Incidents List
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Year Month Day Surname Forenames Location Contractor Client Depth Type of Diving Details -
2009 4 16 Not Recorded Canada S/S Air South Thompson river, Lafarge bridge, Campbell Creek, near Kamloops. Press report says “ “Emergency crews were called in to rescue four people after a barge overturned, trapping one person underneath, “It sucked,� said one of the four workers stranded in the water. “We flipped and when we got up top, the boss called (the emergency services) and they were there in about five minutes.� The workers were doing regular maintenance of a water intake in the river when one of the ropes securing their barge snapped, the second line securing the barge remained intact, keeping the vessel stationary in the water. The operations manager said it’s unsettling to see workers in the water when they’re not supposed to be — especially at this time of year. All the workers were out of the water before the emergency services arrived and none suffered serious injuries.� No mention of diving, but the accompanying photograph shows two guys on the overturned hull of the barge dressed in dry-suits pulling a commercial, helmeted, surface supplied diver out of the water. Was this an overturned diving operation? No other details. -
2009 3 29 Not Recorded Vietnam SCUBA Professional oyster fisherman. Phu Cu District, central province of Binh Dinh. Fishermen on their boat spotted bubbles and movement in the water. Assuming he had spotted a large fish, the boat's senior fisherman packed a small can with dynamite and tossed it overboard. When he jumped into the water to harvest the fish, he found the body of a dead diver who had been diving for shellfish. They attempted to escape but were captured by coast guards who responded to the sound of the explosion. The fishermen were charged with killing the diver and destroying aquatic resources with the illegal use of explosives -
2009 3 18 Not Recorded Thailand Navy 0 Royal Thai Navy SEAL, oil installation security exercise, Arthit field, Gulf of Thailand, officer was climbing ladder from sea up to installation at the end of the exercise in the field , apparently slipped and fell off into the sea, swept away, reported as missing, presumed dead. -
2009 3 0 Not Recorded Australia 1 SCUBA Aged 56, ex-professional diver called out by yacht owner after moorings failed and boat drifted into another. Diver went in to clear ropes from the propeller, failed to surface. Emergency service divers found him entangled in the ropes, unconscious, did not respond to treatment and pronounced dead. (Not strictly a commercial dive, but fulfils the criteria of 'a diver at work' and certainly ticks all the 'lessons learnt' in terms of solo SCUBA dive, TC) Reported in 'Diver' -
2009 2 17 Not Recorded USA Veolia Joliet, Illinois, diver rumoured to have lost a hand in an incident with a fire pump No details -
2009 2 3 Not Recorded India HHI Topsides BG Field (Mumbai High area) Platform collapsed during installation, people in the water but no fatalities, lift barge holed, apparently not reported in the press. Jacket recovered to surface April 2009, later re-installed -
2009 1 1 Not Recorded India Sub tech 54 S/S Air One comment was that a diver working off the DSV Samudra Pabra, swimming a leg, felt unwell but died in the chamber during decompression, no details. Note. This incident bears an uncanny similarity to another thought to have occurred before January 2007 where a diver off Bombay died during saturation decompression. Death ascribed to myocardial infarcation and therefore not diving related. Other sources consider that a likely cause could have been an undiagnosed spontaneous pneumothorax. All these memories come from personal communications and need verification. Can anybody clarify? TC -
2009 1 0 Not Recorded USA Global Seattle Deck Dalles dam, Oregon, crane collapsed over dive spread, damage to dive control cabin and compressor, no injuries reported. Dalles Chronicle -
2008 11 21 Not Recorded Argentina Navy Topsides Navy tactical diver undergoing training, died in a parachute accident -
2008 11 18 Not Recorded Greece Shellfish diver off the vessel 'Agios Dimitrios' with two other crew in the Palaiomanas Gulf, working 2 to 12 metres for two or three dives a day up to two and a half hours each (No decompression). Diver apparently recovered unconscious from the water. Vessel returned to Kalamarias Port and diver transferred to hospital where he was pronounced dead. 'Relevant Port Authorities investigating'. No details. Divers Union of Thessalonika website -
2008 10 0 Not Recorded Egypt SCUBA Abu Quir harbour, novice diver with a single tank sent to work under a 20 metre beam vessel, lost his way, ran out of air, drowned. No details, though same diving contractor is reported to have had fatalities in March 2004 and November 2007. -
2008 9 17 Not Recorded Spain Saipem Topsides S7000, 60 miles off Almeira, MEDGAZ project (Spain to Algeria) J-lay, 24� pipe, 4 dead, 4 injured. Controls failure dropped two off quad sections. See IMCA SF 18-08 -
2008 8 30 Not Recorded Malaysia DOF 55 Saturation DSV Geosea, relocating spoolpiece with air bags, uncontrolled lift of spoolpiece dragged diver 2 from 55m to 36m, lost comms/video, both divers locked back in, OK, no holdbacks on liftbags. -
2008 8 22 Not Recorded Singapore Dive tech Marine Services SCUBA One of three divers working on a 7m diameter propeller (at Singapore Anchorage) on the tanker “Shetland Spirit�- when the propeller was turned on, the two other divers were injured, he escaped with first aid injuries only About noon, the captain ordered the engine generators and fuel pumps be started because a nearby ship was drifting and it appeared that there could be a collision if the Shetland Spirit was not moved. Chief Engineer, who assumed that the diving operation was over, also began 'blowing the engine' - without permission - to ensure that there were no leaks or debris in the engine cylinders. The process also caused the propeller to rotate. (He would normally have been required to make a request to the bridge and receive orders from the captain before 'blowing the engine'). Blowing the engine', or turning the engine's drive shaft which is linked to the propeller, has to be done before the engine is actually started. Pleading for leniency, the lawyer stated 'It was reasonable for the accused to assume that there was an emergency.' Chief engineer fined $7,000. -
2008 8 15 Not Recorded USA Fisherman SCUBA The body of a missing diver was located by fellow divers underwater after an extensive search by the Coast Guard and Navy crews 38-miles east of St. Augustine, The crew of the commercial fishing vessel 'Animal Control' sent a second diver in the water who located the missing man's body. The crew radioed the Coast Guard rescue coordinators at Sector Jacksonville for help after the missing diver did not resurface from what was supposed to be a 45-minute dive. The diver's body is being transported by a Coast Guard rescue boat crew to Coast Guard Sector Jacksonville where it will be turned over to the Duval County Medical Examiner later this evening. The fishing vessel Animal Control is headed back to St. Augustine. The Coast Guard is investigating the cause of the accident. Reported by the USCG in Military.com. No other details/reports -
2008 7 26 Not Recorded S/S Air Shell safety flash, complete failure of stand-by diver basket main lift wire, basket caught by clump weight. Report in preparation -
2008 6 21 Not Recorded UK Northern Divers 20 S/S Air Taken from the MAIB report 3/2009 “A diver entered the water from the Belgium registered self-propelled crane barge Norma order to replace a line marking the position of the wreck of a German submarine which had been sunk during World War One off the ‘Varne’ bank in the Dover Strait (Salvage operation to reposition the wreck as it represented a hazard to deep hulled vessels). As the diver descended to a depth of about 20m, the umbilical cord containing an air supply became entangled in the vessel’s aft Voith Schneider propeller, and the diver was dragged towards its rotating blades. The diver’s air supply was also pulled from the deck but the diver succeeded in transferring to a bottled air supply before it severed. The diver was approximately 3m from the rotating propeller when the propeller was stopped by the vessel’s chief engineer. The diver then managed to cut himself free and make his way to the surface from where he was recovered without injury. The investigation identified a number of factors which contributed to this hazardous incident, including: • control system for the vessel’s propulsion had recently been installed, and no procedures for its use had been developed and no familiarisation training had been provided. • the OOW nor the master verified that the propellers were stopped or informed the engine room that diving operations were about to take place. • procedures for diving operations in the vessel’s safety management system lacked detail and were not sufficiently robust. They placed an undue reliance on the effectiveness of procedures followed by the embarked diving contractor. • operations had not been identified as a key shipboard operation by the ship manager or by external audit. “ Full report available from MAIB -
2008 6 20 Not Recorded Canada S/S Air Lake Eyrie, 4 man dive team out of Port Colborn, well head location dive, live boating Captain told tender he was going to manoeuvre the boat, tender made no umbilical adjustment, when propeller was started it severed the umbilical. Both engines shut down, diver ascended safely on bail-out. Excessive umbilical in the water -
2008 5 23 Not Recorded Yemen Muhibbah Baltic Taucher Topsides German, aged 42, deck Supervisor – (Was he the diving supervisor? TC) was fatally injured on the Muhibbah B9 Barge. Demobilising an air spread, attempting to remove an air receiver tank from the deck of the barge with a 150T crane. The signalman signalled the crane operator to lift the vessel. As he was lifting the vessel it did not move or rise. The signalman instructed the crane operator to stop lifting (but not slack tension) and the Deck Supervisor started checking on what was the problem. As he was checking around the air receiverl it suddenly popped loose and struck the Deck Supervisor in the head causing major injuries to the back of his head. -
2008 5 15 Not Recorded Brazil 15 S/S Air Two divers in the water on KM Bandmasks, both lost air supply, one ditched bandmask and tried to surface, held down by umbilical, drowned. The second diver maintained bandmask and waited for air supply to be re-established and was brought to the surface in the basket. No bailouts, stand-by not immediately ready plus other factors. -
