10 minute dive, failed to surface. Body found two days later at the inshore end of a 350' long, 8' diameter pipe in a chamber below a pump station onshore. Appears to have been a solo dive, no stand-by or back up. San Angelo Standard Times -
1896 9 30 Storey William - entry 1 of 3 UK John Gibney and Co. Master Divers, Chapel Street, Liverpool 4 S/S Air Aged 53, experienced diver, initially reported as 'Met his death whilst at wotk'. Hornby dock, Liverpool, working on the vessel 'Gulf of Taranto'. He was placing a sealing pad over a valve inlet diffuser on a vessel hull, differential pressure incident (arm pulled into hull when the valve was removed because the diffuser was mounted on the valve not the hull). They managed to pull him free but he was unconscious when recovered to deck, taken to Bootle hospital, but failed to respond to treatment. Coroner’s verdict:- Suffocated. Reported in the Liverpool Mercury. See following two entries below for more detail.<br />http://www.old-merseytimes.co.uk/deathsandinquests1896.html -
1896 9 30 Storey William - entry 2 of 3 UK John Gibney and Co. Master Divers, Chapel Street, Liverpool 4 S/S Air William Storey, the incident:- Liverpool diver William STOREY, of 8 Toxteth St, a man of middle age and great experience, was engaged in the pursuance of his risky occupation when he met with his death under strange and peculiar circumstances. STOREY was working with two other men at the steamship ‘Gulf of Taranto’ lying in the Hornby Dock. The valve in the hull of the vessel required repair, and to enable this work to be carried out it was necessary that a "pad" should be fixed on the hull, so that the valve might be removed for repair without risking the flooding of the ship. This is the work that STOREY had to accomplish. A platform was lowered alongside the vessel, and STOREY, properly equipped in his diving-suit, went below. He signalled to the man in charge of the life-line to lower the stage. The next signal called for the "pad" A few minutes after the "pad" was lowered, yopsides received the signal "All right" which meant that the valve could be removed any moment. On board the vessel was the superintendent engineer of the Gulf Line of steamers, and as soon as the word was received from the divers the valve was unscrewed he called attention to the fact that the "pad" was leaky. Water was spurting in then the next moment a portion of the pad and the diver's arm were forced through the aperture. About this moment STOREY signalled to be drawn up, but the pressure of the water increased tremendously by the suction through the now open valve, jammed him tight against the vessel, and hauling him to the surface proved a matter of great difficulty. Mr M'KAY forced the diver's arm out through the aperture again, but the combined efforts of three men, instead of the customary one were necessary before the poor fellow was got out of the water. Storey was then unconscious and apparently dead, the sleeve of his diving-dress considerably torn, having been damaged by the violence with which his arm had been forced through the valve hole. When his headgear was removed it was found that he had been bleeding badly from the ears. The Bootle Fire Brigade horse ambulance was promptly summoned and STOREY was taken to Bootle Hospital. Upon arrival he was examined by the house-surgeon, who pronounced life extinct. Appearances hardly point to drowning and it seems more probable the unfortunate diver was either suffocated when his dress was torn open at the sleeve, or that the life was crushed out of him against the side of the vessel when the valve was removed without the "pad" apparently being properly secured -
1896 9 30 Storey William - entry 3 of 3 UK John Gibney and Co. Master Divers, Chapel Street, Liverpool 4 S/S Air er was fast in some way, he called the man tending the air pipe even with his help it was impossible to raise the diver. He asked for assistance from a flatman with the combined efforts of the three of them they managed to raise the diver. Witness rapidly took off the diver's mouthpiece and saw STOREY was apparently dead. The deceased was at about 12ft under the water and from the time the signal came to pulling him up only minutes had elapsed. The Coroner elicited the information that the ship's hull was covered with a perforated metal rose, after the style of a rose on a watering can. Witness said, this rose was normally affixed to the skin of the vessel but in the present case it was affixed to the valve, this was important and the diver ought to have been told of it. Had witness known of it he would have used a wooden plug to stop up the hole instead of a pad to cover it. The hole was six inches in diameter. The post mortem results were that the skin of the deceased was a dusky colour. Blood had oozed from the right ear and there was a large bruise on the upper part of the left forearm and elbow. There were no broken bones or injuries that might have caused death. The vessels of the brain were congested but the brain tissue healthy. The lungs were very much congested and there was a good deal of mucus in the bronchial tubes. The small air vessels of the lungs were ruptured by the efforts to inspire. The heart was flabby and rather