2008 5 10 Not recorded Sri Lanka SCUBA Tamil Tigers attacked a Sri Lankan navy ship "Invisible" with an underwater explosion at about 2:15 a.m. and the vessel sank, said navy spokesman Cmdr. D.K.P. Dassanayake. The 213-foot (65-meter) craft was empty of cargo, he said. "We suspect the blast was carried out by a suicide diver" he said. BBC News. -
2008 3 21 Not Recorded USA 8 S/S Air Diver's umbilical caught in lift boat propeller, pulled in 75' before umbilical severed with the diver less than 20' from the propeller. Propeller (common hydraulics with crane) not locked out. Report on OD website -
2008 3 12 Not Recorded USA Chet Morrison Topsides Injured in explosion onboard DSV "Jillian Morrison", medivac but released from hospital after treatment -
2008 3 12 Not Recorded Netherlands Fire Brigade volunteer SCUBA Dutch, aged 38, member of the voluntary fire brigade from Terneuzen, died while recovering a car from the Gent-Terneuzen canal, apparently he did not surface as expected, was recovered alive but in critical condition and died later in hospital. The autopsy report stated "drowning". The driver of the car apparently committed suicide by driving into the canal. He was being sought by police in connection with the murder of his 2 children 24/02/2008. -
2008 3 12 Not Recorded Middle East CCC 126 Saturation Accidental sat system blowdown, 6 in sat, accidentally blown down from 50 m to 126 m (internal valve accidental closed by diver). No injuries, project delay, (Full report published on OD website) -
2008 3 11 Not Recorded USA Chet Morrison Topsides Injured in explosion onboard DSV "Jillian Morrison", medivac but released from hospital after treatment -
2008 3 6 Not Recorded Gabon Not Reported 31 S/S Air Diver descended to depth, seen to be adjusting air supply valves, stopped responding to supervisor, stopped moving, stand-by diver deployed, put unconscious diver on free flow and recovered him to deck where he recovered consciousness, given precautionary therapeutic treatment. Self asphyxiated, had turned his air supply to nearly fully closed. No residual symptoms. Human error -
2008 2 11 Not Recorded ADCI DDC ADCI safety alert relating to failed viewport due to heat from fluorescent lightbulb -
2008 2 9 Not Recorded Denmark DOF 0 Topsides ROVSV "Geosund" in dock, fatal accident involving ROV TMS/winch, release of locked in hydraulic pressure led to uncontrolled lifting of TMS. Safety bulletin DSN-HSEQ-S99-08-0001, IMCA SF 07/08 -
2008 0 0 Not Recorded USA Seamar Divers We are pleased to announce that one of our clients, a commercial diver who works offshore, has obtained a settlement against his employer and a lift boat company following serious injuries he sustained while diving offshore. Our client was employed by Seamar and worked on a lift boat. According to their websites, Seamar Divers provides offshore commercial divers, subsea construction, and subsea fabrication services to the oil and gas industry. Montco Offshore provides lift boats to the offshore industry. Our client was hurt when the Seamar supervisor failed to monitor the dive properly, resulting in our client getting "the bends." The Montco crane operator brought him up too quickly and dropped him too hard on the deck of the lift boat, resulting in severe orthopedic injuries. Vujasinovic & Beckcom (Injury Lawyers) website -
2007 11 11 Not Recorded France La Schaphandre 10 SCUBA Aged 39, French commercial diver, died during completion of work on the lock downstream of the slew bridge in Rochefort Harbour, no details -
2007 11 5 Not Recorded Poland Tri-Marine Diving services Polish diver working on an unmanned PetroBaltic platform north of Wladyslawowo, described as 'during ascent, taken ill underwater'. Died. No details. NB, it was a Petrobaltic survey vessel (the St Barbara) that found the lost wreck of the second world war German aircraft carrier 'Graf Zeppelin�in 87 metres water depth off the port of Leba in 2006 (She went missing in transit to Russia in 1947). Reported by dlavego.co m.pl. -
2007 11 0 Not Recorded Egypt 7 SCUBA Abu Quir harbour, team sent to work but Supervisor decided his team were too inexperienced and decided to do the job himself. 7 hour dive. Failed to surface, found drowned. No details, though same diving contractor is reported to have had fatalities in March 2004 and October 2008. -
2007 10 7 Not Recorded Greece SCUBA Unidentified 44 year old Greek diver, one of a team gathering evidence for the judicial enquiry into the sinking of the "Sea Diamond" cruise ship that hit reefs and sank off Santorini, "ascended too rapidly, decompression illness, rushed to hospital, pronounced dead" -
2007 10 0 Not Recorded USA Rumour, no details, commercial diver in Sierra Nevada mountains, dam work -
2007 9 16 Not Recorded Canada SCUBA Two recreational SCUBA divers died after being sucked into the water inlet of the Sir Adam Beck hydro-electric plant above Niagara falls. -
2007 8 12 Not Recorded Norway Saipem On 12 August a 48-year-old man died in an accident during work (lifting operation) on board the crane vessel Saipem 7000 near the Gullfaks field in the Norwegian sector of the North Sea. At around the 1000hrs the man fell overboard and was found dead shortly afterwards following a rescue operation. The deceased was an employee of Saipem, who during the weekend of 12/13 August has been working for Statoil installing a subsea separator at the Tordis field. The cause of the accident is being investigated (Actually found one and a half hours later on the seabed by the ROV) first offshore Norwegian fatality since 2002. -
2007 7 0 Not Recorded Qatar McDermott 0 Surface Swimmer Lay barge KP1, Qatargas SPM Project, 42" pipeline lay. The accident occurred while the diver swimmer was doing work on the stinger in the water. A swell swept him into the barge where he suffered a fractured pelvis and several fractured ribs. He was medivac’d to Hamad hospital, Doha. Reported as out of intensive care, no indication of any internal organ damage. -
2007 6 26 Not Recorded Russia, Sakhalin DOF Saturation New built mobile saturation system on DSV "Geosea". Bell port leaked during descent. Investigation revealed multiple problems with system, Audits not thorough or accurate. -
2007 6 4 Not Recorded Norway Technip Topsides Trainee Diving Supervisor on the DSV Wellservicer, (Possible Heart attack?), plus fire in aft engine room when alongside in Stavanger, put out by Stavanger fire brigade after 70 minutes. -
2007 5 0 Not Recorded USA During cleaning operations the diver released the trigger on the cavitation gun (deactivating the jet stream) to reposition. When the diver reapplied pressure to the trigger on the gun, the cavitation gun kicked back toward the diver, causing the retro end of the gun to come into close proximity of his wrist and forearm. Subsequently the retro-jet caused a high pressure (approx. 1000psi) seawater injection injury to the diver’s forearm See ADCI website for report -
2007 2 20 Not Recorded Norway KAJ Diving Services A diver, in his 30s, was involved in an accident at the Borregaard industries Power station (Sarpsborg), he was taken to hospital in Fredrikstad but pronounced dead. No details. Reported by NTB -
2007 2 0 Not Recorded Singapore Acergy Saturation Seaway Hawk, Singapore, Medlock door failed during pressure test, one technician seriously injured IMCA SF 08/07 -
2007 2 0 Not Recorded Australia S & W Investments 16 S/S Air Commercial crayfish dive off Forbes Island, suffered decompression illness after his air supply was cut off during the second of two consecutive dives, causing him to resurface too quickly. Contractor pleaded guilty to breaching the Workplace Health and Safety Act 1995, having failed to ensure the safety of workers. An investigation found there was no emergency air supply and the placement of the dive equipment allowed the air line to kink. In sentencing, the Magistrate took into consideration the company’s good record and prompt remedial action, but also the extent of the diver’s injuries and their frequency in the industry. Fined $32,000. No conviction was recorded. -
2006 11 29 Not Recorded Fiji Aged 25 from Yanuca Island, lost his life while diving for bech-de-mer. The Divisional media liaison officer said the deceased was with other divers but he failed to surface after a dive. A search was undertaken by officers of the Navua Police station and villagers. The body was recovered on Thursday. No other details. Reported by Fiji Times on line -
2006 10 8 Not Recorded Azerbaijan 100 Saturation 2 T work basket lowered onto diver, immediately lifted off, dive recovered to system, lower back injuries (IMCA member, lifting incident report circulated) -
2006 9 25 Not Recorded Spain Brazilian, aged 28, Port of Castellon, inlet pipe/differential pressure incident, died of head injuries (Another diver died in the port in January). -
2006 9 15 Not Recorded Australia Diving school Albury SCUBA Aged 35, Australian Army, undergoing commercial diver training, died during training dive, apparently ran out of air, became entangled in lifeline, did not activate reserve, no real details -
2006 6 0 Not Recorded Canada R M Belanger Ltd A construction company pleaded guilty and was fined $25,000 in relation to an unsafe diving operation after an excavator slipped into the water off a barge at Little Current, Ontario. The company hired a diver to recover the vehicle but failed to notify the Ministry of Labour of this operation. An investigation found that the company had not ensured a two-way communication system was in place at the diving site or that workers who could fall into the channel wore life jackets. Fined for failing as an employer to ensure measures and procedures prescribed by the Ontario (Diving Operations) Regulation ere carried out at a diving operation. Additionally, a supervisor also pleaded guilty and was fined $4,000 for obstructing an inspector by providing false information during the investigation. (knowingly furnishing false information, contrary to the Occupational Health and Safety Act). -
2006 1 0 Not Recorded Spain 15 Quoted in a news report on Telecino.es:- “In the three days so far this year, two divers have died. The first work on expanding the port of Castellón when he died. The second died in Cartagena when diving at 50 feet below the surface, trying to recover an anchor. Two divers in the past three days, but in the last month have killed four in total� -
2006 0 0 Not Recorded Trinidad American, rumour only, No details, thought to be ADC member Double report for Denis Cartright (Below)? -
2006 0 0 Not Recorded USA Gee and Jensen, Cape Canaveral, FL Tangled in piles – were these recreational death(s)? No details -
2006 0 0 Not Recorded USA SCUBA American, diver on tug, two man team, lost tending line/regulator froze, no details. �A few years ago� (Pre January 2007) -
2005 12 1 Not Recorded Spain Topsides Paraphrased from press reports:- “Diver killed in harbourside accident. A diver working on the Las Galletas fishing harbour improvement scheme was killed as the result of an onshore accident when he was struck on the head by a large rock. The 56-year-old man died almost immediately and the emergency services called to the scene could do nothing to save his life.� Tenerife News on-line -
2005 11 0 Not Recorded “In November 2005 a diver died following a misunderstanding between the master and the dive team which resulted in the main pump to the vessel’s bow thruster being started in error�. This incident is referenced in MAIB report 3/2009 into the 'Norma' thruster incident in June 2008. No other details -
2005 8 22 Not Recorded Spain German Navy Aged 24, diving off the German Minesweeper 'Homburg' at anchorage off Ageciras (Vessel was en route to Crete to join a NATO task force), described as 'on a routine diving exercise for training purposes in the Bay of Algeciras', diver appers to have suffered a decompression incident, initially treated onboard the minesweeper which then took him to Gibraltar (Because there are at least two Navy decompression chambers wheras there are none in Algeciras), medics from the Royal Naval Hospital Gibraltar met the vessel when it docked at the South Mole but in spite of intensive efforts including the use of a deibrillator, were unable to revive him. Doctors concluded that he had died whilst the ship as still at sea (Onboard the FGS Homburg and therefore on German soil) and the coroner released the body to the German authorities who flew it to Germany on a CL60 military aircraft for a post mortem. No details. Reported by Panorama (Gibraltar) -
2005 8 11 Not Recorded Philippines SCUBA A diver looter drowned in Subic Bay near the former US navy base north of Manila when attempting to steal artifacts from the sunken battleship U.S.S. New York which served in the second world war. A local patrol ship found a small boat carrying two diver looters, who were apprehended after a short chase. One of the divers escaped from the patrol-men and drowned “due to his poor diving gear� The other diver was arrested with his looted materials (scrap metal) confiscated. Xinhua News Agency -
2005 6 14 Not Recorded Canada SCUBA Sports diver hired to carry out a commercial dive checking moorings, second dive, lifeline slack, no response, recovered unconscious, hospitalised but survived. No qualifications, procedures, team, stand-by etc -
2005 5 22 Not Recorded USA 12 P & A job. No barrier cream on. Quote from second diver: "There was a bunch of red gooey stuff coming out of the pipeline at the cut I was making. It got all over my hat but I never got any burns. Once I saw it coming out I tried to stay away from it. I do know that it burned the hell out of him, and he couldn't dive anymore (on that job). He was in pain just turning his head". -
2005 5 21 Not Recorded USA Subsea pipeline tie-in, crane ops, lost tips of two fingers -
2005 3 30 Not Recorded Kiribati Aged 29 “A diver died in Suva last night after he was airlifted from Kiribati with a serious decompression illness. He worked for a diving business owned by a former Kiribati diplomat on the island of Tabiteuea Meang.� No details -
2005 3 21 Not Recorded USA Gulf Offshore Logistics Overboard fatality Overboard Fatality, Mustang Island, crew boat attempting to tie up to platform boat landing, crew member leaning over side to tie up, fell overboard, crushed between boat and boat landing. -
2005 0 0 Not Recorded France Aplomb 4 Commercial diver recovering car from inland lake. -
2004 12 21 Not Recorded Global Industries 36" pipeline cracked resulting in pressure differential incident. Safety flash from Global industries on ADCI website and OD -
2004 11 5 Not Recorded USA Killed in a lift boat propeller accident -
2004 7 11 Not Recorded Malta 3 Freeport of Berzebbugia, Raymond van Beek was killed whilst conducting a video survey of hull of vessel "Verlaine", bow thruster started, Master & Chief engineer charged with involuntary homicide, prosecution failed on lack of proof, March 2007. Two other divers were reported injured in the same incident and were taken to St Luke's hospital for treatement but were never mentioned in subsequent reports. -
2004 6 0 Not Recorded Chile Sermar Double fatality, port of Coloso operated by Minera Enscondida. No details, reported in a BHP Billiton Safety Case Study -
2004 5 14 Not Recorded Venezuela Diver drowned in lake Maracaibo -
2004 3 0 Not Recorded USA Fireman SCUBA Laconia firefighter, experienced diver died, during a practice dive on Lake Winnipesaukee. No details -
2004 3 0 Not Recorded Egypt SCUBA Port Said, two man SCUBA team, inspection an offshore vessel hull. Completed but one diver was asked to re-inspect bow thruster. Bow thruster was activated during dive. No details, though same diving contractor is reported to have had fatalities in November 2007 and October 2008. -
2004 0 0 Not Recorded Saturation Release of gas from pipeline (gel barrier), diver skin burns, bell contamination (condensate?) (See IMCA SF 01/04) -
2004 0 0 Not Recorded 11 S/S Air Diver bruising plus damaged helmet during concrete mattress installation (See IMCA SF 04/04) -
2004 0 0 Not Recorded Deck Diver serious head injury working on deck (See IMCA SF 10/04) -
2003 10 1 Not Recorded Germany Kiesper 35 S/S Air Aged 41, two children. Working at the Wiehl Dam intake tower with a six man team. After a dive to 35 metres reached his in water oxygen stop at 6 metres but vomited (reported as wearing a KMI band mask, all diving gear stated as fully functional), aborted decompression and surfaced, collapsed and died. May have been ascribed to a heart attack but no details or official reports. Reported in Taucher.net -
2003 7 13 Not Recorded USA Apache Topsides Overboard fatality during mooring operations, South Timbalier, crew fell overboard while taking a line off the platform, 30 minutes to recover him, deceased on recovery, crushed to death -
2003 6 28 Not Recorded USSR SCUBA Sakhalin district commercial sea cucumber harvesting (мор�кого ежа). One of the divers failed to surface . His body was found some time later. -
2003 5 28 Not Recorded USA Topsides Liftboat "Amberjack", West Delta Block 61, dewatering a pipeline, product pumped to temporary tanks on deck, gas release, explosion, no injuries USCG report -
2003 4 0 Not Recorded UK In April 2003, a hazardous incident was reported to the HSE, which involved divers changing seals on a propulsion shaft while a vessel was alongside. Although the engines had been isolated and a diving permit to work was in place, the engines were started by the engineers shortly after a watch change. There were no reported injuries. This incident referenced in MAIB report 3/2009 into the 'Norma' thruster incident in June 2008. No other details -
2003 0 0 Not Recorded Gabon 61 Saturation Diver suffered muscle spasms, difficulty in breathing and unconsciousness. Recovered safely, no residual symptoms of any kind, no biological, physical or chemical influences. Suspected electrocution between IC anode system and installation but never proved. -
2003 0 0 Not Recorded USA NY or NJ, single diver working hull bottom, lost communications/air, drowned. -
2002 12 13 Not Recorded Liberia Rescue diver Wooden Ferry 'Papa Friends 2000' Lake Piso/Mofo river, rolled over and sank with over 200 onboard (max capacity reported as 100), returning from the funeral of a local footballer , at least 60 dead, but over 100 others not accounted for. Fatalities included a diver trying to rescue people from the wreckage. Reported by BBC, Telegraph, etc. -
2002 12 10 Not Recorded USA 9 S/S Air The dive-boat crew said the diver had been diving for sea cucumbers at a depth of about 30 feet in Canoe Cove near Cedar Point off Metlakatla Island. The diver was the only man in the water when the accident occurred. Just before the accident took place the weather was overcast with winds of approximately 15 knots. However, after the diver had been in the water about 30 minutes, and receiving air through an air hose connected to an on-board compressor, the weather suddenly turned and strong winds, estimated at more than 50 knots, developed. The anchor began to drag, forcing the vessel toward the rocky shore, so a crewman tugged on the air hose line, signalling the diver to abort the dive. But the diver tugged back, indicating his desire to continue his quest for sea cucumbers. A short time later, worried that the vessel was getting precariously close to the rocky shore, the crewman again tugged on the air hose. This time, the diver failed to signal, nor did he surface. Shortly thereafter, the air hose line became taut, indicating the possibility of a problem with the airflow. About five minutes had elapsed since the crewman had signaled the diver to surface, so a crew member immediately donned his dive suit and entered the water. He was too late. The diver was found underneath the vessel, unconscious, his diving mask pulled from his face. He was pulled from the water and CPR applied immediately. Medical technicians arrived shortly and they administered advanced CPR and life-saving measures, also to no effect. There was no evidence of foul play and the diver's death was deemed an accidental drowning. According to the Metlakatla sergeant, the diver had a cut on the bridge of his nose and what appeared to be a bump near the back of his head, suggesting he may have hit his head on the dive boat's keel or a rock. An examination of the dive equipment was conducted and everything appeared in good condition. USCG Report. -
2002 12 9 Not Recorded Australia Australian Army Special Forces Topsides Paraphrased from press reports:- "Oil Rig Raid Death a 'Freak Accident'. The Australian Army Special Air Services was running a mock raid on a oil rig in Bass Straight with four inflatable boats, each carrying six divers were traveling about 3 meters apart in a staggered formation. The coxswain of one boat lost control when a diver caught his flipper strap on the tiller when he was entered the water. The driver slipped and fell onto his knees. He looked and saw a man being dragged by his leg, the boat then veered to the left and struck another diver. He saw a diver about 10 meters away with a face that "looked like it was mangled". The supervising officer said in hindsight, "propeller guards should have been used", however the boat was harder to control with guards. The soldier killed by the propeller was a 33 year old sergeant from Perth� Reported by Polson Enterprises list of propeller incidents/Herald Sun (Australia) -