fatty, the valves being more or less closed, especially the mitrial and aortic. The blood throughout the body was a dark colour, a marked indication of suffocation. The cause of death was suffocation. The Coroner then addressed the jury, summing up the evidence and pointing out it was for them to decide whether any one was criminally liable for the death of the diver, they could express an opinion as to what led up to the suffocation which according to the medical evidence was the direct cause of death, or they could leave that point alone. After deliberation in private the jury found that death was due to suffocation, but how that was brought about they were unable to say. The funeral was reported as:- The remains of William STOREY, Diver, were interred yesterday morning in Toxteth Park Cemetery in the presence of a large number of friends. The deceased who was an experienced diver unfortunately met his death last Wednesday while working on the steamship Gulf of Taranto in the Hornby Dock. The coffin was covered with beautiful wreaths and the brass shield bore the inscription, "William STOREY, died September 30. 1896, aged 53 years� -
1974 8 27 Stockes Danny Norway Northern Divers 91 Saturation Ex Royal Marine Commando, got a slug of pure Helium on descent, knocked off half mask as he collapsed and survived, bell partner Peter Kelly, wearing a full face mask, died. -
2003 10 19 Stevns Power Nigeria Saipem Rolled over and sank during AHT operations in support of the Castoro Otto, All 11 crew died. -
2009 4 1 Stevenson David “Luey� UK Technip Topsides Aged 44, working as a rigger onboard the DSV, died from injuries on board the DSV Wellservicer off the coast of Aberdeen. During fitting of a new active bell cursor system, he was working on top of the diving bell when the winch for the active bell cursor failed and fell on top of him. A report by the government's Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) stated: "He was on top of the bell with his inertia reel fall arrester attached to his safety harness preparing for buoyancy block removal as the cursor was raised. A few seconds later, the winch rendered and the cursor fell uncontrollably. He attempted to get clear of the falling cursor but his inertia reel fall arrester locked in place, preventing any chance of escape. The cursor continued to fall, trapping him between it and the diving bell." The report said the winch failure was caused by a faulty valve in the winch control system, which prevented the brakes from applying once hydraulic power was removed. They further stated "The installation team failed to apply the most basic of safety principles while working under the suspended load. Regardless of whether the winch had been commissioned and declared fully functional, the cursor should have been supported by additional means, before anyone went underneath it." Reported in the Scotsman. -
2008 3 11 Stevenson Robert USA Chet Morrison Topsides Aged 39, crewman in the engine room. Injured in explosion onboard DSV "Jillian Morrison", medivac seriously injured, died in hospital -
1913 2 28 Stevenson Frederick Australia S/S Air "South Australia, Two Divers Drowned, Failure of air pumps". "Adelaide, Friday, two divers naned Stevenson and Putris were today drowned at the Wallaroo Jetty Works owing to the failure of thc pumps which supplied air to them". The two men had only been in the water about three minutes when the tender noticed he was not receiving any signals.. Stevenson was brought up and was just breathing but expired immediately, Putris was hauled up dead. Reported in the North Western Advocate and Emu Bay Times. -
1932 9 30 Stevens William Ramsey Hong Kong Hong Kong Government 6 S/S Air Australian diver employed by the Government on the Hong Kong Harbour Pipe. At the inquest, Senior commissioned Gunner George Hamilton RN, the expert witness, gave a demonstration of the working of the diving suit and helmet stating that the exhaust valve could be regulated by the diver to control the pressure of air in the suit. He also examined the topsides pump and found it efficient and 'needing about 25 turns a minute to keep a proper supply of air for working under any conditions'. The diver had only been in the water about three minutes when he ditched his helmet (including the two 40 pound lead weights). It was supposed at the inquest that there had been a mix up in the signals and when he asked for more air, he was actually given less and in desperation tried to ditch his helmet and reach the surface. The expert witness decsribed the diver's last act as "a very desperate act which I think, as an experienced diver, I would never dream of doing. It would drown him and fill up the suit with water. He absolutely committed suicide by taking his helmet off". Straits Times. -
1985 6 15 Stethem Robert Dean Lebanon USN Topsides Aged 24, US Navy construction diver with the Seabees. TWA Flight 847 was on its way from Athens to Rome when it was hijacked by Shiite Muslims sympathetic to the Ayatollah Khomeini, Iran’s leader at the time. The US Navy Seabee team was returning to the U.S. after a training mission in Egypt. When the plane landed in Beirut, Navy diver Robert Stethem was shot and killed, his body dumped on the tarmac.The Commander and five Navy divers were held captive for 17 days in Beirut, Lebanon. -