2002 12 7 Not Recorded USA Topsides Overboard Fatality, Ewing Bank, crew member of a contract work/dive boat rescued a man overboard, later pronounced dead -
2002 12 3 Not Recorded Australia The 22-year-old man was diving for sea cucumber on Kelso Reef, 80km north of Townsville on the Great Barrier Reef was injured when boat propeller sliced open his buttock. Treated in hospital, no details, Reported by AAP -
2002 10 4 Not Recorded Norway Aged 27, Scallop diver off Froya -
2002 7 8 Not Recorded USA Montgomery county SCUBA Diver died during a body search in Muddy River Lake, south lancaster County. No details. Reported by Lancaster Newspapers -
2002 4 30 Not Recorded UK Police 42 SCUBA Police dive team trying to recover the bodies of three family members from the hull of their vessel that sank off the South Downs Coast, two divers surfaced, one with pains in arms and shoulders, the second with ruptured eardrums, treated in a DDC, OK -
2002 4 0 Not Recorded Australia 3 SCUBA Deckhand on lobster boat trying to free a snagged pot in 2.7 metres, drowned, skipper fined $20,000, no stand-by diver, not anchored (live boating, engine running). -
2002 0 0 Not Recorded USA Liquid Engineering Topsides American, aged 27, three children, part of a three man potable water tank diving team inspecting a water tower. Rung gave way as he was climbing the external ladder to reach the tank, fell 55', died. Bonnier Corporation 'SCUBA' News article -
2002 0 0 Not Recorded Thailand Scuba dive boat 'Laddawan 2' Paraphrased from press reports:- “2002 Unknown Date - 13 October 2010 report in the Phuket Gazette stated that:- 'Phuket Dive Boat Goes Up in Flames. A widely known dive tour operator lost a dive boat to a fire this morning. The dive boat, the Laddawan 2, was in the news eight years ago (2002) when a member of the crew "had his stomach sliced open and lost severed limb while cleaning the propeller" near Koh Racha Yai. The article also provides a photo of the dive boat on fire. Polson Enterprises, List of propeller incidents/Phuket Gazette -
2002 0 0 Not Recorded USA Horizon S/S Air Details not confirmed, Barge "Brazos", lowered a jet sledge onto a diver, two broken legs, hat off, stand-by found the diver breathing off his pneumo -
2001 12 17 Not Recorded Germany 40 SCUBA Aged 29, wife and six year old daughter, the manager of a 5 man diving contractor from Hamburg, 10 o'clock on a Monday morning, cleaning operations on frond mats at the Droda Dam, two man dive, after 10 minutes partner caught in fronds and had to ditch his weight belt and lost his knife, he surface safely but realised the other diver had not surfaced but could not go down to to lack of weight belt. Body pulled up on a line (lifeline?), may have been without cylinders when recovered (ditched his gear?), entangled, lost his cyliners, no other details. Reported in Schatzsucher.de -
2001 9 0 Not Recorded USSR Aged 50, commercial operation on the Neva river, no details -
2001 1 0 Not Recorded USA Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, diver swept over dam spillway, umbilical snap link broke, air hose pulled out of hat, drowned, no citations issued -
2001 1 0 Not Recorded USSR Military Military student, torpedo tube escape exercise, one of three students failed to exit, system water level lowered, found unconscious, treated in DDC, OK. Undersea Review -
2001 0 0 Not Recorded IMCA 140 Saturation Diver injured in a negative pressure incident during diving operations on a subsea manifold to install additional 4 inch pipe spools in a well bay. The spools had been transported to the vessel with wooden blind protectors on the flange faces to prevent impact damage. These did not have pre-drilled vent holes and were to be replaced on board the vessel with standard donut protectors. However, two assemblies were apparently overlooked and were subsequently deployed subsea with the unvented wooden blinds still in place. At the time of the incident, the diver had manoeuvred the spool piece close to its final position, removed the tie wrap and then attempted to lever the wooden blind off the flange face using his knife. It appears that the blind then imploded due to the build-up of negative pressure, pulling the diver’s hand through the blind and into the spool, causing a fracture to the arm and dislocation of the thumb, bruising and swelling. IMCA Safety Flash 12/01 -
2000 11 29 Not Recorded Fiji 130 SCUBA Two Fijian divers, 'one a master diver, the other less experienced' were hired to recover an anchor lost in 130 metres off Gau island. When they failed to surface, another diver attempted to rescue them, began to lose consciousness and inflated his ABLJ, he was admitted to the CWM hospital in Suva, given therapeutic decompression in a chamber and reported as having survived. No other details. Reported in the Fiji Times Online. (NB As far as I can ascertain, the facts are correct – two divers were hired, agreed to, and then attempted to, recover an anchor in 130 metres on air in SCUBA, TC) -
2000 10 11 Not Recorded USA Land and Underwater Welding Topsides American, Bayou Adams near Orange, Texas, incident occurred when the divers were returning to a boatramp at the end of a diving project and their boat hit a power line tower. The diver was, who was operating the boat, was seriously injured, another diver (John Linscomb) was killed. NAOCD/cDiver blog, No other details. -
2000 7 15 Not Recorded Australia Topsides LST injured (Major hand trauma) during demobilisation gas transfer - a William James compressor explosion. 20/80 heliox. Safety Flash issued by Australia authorities. (See IMCA SF 03/00). -
2000 6 9 Not Recorded Canada Sports diver Big Tub Harbour Resort, Ontario, man killed by exploding cylinder at a diving club. No details. The Record -
2000 6 2 Not Recorded USA Police 0 Police officer, injured on the same dive during which Sgt Alane Soffregen died -
2000 4 0 Not Recorded Canada SCUBA Aged 36. A commercial diver with 12 years experience was drawn into a 30" diameter aerator intake pipe while attempting to locate the screens for two fire pump intakes. The pulp mill hired a diving company to inspect and clean two intake screens in their industrial effluent pond. Both parties thought that the work had been planned and all hazards identified. The pumps for the two intakes to be worked on had been identified and locked out. The diver, after entering the water with zero visibility, thought he had located the fire pump intakes when he was drawn into a nearby aerator intake pipe. The screen for this intake pipe had broken off and the diver was pulled, head first, 80 feet up the pipe. As the aerator intake pipe had not been identified on the drawings used, the 3 5,000 litre per minute aerator pump had not been locked out. There were no visual markers on the surface of the pond to identify the aerator or fire pump intakes. Worksafe Canada. Plus an OHS article in 2004 "It seems that Newfoundland's experience is also Canada's experience. In British Columbia, for example, there have been 33 workplace deaths in the commercial diving industry since 1975. The most recent fatality occurred in April, 2000 when a 36-year-old diver died while conducting maintenance work at a pulp mill" -
2000 4 0 Not Recorded USA During 1989-1997, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) recorded 116 occupational diving fatalities in the United States (OSHA, unpublished data, 1998) 13 deaths per year. 49 five per year occurred among an estimated 3000 full-time commercial divers. The average of five deaths per year corresponds to a rate of 180 deaths per 100,000 employed divers per year, which is 40 times the national average death rate for all workers. This group, which accounts for most of the commercial dive time underwater, includes divers involved in construction, maintenance, and inspection of vessels and structures such as oil rigs, bridges, and dams. The remaining 67 deaths occurred among workers who were not full-time divers; these include seafood harvest divers, search and rescue divers, scientific divers, dive instructors, and non-military federal agency divers. Note from TC, this incidents list contains potential reference to less than 50% of OSHA reported cases in the USA -
2000 2 3 Not Recorded Ivory Coast Kenyan Navy 47 SCUBA Kenyan Navy diver died during body recovery operations on the crash site of Kenyan Airways airbus, 310, flight KQ 431 to Lagos, that crashed into the sea 2 miles off Abijan after take off , 169 died, 10 survivors. -
2000 0 0 Not Recorded 8 S/S Air Paraphrased from IMCA Safety Flash 1/2001:- “An IMCA member reported a diving fatality that occurred to a contract diver employed by a non-member company. During a surface supplied diving operation at a depth of 8 metres, whilst carrying out hook up operations, a diving fatality occurred. One of the divers was sick, vomiting inside his face helmet and clogging up his mask air demand valve. He pulled the helmet off his head in a rush, undid his bail out bottle harness, unhooked his umbilical safety hook from his body harness but failed to free himself from his bail out bottle pressure gauge hose. He subsequently drowned. In this case the diver appears to have tried to open the bail out bottle air supply in mistake for the free flow air valve. The diver’s breathing rate before the accident was very fast and shallow, and could have led to a build up of CO2 in his mask. CO2 build up can cause headaches, dizziness, nausea, vomiting, unconsciousness and death. The post accident investigation revealed that the diver who had died had no offshore diving experience. The logbook presented for scrutiny prior to the diving operations commencing was new with no dive records; the old book was requested but never received. The diver’s experience was apparently related to lobster fishing and gold digging in Rivers; this only came to light after the accident�. -
2000 0 0 Not Recorded IMCA 8 S/S Air Vomited inside his helmet and clogged up his demand valve. He pulled the helmet off his head in a rush, undid his bail out bottle harness, unhooked his umbilical safety hook from his body harness but failed to free himself from his bail out bottle pressure gauge hose. Drowned. Appears to have tried to open the bail out bottle air supply in mistake for the free flow air valve, breathing rate before the accident was very fast and shallow, and could have led to a build up of CO2 in his mask. The post accident investigation revealed he had no offshore diving experience. The logbook presented was new with no dive records; the old book was requested but never received. The diver’s experience was apparently related to lobster fishing and gold digging in rivers; this only came to light after the accident ( IMCA SF 01/01). -
1999 12 7 Not Recorded Spain S/S Air Paraphrased from press reports:- “ A court in San Sebastian has sentenced company co-owner to a year and a half in prison for the death of a diver who was killed by the propeller of the boat from which he worked, while trying to clear an anchor that had been trapped at the bottom. The boat's skipper, who was also charged has been acquitted as he only complied with the orders of his superior . The deceased was working on a fish farm in Zumaia when about 12.30 the crew found that the bow anchor was stuck on the bottom. When the diver was in the water, the boat manager twice gave the order to go hard forward to dislodge the anchor and the employee complied with this indication, when the diver was dragged into the propeller and sliced to death. The ruling states that the owner and manager of the company "was directly responsible to provide safe working conditions for their workers', despite which he allowed the work to be performed by a single diver, where the legislation requires two. The court also noted the propeller should not have been used with a surface umbilical diver in the water,' reckless manager’ allowing the maneuver. For this reason, it condemned the manager to one year in prison for a crime of homicide by negligence and six months for another crime against the rights of worker plus banned from managing a diving company three years, plus compensation to the parents of 14,100. -
1999 11 11 Not Recorded USA Southwest Marine American, San Diego, This was reported as a drowning fatality by a possibly untrained SCUBA diver doing commercial work. No details, possibly dual report of death of Ramsey Downie reported a month earlier (Died 8/10/1999). NAOCD/cDiver. -
1999 10 20 Not Recorded USA Jim Wright Marine Construction American, Incident occurred on the Isle of Bahia, Lot 80 (Inland of Lake Worth), reported as a drowning of unknown cause. Possibly a case of a sports qualified SCUBA diver doing commercial diving work. Investigation closed. Fines to be Paid, 3 Citations/$3,600 but no details. NAOCD/cDiver -
1998 12 8 Not Recorded South Korea North Korean Navy Diver Dec. 18, 1998 - South Korean navy sinks submersible North Korean spy vessel on east coast. A scuba diver from the North is found dead. Unfree Media/China Daily. (NB This report is quoted in various sources, the Commando (July 1998) is less widely reported. They appear to be different incidents. TC) -
1998 12 7 Not Recorded USA Commercial diver working on a propeller at Continental Lime, Tacoma, critically injured, taken to hospital, no details -
1998 11 13 Not Recorded Canada RCMP A police diver was drowned in Cambridge, Ontario when he was trying to recover the body of a boy who drowned. The name of the officer has not been released. No other details. Reported by CBC News -
1998 10 12 Not Recorded Tunisia Adriatica Subsea Services 75 S/S Mixed Gas Spanish, aged 33, Bounce diving, Galeazzi type bell, (no DDC, decompression done in the bell). The day before had passed out in the water, recovered by the bellman. Passed out during locking out, recovered dead. Ill fitting unisuit reported as a contributory factor -
1998 7 29 Not Recorded Turkey Chamber Turkish doctor and 2 SCUBA divers killed in blast in decompression chamber An explosion in a decompression chamber released a cloud of noxious fumes, killing a doctor and two scuba divers at a hospital, the Anatolia news agency said. The cause of the explosion Tuesday was not immediately known and officials at Capa hospital refused to comment. Associated Press -
1998 7 13 Not Recorded South Korea Military South Korean military commanders put troops on the country's eastern coast on alert and declared a curfew in the area after finding the body of a diver who they said was a North Korean commando. The diver, whose body apparently washed up on the beach, was wearing a wet suit, goggles and two oxygen tanks and carrying a Czech-made submachine gun, a hand grenade, radio transmission gear and an underwater camera, the military said. Nearby, investigators found a cone-shaped aluminum submersible boat that could carry up to five commandos. ''Judging from the objects found, it has been proven that the dead diver was an armed infiltrator,'' said a Defense Ministry spokesman. A month ealier, a furor erupted when a South Korean fisherman caught a North Korean submarine in his drift net. The North Korean commandos on board apparently killed the crew and then themselves, but South Korean officials said that some of the commandos had recently been on South Korean soil. That incident aroused only limited outrage in the South, in part because the submarine was 12 miles offshore when it was caught in the net. North Korea said it had lost power and suggested that it had drifted south. A more serious episode occurred when a North Korean submarine ran aground on the South Korean coast in October 1996 and 19 crew members and commandos slipped ashore. Some 70,000 South Korean troops were deployed to hunt them down, and in the end all the North Koreans were killed or committed suicide except one who was captured and another who was never found. The body discovered this morning was found by a South Korean man walking along the beach near the city of Tonghae, 110 miles east of Seoul. Defense Ministry doctors examined the body and said that the man had died of a heart attack and had been dead between 24 and 48 hours. New York Times -
1998 4 16 Not Recorded USA Intercoastal Diving The diver died around 8 am while working at Duke Power's dam at lake Hickory. The divers were under contract to inspect the 70 year old dam. No details. Star News -
1998 2 18 Not Recorded Israel Israeli Navy SCUBA One of two divers roped together conducting a mine search under an Israeli cargo vessel, the Zim Adriatic, in Haifa Bay. Reported as being “sucked into one of the ship's propellers, which had been mysteriously turned on�. -
1997 9 0 Not Recorded USA Two Harbours, Minnesota, Lt in the Fire Department, died while conducting commercial diving work for the municipality, presumed heart attack -
1997 7 23 Not Recorded Singapore A shark attacked a diver doing underwater work at a Tuas Wharf "almost bit his arm off". No other details. Straits Times -
1997 6 20 Not Recorded USA Fireman SCUBA A veteran firefighter died Friday following a routine scuba practice dive in Lake Michigan, fire officials said. [The diver], 46, a firefighter for 17 years and an experienced member of the Air-Sea Rescue Unit, was pronounced dead at Northwestern Memorial Hospital shortly before 5 p.m. according to fire department spokesman Patrick Howe. That was about an hour after [the diver] went out on a routine practice dive with [another team member] about 25 feet off Meigs Field, where the water temperature was 62 degrees. ``[The team member] noticed his partner was moving rapidly to the surface,'' said Howe. The member followed [the victim] to the surface, where the victim removed his mask. Other firefighters brought [him] to shore and administered CPR, Howe said. At that time, the victim did not have a pulse and was not breathing, Howe said. Paramedics were subsequently called and administered advanced life-saving techniques before transporting the victim to the hospital, Howe said. [The team member] also was admitted to the hospital as a procedural step and was listed in good condition. An investigation into the cause of [the diver’s] death was underway. ``We don't know if it was an equipment failure, or a heart problem, or what,'' Howe said, adding that the divers were wearing the proper equipment. ``We can't speculate right now.'' An autopsy will be conducted Saturday. Fire officials also said they would examine the scuba equipment being used by [the diver] for any potential malfunctions. [The diver] is survived by a wife and two daughters, ages 13 and 16. Chicago Tribune -
1997 6 19 Not Recorded USA Police 18 SCUBA Quote:- “Two Milford police divers were injured, one critically, in a diving accident during routine training drills in Long Island Sound, authorities said. The officers, ages 34 and 41, apparently became entangled in debris around noon on Wednesday, said a police spokesman. One was submerged at least eight minutes and had no pulse when fellow divers pulled him from the water. He was in critical condition at Norwalk Hospital early this morning. The other officer freed himself, and surfaced to get help, but came up too quickly and suffered from decompression sickness, commonly called the bends. He was in serious condition early this morning also at Norwalk Hospital. Both divers were among eight officers performing routine training about two miles off the mouth of Milford harbor. Police said the divers were training in murky water about 60-feet deep. Visibility was less than a foot. ``This is the first mishap the dive team has ever experienced,'' the spokesman said. The team has been in action at least 25 years. Both men have been dive team members more than five years News Times regional News -
1997 0 0 Not Recorded Netherlands S/S Air Umbilical snagged on lifting basket, tried to cut umbilical but prevented by steel comms cable -
1997 0 0 Not Recorded USA During 1990-1997, nine persons in Alaska died in work-related diving incidents (four were investigated by OSHA, 3 separately reported, above, TC – July 1996, October 1996 and September 1997- only one had training beyond a recreational diving certificate, and three lacked any certification. Three were harvesting sea cucumbers, three were diving to clear tangled lines or nets from fishing boats, two were conducting vessel-related activities (i.e., hull inspection and anchor attachment), and one was a U.S. Navy diver undergoing training. Six divers were using scuba gear, and three were using surface-supplied air. Three deaths were attributed to equipment failure, two to entanglement in lines or nets, one to exhaustion of air supply, and three to unknown causes. None of the divers had an adequately prepared standby diver, the three divers using surface-supplied air and one scuba diver were line tended, one diver was accompanied, and one diver carried a reserve air supply -