1995 4 0 Stephen Lamb Australia Contract diver at the BHP Newcastle steelworks, drowned, 'sucked into an underwater pipe that was not meant to be in use at the time' No details. WSWS Org., Greenleft.org.au -
1989 0 0 Stena Workhorse Brazil Comex do Brasil and Marsat Saturation Petrobras PGP1 gas blow out, Four Comex sat divers from the platform rescued by Marsat team on the Stena Workhorse (bell to bell transfer), one of them, Thierry Arnold later died in a bell contamination incident (1991) -
1972 5 8 Stein Wendel Edward 'Del' British Virgin Islands 27 Rebreather Aged 24, diving from the oceanographic research vessel 'Neap Tide' off Peter Island. Reported as 'surfaced around 5 o'clock after apparently having trouble with the rebreather pack he was wearing' USCG flew in a doctor by helicopter from the air and sea rescue base on Puerto Rico but he was pronounced dead two hours after surfacing. No details. Reported in the Virgin Islands Daily News -
2005 8 24 Stehbens Jarrod Australia University of Adelaide SCUBA Australian, Aged 23, gathering cuttlefish eggs for the university of Adelaide was killed by a Great White. Body never recovered, gear found intact Not wearing a shark repellor. Coroner was Anthony Schapel who recommended divers wear electric shark repellors as recommended by coroner Wayne Chivall after the death of Paul Buckland in April 2002 (Not mandatory, "but should not be discouraged when they are available") AAP General News, Australia -
1878 0 0 Steele H USA 20 S/S Air English, aged 40. Had previously assisted in recovering treasure from the �City of San Francisco� and raised schooner “Mabel and Edith� in 1877. 15 minutes into a diver was recovered to surface by tenders as they received no signals. Unconscious, died 15 minutes later. The owner of the apparatus, A. W. Von Schmidt, found that the diver neglected to close the end of a hose. “The apparatus is for two divers and when used by one only the other end should have the cap screwed on. After reaching a depth of 11 fathoms he received no fresh air and had only the air in the helmet to breathe�. -
2008 10 21 Stecco Frank J USA Police Surface 42 year old police diver or trainee police diver, surface exercise wearing a dry suit, lost, body recovered 4 days later. Reported as 'drowned'. -
1982 10 10 Statistics Reported in an article in the Connecticut paper “The Day� that “Records kept by the National Underwater Accident Data Center at the University of Rhode Island show that 167 commercial divers working for US firms were killed on the job between 1970 and 1981� I guess we still have a lot of data to collect - TC -
1994 2 4 Stapp John Quinton USA 2 SCUBA Aged 38, surveying the Hunter's Point Marina on Lake Travis near Cat Hollow to plan repairs to its dock, diving solo, no team. No details -
2012 4 22 Sprout Brad Robert Mexico Global Diving and Salvage American, aged 29, Working a DP DSV ('Captain Tale'?off Cuidad del Carmen, may have been an umbilical in thruste/lost gas incident, no other details -
1967 0 0 Sprinkle USA Military Serving on the USN "Skylark" (ASR 20, submarine Rescue vessel) that may have been operating in the Meditterrranean or UK waters at the time, killed in a divng accident along with fellow Navy Diver Miller. No details. Reported in navydivers.net -
2007 10 10 Spiers Richard Jeremy USA Southern underwater S/S Air Aged 27, 70 to 100 feet up a 36" water pipe at Carrollton water filter plant, helmet off, Monday 8th October, died in the Tanner Medical Centre on Wednesday -
1986 1 20 Spicer Wayne Iran Smit Topsides Australian, DSV 'Smit Maassluis' off Kharg Island, set on fire after Exocet missile attack from Iraqi war-planes. 10 crewmen also injured out of the 34 man crew (Two other Australian and two New Zealand divers injured). No details. Reported in The Age -
1976 11 4 Spensley H W UK KD Marine 0 SCUBA British, aged 24. Semi-sub drilling rig "Ocean Voyager", night dive to connect anchor pennants, surface tending, rough weather (Outside KD Policy, pushed by Company man on rig), lines entangled in pontoon anodes, knocked unconscious? Double fatality (Meecham), drowned -
2009 5 24 Spencer Carl Greece 120 Rebreather British, aged 37. National Geographic Expedition filming the wreck of the 'Britannic' (Sister vessel to the 'Titanic'). British Hospital ship sank by a mine in 1916 with the loss of 30 lives off the Greek island of Kea. Reported to have surfaced rapidly, unconscious, flown by military super puma to Athens Naval Hospital, but did not respond to treatment -
2008 7 27 Spencer William USA BIDCO 20 American, aged 42, working off the construction barge "Lone Star Horizon" (a 314' ong construction barge) on the Neptune LNG project (terminal and pipeline) 12 miles offshore Massachusetts. BIDCO (Buffalo Industrial Diving Company) were subcontractors to Caldive. Diver replacing air hose on stinger, reported difficulty breathing, stand-by divers brought him to the surface, CPR, medivac to hospital, later declared dead, heart attack. -
2009 7 11 Sparks David USA Orion Marine Commercial diver died on a pipeline diving operation in Lake Lanier, Georgia, rumours of entanglement, but no details