1997 0 0 Not Recorded UK Subsea “Mudslide, circumstances unknown� Probably double report Gary Carey fatality in August 1996, -
1997 0 0 Not Recorded USA S/S Air Florida, entrapped in soft mud, surface unable to recover diver, no st/by, possible one man crew. Probable DP incident, use of sports diver to perform commercial dive. Probable duplication/alternative report of 1995 Kevin Sass fatality -
1996 10 0 Not Recorded USA 12 S/S Air In October 1996, a 32-year-old certified recreational diver with minimal experience was harvesting sea cucumbers using surface-supplied air in approximately 40 feet of water. After approximately 1 hour, the tender *** lost sight of the diver's air bubbles. The diver did not respond to a recall signal, and the tender pulled him to the surface. His air regulator was not in his mouth, and cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) was unsuccessful. Inspection of the dive gear indicated it to be fully operational, with no obvious defects. The cause of death was drowning, but the specific cause of the incident was unknown. NIOSH review of occupational diving fatalities in Alaska -
1996 7 0 Not Recorded Indonesia Comex/PT Komaritim 20 SCUBA Indonesian diver, vessel sent out to confirm location of a pipeline leak, passed leak and dropped a marker buoy. As the vessel made a second pass, two divers in SCUBA jumped in with a marker buoy on a line to attach to the pipeline near the leak. (Possibly a 10"or 12" pipeline, hole was in the 6 o/c position.). While they were underwater attaching the rope, the leak stopped. It is reported – not confirmed – that the client representative was for some reason not happy that he could no longer see bubbles and radio'd the platform asking them to inject more gas. Whether true or not, the leak did restart, violently. The product was gas plus condensate. One diver was found dead tangled in the marker rope, his face virtually stripped of flesh from where the high pressure gas/condensate had blown off his SCUBA mask, the other diver did not surface, missing, his body was not located at the time (Not reported whether it was found later). PC -
1996 7 0 Not Recorded USA 1 SCUBA In July 1996, a 24-year-old commercial fisherman with no diving certification used scuba gear while attempting to clear a fishing net wrapped around the propeller of a fishing vessel. He became entangled in the net and was unable to free himself. Other crew members were unable to assist because they had no diving gear. He was retrieved approximately 3 hours later, and no attempt was made to resuscitate him. The scuba tank still contained an adequate amount of air. The cause of death was drowning. NIOSH review of occupational diving fatalities in Alaska -
1996 0 0 Not Recorded Japan Chamber e patient Sheffield and Desautels “Hyperbaric and hypobaric Chamber fires, a 73 year analysis�, Undersea Hyperbaric Medicine, 1997, 24 (3): 153-164. -
1996 0 0 Not Recorded Australia S/S Air Two pearl divers died as a result of carbon monoxide being sucked into the air compressor and down their air hoses. A new compressor had been installed, but the appropriate air intake pipe had not been attached because a necessary part was being repaired. The carbon monoxide came from the vessel’s engine exhaust which was situated close to the air compressor intake. NOHSC. Quoted in a Report into Work-related deaths as a result of incidents involving workers employed in the fishing industry in Australia were studied as part of a larger study of all work-related traumatic deaths from 1989 to 1992. For further information regarding work-related deaths see: National Occupational Health and Safety Commission. Work-related traumatic fatalities in Australia, 1989 to 1992. Ausinfo: Canberra, 1998 -
1995 3 0 Not Recorded Australia S/S Air A professional diver was checking a boat mooring below the water surface and did not resurface. The diver was found on the sea bottom. It appears that the air intake hose was situated very close to the exhaust of the compressor on that dive and that exhaust fumes entered the diver’s air hose. NOHSC. Quoted in a Report into Work-related deaths as a result of incidents involving workers employed in the fishing industry in Australia were studied as part of a larger study of all work-related traumatic deaths from 1989 to 1992. For further information regarding work-related deaths see: National Occupational Health and Safety Commission. Work-related traumatic fatalities in Australia, 1989 to 1992. Ausinfo: Canberra, 1998 -
1995 0 0 Not Recorded Israel Naval Commando Sgt Gal Azoulay, aged 19, died during a training dive for Israeli Naval Commando in December 2009 (Simulation of combat dive in enemy port) Reported at the time as the first fatal accident in training for the unit since 1995 but can find no details of the 1995 accident in the public domain, details needed, TC -
1995 0 0 Not Recorded Canada SCUBA Diver and supervisor clearing a Culvert, penetrated 90' up a 4' diameter pipe, upstream of blockage, dislodged debris, both swept down, supervisor survived, diver trapped in rope and debris, drowned. -
1995 0 0 Not Recorded Canada 6 SCUBA Diver clearing a Culvert, upstream of blockage, dislodged debris, sucked through culvert and ejected but drowned. -
1994 12 5 Not Recorded Canada Diver died while harvesting red urchins in Freeman Passage, BC, from the fishing vessel 'Paul Freeman'. Transportation Safety Board of Canada marine occurence report M94W0096 -
1994 9 26 Not Recorded USA Caldive 91 Saturation High Island, Block 0376, G02754, Andarko. "A Cal Dive International diver injured his right hand when he opened a valve to flood a pipeline, and his hand was sucked to the valve due to the differential pressure. He was hung up for approximately 1 hour, 45 minutes. The nature of his injury was a cut nerve on his right index linger. To prevent a recurrence, a diffuser should be installed before operating. OCS Incidents database 1991 to 1994, page 73 -
1993 8 21 Not Recorded USA SCUBA Aged 21, off Maine, commercial diver/fisherman repairing vessel, skiff drifted away, diver drowned after attempting to swim after drifting boat -
1993 5 1 Not Recorded USA Police SCUBA American police officer, Missouri, attempting to rescue a canoe accident victim in a rain swollen river, swept away and drowned even though he had breathing apparatus. -
1993 0 0 Not Recorded Japan Chamber Clinical chamber (Hospital) fire, first of 4 (the others were in 1967, 1989 and 1996) in Japan caused by patients taking butane or chemical hand warmers into the hyperbaric O2 rich environment. Sheffield and Desautels “Hyperbaric and hypobaric Chamber fires, a 73 year analysis�, Undersea Hyperbaric Medicine, 1997, 24 (3): 153-164. -
1993 0 0 Not Recorded China Chamber Clinical chamber (Hospital) fire, The fire was initiated by the patient lighting a cigarette in a multi-occupancy treatment chamber, 5 fatalities. Sheffield and Desautels “Hyperbaric and hypobaric Chamber fires, a 73 year analysis�, Undersea Hyperbaric Medicine, 1997, 24 (3): 153-164. -
1993 0 0 Not Recorded Indonesia Comex SCUBA Indonesian, securing a down line to a leaking gas pipeline, not isolated, caught in the venting gas, double fatality. No details. -
1993 0 0 Not Recorded Canada 18 SCUBA 40 year old Canadian, sports diver hired to carry out a commercial dive to recover a hatch cover from a lake bed. Descended with rope/shackle, rope went slack, surface crew redeployed rope with a ne shackle in the area bubbles last seen. No response. Body found on lake bed. Drowned. -
1993 0 0 Not Recorded Australia A pearl diver failed to resurface at the conclusion of a dive and was found drowned. Circumstances surrounding the incident were unclear. However, it appears the five dives the diver made the previous day and general fatigue may have contributed to the occurrence of the incident. NOHSC. Quoted in a Report into Work-related deaths as a result of incidents involving workers employed in the fishing industry in Australia were studied as part of a larger study of all work-related traumatic deaths from 1989 to 1992. For further information regarding work-related deaths see: National Occupational Health and Safety Commission. Work-related traumatic fatalities in Australia, 1989 to 1992. Ausinfo: Canberra, 1998 -
1992 8 17 Not Recorded USA 3 Cleaning barnacles from the hull of the yacht 'Wutnext', natural causes, heart attack. No details. Reported in the South Florida Sun Sentinel -
1992 7 6 Not Recorded USA 56 EI 273, "Preparing platform for drilling rig, under investigation by USCG" -
1992 3 31 Not Recorded USA SCUBA "Baltimore fire officials recovered the body of a diver who apparently got into trouble (failed to surface) while working on the hull of a vessel at Berth 5 of the Dundalk Marine Terminal". The diver may have had a safety line, unclear whether he was trapped under the vessel or injured underwater, on site treatment was carried out, but he failed to respond to treatment. No other details. Reported in the Baltimore Sun -
1992 0 0 Not Recorded USA SCUBA Two reported deaths off Maine during professional sea urchin harvesting -
1991 12 6 Not Recorded USA SM 0565, P0450, Hildago, Chevron. "While waterblasting sea growth from platform legs, a diver inadvertently passed the waterblaster across his right fool causing a deep laceration. The diver was medivaced to Goleta Valley hospital". OCS Incidents database 1991 to 1994, page 96 -
1991 2 8 Not Recorded Portugal Canadian Navy SCUBA One of two un-named Navy divers injured and hospitalised in Madeira during the rescue of diver sub-lt Corey Wells and Master Seaman Willian Hynes who both drowned when sucked into the engine cooling intake of the Canadian destroyer "Magaree" when her engines were started whilst they wrre undertakung a hull survey. Reported in the Ottawa Citizen -
1990 0 0 Not Recorded Australia A professional diver went missing whilst snorkeling and diving for trochus shells on a reef. NOHSC. Quoted in a Report into Work-related deaths as a result of incidents involving workers employed in the fishing industry in Australia were studied as part of a larger study of all work-related traumatic deaths from 1989 to 1992. For further information regarding work-related deaths see: National Occupational Health and Safety Commission. Work-related traumatic fatalities in Australia, 1989 to 1992. Ausinfo: Canberra, 1998 -
1989 12 0 Not Recorded USA Police SCUBA A 28-year-old member of a fire department dive team lost his life in a lake in Oklahoma in December of 1989. The dive team was conducting a search for the victim of a parasailing accident that had occurred the previous October. While attempting to recover the equipment and the body of the accident victim this diver became thoroughly ensnared in the parachute’s lines -
1989 11 30 Not Recorded USA US Armry Corps A U.S. Army Corps of Engineers diver installing a boom to catch ice in the St. Marys River died when he lost his safety line -
1989 8 28 Not Recorded UK Topsides Seriously injured at the RN Submarine Base Faslane, Civilian diver, in a hut on a barge, preparing to dive, his team-mate David Foley was killed when a crane jib fell onto the hut. During the inquest, the court heard that a steel rope snapped, causing the steel jib to fall and crush a cabin on an off-shore barge where Mr Foley was changing into his wet suit. Mr Foley was killed instantly and another diver was injured. A pulley on the crane split and steel guide guards were later found to have been cut. Glasgow Herald -
1989 7 27 Not Recorded USA Russian Navy SCUBA Joint USA/Russian military subsea photographic expedition sponsored by tha National Geographic Society onboard the Soviet vessel 'Keldysh'. Used two Mir submersibles to set bait boxes to attract sharks, but during the expedition a Soviet diver failed to surface. Unclear if his body was ever recovered. No details -
1989 0 0 Not Recorded Japan Chamber Clinical chamber (Hospital) fire, one of 4 (the others were in 1967, 1993 and 1996) in Japan caused by patients taking butane or chemical hand warmers into the hyperbaric O2 rich environment. Sheffield and Desautels “Hyperbaric and hypobaric Chamber fires, a 73 year analysis�, Undersea Hyperbaric Medicine, 1997, 24 (3): 153-164. -
1987 8 12 Not Recorded Saudi Arabia Navy The official Saudi Press agency meanwhile reported that a Saudi Navy frogman was killed and a second wounded when they got too close to a mine being detonated after it was pulled from the Persian Gulf.It said the accident occurred in water 180 miles to the Northwest of Ras Tanura". The Telegraph. -
1987 6 0 Not Recorded USA Police SCUBA American police officer aged 45 died while searching the Detroit River for victims of a boat that had capsized. It was later alleged that the malfunction of a valve on a dry suit was a contributing factor to his death. -
1987 2 0 Not Recorded UK . SCUBA BSAC diver died while working to clear debris fouling the propulsion units of a new ferry. "Water conditions atrocious in terms of visibility and cleanliness. Deceased's air supply had been turned off accidently underwater, it is thought by blow(s) against underside of hull of ship but he was also trapped by a surface rope and a flxed rope around the hull of the vessel. Deceased had been using normal sports diving equipment. No other details, not sure whether this was investigated by the HSE as a commercial fatality. Reported by Dave Shaw in BSAC incidents report fot 1987 -
1987 0 0 Not Recorded Canada The book “Edmonton – Secrets of the City� by Charlene Rooke published in 2001 refers to 'a diver killed whilst servicing the submarine ride in 1987'. This is a reference to West Edmonton Mall, built in 1981 as a shopping mall that has evolved more into a 'family entertainment complex'. No other details. -
1987 0 0 Not Recorded USA 650 Law suit against General Dynamics reported in the Los Angeles Times “Thirteen professional divers filed a lawsuit Tuesday against the San Diego Unified Port “Two of the plaintiffs-one of whom died of his affliction April� Headlined as “Divers' Suit Claims PCBs in bay made them ill�, PCBs can be found, however, in old transformers, capacitors and other equipment still in use at Teledyne Ryan's plant on Harbor Drive near Lindbergh Field. A General Dynamics spokesman said PCBs are no longer used at the company's bayside facility. Officials with General Dynamics and the Port District declined to comment on the divers' charges because they had not yet seen a copy of the lawsuit. But Conward Williams, general counsel for Teledyne Ryan, said his company "is not aware of any scientific evidence that establishes that the very low levels of PCBs detected in Convair Lagoon would cause any form of human cancer." Lower levels of PCBs were found in a storm drain sump used by General Dynamics. The board staff is now conducting inspections at General Dynamics and a half-dozen other companies near Convair Lagoon in order to further pinpoint the source of the chemicals, said the supervising engineer for the agency. (No other details and the fatality is not included in the fatality count as we do not know the outcome of the case TC) -
1986 4 3 Not Recorded Egypt Navy Egyptian Navy diver died during search of the wreck of Napoleon Bonaparte's flagship “L'Orient� sunk off Alexandria in August 1798 at the battle of Abu Keir reviving local superstition of mermaid's curse -
1985 12 15 Not Recorded Mexico Saturation One of four Mexican divers reported as being in saturation when the Huichol II sank in a storm off Cuidad del Carmen, bodies possibly recovered during salvage operations in February. -
1985 9 11 Not Recorded USA Vermilion, Block 331, OCS-G 2572, Platform A, Marathon. "A diver was securing a buoy to a subsea template. His hand was entangled in a rope that went around the cable. As the boat surged, his hand was pulled through a snatch block cutting off the last joint of his finger". OCS Incidents 1956-1990, page 272 -
1985 9 0 Not Recorded Yugoslavia 79 The Brigitta Montanari sank in a storm on Nov. 16, 1984, near the Yugoslav town of Sibenik. The vessel was carrying vinyl chloride, a highly toxic and carcinogenic chemical. Two salvage divers were killed during salvage attempts in 1985. The vessel started leaking toxic chemicals in 1987. No details. -
1985 6 14 Not Recorded USA South Marsh, Block 41, OCS0G 1192, Platform A, Chevron. "A diver was installing a caisson centraliser when his thumb was caught and severed between the conductor and centraliser". OCS Incidents 1956-1990, page 270 -
1985 0 0 Not Recorded Brazil Superpesa 120 Saturation Campos basin, DSV Flexservice 1, oxy/arc torch not working, taken back to the bell for checking, flash fire, two divers died of burns -
1984 12 12 Not Recorded USA 20 S/S Air NO 03-07, Block 631, OCS-Y 0511, Sedco 708, Well No 1, Atlantic Richfield. "The diver left surface at 11:55 hours to work on an anchor at 65 feet. At approximately 12:35 hours, a garbled message came over the diving phone. The crew could not get an understandable response from the diver. He was observed at the surface trying to climb the ladder to the landing. He fell back into the water. One man climbed down the ladder and another jumped into the water to help. The diver lost consciousness and the two men got him to the landing. He was not breathing and had no pulse. CPR was started and he was moved to the DDC. CPR was continued until the doctor arrived at 18:28 hours and pronounced the victim dead. Cause of death was subsequently determined to be air embolism. OCS incidents database 1956 to 1990, page 306 -
1984 0 0 Not Recorded Tunisia 67 S/S Mixed Gas During in-water decompression, supervisor on board the vessel shifted to oxygen supply at 6 m. 2 minutes later diver surfaced, become unconscious on being pulled into an inflatable (standing by) where he was recovered in seconds. Could not be resuscitated The oxygen supply line had a filter partly covered with teflon fibers from the fittings. Check showed oxygen supply pressure but reduced flow. Diver, very experienced, did not operate his bailout for unknown reasons -
1983 10 30 Not Recorded Malaysia Pearl diver Topsides Japanese pear diver working a vessel 30 km off Semporna, Sabah. The vessel was attacked by pirates, he was shot dead, two other divers were injured. Straits Times -
1983 0 0 Not Recorded Iraq 90 S/S Mixed Gas Inland dam diving operation, at altitude, using semi closed, surface supplied mixed gas (trimix) with comms line (No video). Client rep wanted to inspect work carried our by divers, he was only qualified to 60 metres (max air range under French regs), he was not familiar with equipment or depth. Lost control of breathing equipment during descent, was rescued and put in on-site DDC but failed to respond to treatment. PC -
1982 6 17 Not Recorded USA S/S Air A commercial deep sea diver died after his air hose became wrapped around his neck while diving near San Clemente Island. Los Angeles Times -
1982 0 0 Not Recorded USSR Military 50 Training dive in Lake Baikal. Reported that during the dive they saw “a group of humanoids dressed in silvery suits�. They tried to catch them, in the process 3 trainees died and 4 were injured. Reported lifted from declassified Soviet “UFO encounter� records in 2009 (Whether you believe narcosis/bad gas/a training error or “Aliens� is up to you, TC) -
1982 0 0 Not Recorded Australia SubSea International 152 S/S Mixed Gas Possibly a bounce dive, bell port started leaking on the bottom, (investigation revealed that the wrong size 'O' ring had been used), they started flushing out with gas, may have run out of gas, so brought the bell up from 500 fsw with the door open On surface, the divers fell out and were re-compressed in sat system. One diver who was conscious and asked for valium for the other diver, but it was denied. The second diver died of heart attack, the other survived. The surviving diver was possibly named Dolan or Doolan, but we have no real details. Date? Vessel? Persons involved? Personal communication. OK guys, who has any additional detail on this 'lost' incident? (Or any others) TC -
1981 5 16 Not Recorded USA S/S Air West Delta, Block 31, OCS 0016, Platform H, Exxon. "A contract diver was oxy arc cutting well conductors in approximately 45 feet of water when an explosion of unknown origin occurred. A back up diver was sent down. The diver was found unconscious and tangled in his hose with his diver hat and harness off. He was brought to the surface unconscious. 1 fatality. OCS Incidents data 1956-1990, page 250. -
1981 0 0 Not Recorded Antarctic SCUBA McMurdo research base, American scientist, embolism after using his dry suit as a lift bag to move a piece of steel underwater. He dropped the steel and went straight to the surface. No details. Bonnier Corporation 'SCUBA' News article -
1980 9 18 Not Recorded USA A diver testing effects of cooling water discharge from the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS) on marine life died Wednesday while collecting samples. No details. Los Angeles Times -
1980 6 14 Not Recorded USA 27 S/S Air NP 311, Block 197, Cost Well MODU 'Dan Prince', Well No 1, Arco. "The MV 'Ranger' was engaged in sand bagging operations at the drilling rig 'Dan Prince'. The diver went into the water at 18:00 hours to set sandbags around the legs of the drilling rig on the bottom at 88 feet. He came up at 18:43 and passed out after breaking the surface. The diver was brought up on deck where members of the dive crew removed his gear and immediately began CPR treatment. The medic from the 'Dan Prince' came onboard at 18:56. The medic and casualty were put in the DDC at 19:03 hours. A doctor and his assistants entered the chamber at 20:11 hours and remained until the victim was pronounced dead at 20:32 hours. Cause of death was subsequently determined to be decompression sickness. OCS Incidents database 1956 to 1990, page 305 -
1980 0 0 Not Recorded Bahrain Taylor Diving 0 S/S Air American, Taylor Diving (Bahrain) jumping from the deck of a barge into the water, wearing a Swindel, umbilical connection between helmet and harness caught on a projection, ripped off from both helmet and harness, body later recovered from seabed, possibly broken neck -
1980 0 0 Not Recorded India Taylor Diving and Salvage Far East S/S Mixed Gas One of two American divers doing a gas bounce dive from the drillship "Gettysburg" in the Bay of Bengal, locked out diver died (pure He?) Bubblesblower/Longstreath -
1979 0 0 Not Recorded France 10 S/S Air French, inspecting a valve in a nuclear power station plant water system, sucked in. The valve had been key locked by client , but unfortunately 'in open position'. -
1979 0 0 Not Recorded USA Chamber Described as 'practising welding in a chamber' at 6.8 bara (190 fsw), a student diver was fatally burned when his polyester clothes ignited from welding sparks. He had violated the established safety protocol that required him to stand waist deep in water while welding. The only thing consumed by the fire was his clothing. Sheffield and Desautels “Hyperbaric and hypobaric Chamber fires, a 73 year analysis�, Undersea Hyperbaric Medicine, 1997, 24 (3): 153-164 -
1979 0 0 Not Recorded Japan Chamber Clinical chamber (Hospital) fire, one patient killed, 6 bystanders injured when a patient lit a cigarette inside a chamber during HPBO treatment. The unconscious pateient was placed inside the chamber when the operator was persuaded to proceed quickly by anxious friends of the patient. When the patient regained consciousness he attempted to light a cigarette causing a fire and explosion that killed him and injured 6 bystanders. How the fire escaped the chamber is not reported. Sheffield and Desautels “Hyperbaric and hypobaric Chamber fires, a 73 year analysis�, Undersea Hyperbaric Medicine, 1997, 24 (3): 153-164. -
1979 0 0 Not Recorded Ireland Smit Paraphrased from Wikipedia. The Betelgeuse incident, also known as the Betelgeuse or Whiddy Island disaster, occurred on 8 January 1979, at around 1:00 am., when the oil tanker 'Betelgeuse' exploded in West Cork at the offshore jetty of the Whiddy Island Oil Terminal, due to the failure of the ship's structure during an operation to discharge its cargo of oil. The explosion and resulting fire claimed the lives of 50 people (42 French nationals, 7 Irish nationals and 1 United Kingdom national). Only 27 bodies were recovered. A further fatality occurred during the salvage operation with the loss of a Dutch diver. The salvage firm raised the Betelgeuse in four sections. The first section (the bow) was towed out to open water, 100 miles offshore, and scuttled. This measure attracted protests from the fishing community, so two further sections were sealed up and towed to breaking yards in Spain for disposal. A fourth section was broken up locally. During the salvage operation, the life of a diver was lost. The last section was not removed until July 1980. Local fishing grounds were badly contaminated and a clean-up was not finally complete until 1983. -
1979 0 0 Not Recorded Egypt Military Suez canal was cleared for vessels by mid-1975. One report states “Only one man, an Egyptian diver, has been killed in the canal clearing. However 100 Egyptian soldiers have died stripping both banks of the canal of nearly 700,000 mines last year�. The Rock Hill Herald. -
1979 0 0 Not Recorded Netherlands 14 SCUBA Dutch diver, preparing to weld, just vanished. Not confirmed, just rumour. -
1978 7 10 Not Recorded USA Aged 41, reported as being killed by an attack of the bends whilst being treated in a ship's decompression chamber on a $5.3 million dollar outfall project at Aliso Beach (Part of Laguna Beach, South of Los Angeles). No details. Los Angeles Times -
1978 5 21 Not Recorded USA Ship Shoal, Block 114, OCS 64, Platform SOB, Odeco. "A diver was removing a valve in the oil storage tank when a nipple on the air compressor broke, reducing his air supply. On syrfacing in the tank, diver removed his helmet and was overcome by toxic fumes and drowned". OCS Incident database -
1978 0 0 Not Recorded USA 6 SCUBA �The victim was diving alone in 18 feet of water trying to find out why fishing nets were getting fouled on the bottom. He had not been diving for 5 years and the equipment had not been used for equally as long. The victim entered the water and never resurfaced. He was recovered two and a half hours later� Reported in the statistics of the University of Michigan, Michigan Sea Grant Program, 1979. (Not sure whether this is a true professional fatality so it is excluded from the count TC) -
1976 0 0 Not Recorded 121 Saturation A faulty welding device reported as causing a fire in a bell whilst at 400' resulting in the death of both divers, Sheffield and Desautels “Hyperbaric and hypobaric Chamber fires, a 73 year analysis�, Undersea Hyperbaric Medicine, 1997, 24 (3): 153-164. Can anyone recall this incident, it does not appear to be reported anywhere else (TC)? -
1975 5 16 Not Recorded USA Pacific Agar Company 8 Reported as drowned during seaweed harvesting off Dana point due to compressor failure, but no details. Los Angeles Times. -
1975 2 6 Not Recorded Netherlands 14 Recorded on HSE database, but not in Dutch records -
1975 0 0 Not Recorded New Zealand Oceaneering?? 168 ADS Observation dive (Bell at atmospheric pressure) off the semi-sub Penrod 74 off Southern New Zealand. Top ceiling port started leaking, divers tried to compensate by pressurising the bell but it flooded such that when they got it to the surface, it was too heavy to lift out of the water. Bell eventually recovered and divers put into the chamber for decompression. Diver 1 went for a shower, collapsed unconscious in the shower but was revived and pulled back into the main chamber. Diver 2 (who displayed no sypmptoms of DCI) then also went for a shower and was subsequently found dead. Dive site had no spare gas for chamber treatment and extra helium was sent overnight by high speed road convoy with police escort from Nelson to Invercargill (Bottom of South Island). That gas was only available because Ocean Systems had just come to New Zealand and had set up a base at Nelson (North end of South Island) to support diving operations off the drillship 'Glomar Tasman'. New Zealand Navy did an investigation and discovered the bell had only a single (inboard) viewport (as opposed to double ports with one external for accepting external differential pressure) and the 'O' ring had blown in. OK Dude/Longstreath -
1975 0 0 Not Recorded Canada Killed during construction of a deep water oil terminal outside St John Harbour, New Brunswick. PC -
1975 0 0 Not Recorded Asia Ocean Systems? 82 S/S Mixed Gas New Zealand diver 'died in suspicious circumstances' diving off the "Fredericksburg". Rumours of a cover up. The diver was the son of a doctor in Nelson, New Zealand. No other details. OK Dude/Longstreath. (NB, Not included in the 'count' pending confirmation/details. TC) -
1974 6 0 Not Recorded USA Military “Southbury man dies after Navy Diving accident�, The Hartford Courant� paper, Conn. USA -
1974 0 0 Not Recorded Japan 10 Saturation Two Japanese divers divers died in a bell fire caused by an electrical short circuit in the internal wiring, deaths due to a combination of O2 depletion and toxic fumes. The system designer committed suicide, Sheffield and Desautels “Hyperbaric and hypobaric Chamber fires, a 73 year analysis�, Undersea Hyperbaric Medicine, 1997, 24 (3): 153-164 -
1974 0 0 Not Recorded USA SCUBA Diving alone in a river recovering fish lures, an activity he had been pursuing for three years. The victim would overweight himself with 24 pounds of lead on his waist and a two pound weight on each ankle. The dive site was below a dam where the water was quite swift. |The victim was very fatigued, and witnesses say that he moved closer to the dam than normal, and apparently got drawn against the rocks and lost control. He was seen floating downstream turning over three times as he went. The regulator was out of his mouth the last time he turned over. The victim was recovered with the outside portion of a minnow bucket attached to his chest and a rope from his waist tied to an inner tube and diving flag. The rope was tangled around his body. Reported in the statistics of the University of Michigan, Michigan Sea Grant Program, 1979. (Not sure whether this is a true professional fatality so it is excluded from the count TC) -
1973 10 29 Not Recorded USA Military Submarine "Navy craft hits minisub, kills sailor. A frogman was killed and a second injured Tuesday when their submerged…returning to base after training off Silver Strand (San Diego) when the accident occurred". Los Angeles Times Pay per view -
1973 9 0 Not Recorded Congo 70 Chamber Trimix bounce dive to 70 metres, three divers (Triple fatality, but names unknown). During chamber decompression stops on 40/60 nitrox at 9 metres a fire started in the DDC. Divers transferred to the lock but could not close the door because of hoses. Hoses caught fire. The divers died of asphyxia (No skin burns). Fire probably started by a book being used internally to shade an externally mounted light that was known to get very hot. PC -
1973 0 0 Not Recorded USA SCUBA The diver was working alone, under ice, installing a bubbler system in a marina. The area between and outside the three docks was ice covered with open water in the boat wells (due to the bubbler system). The victim, stating that he wanted to finish the job that day, entered the water wearing double tanks and a variable volume dry suit. He left a friend on the dock as observer and used no safety line as he feared getting tangled under the docks. The victim surfaced in one of the wells on the center dock and stated that he was going to one of the other docks to do some work. He was not seen again. His body was recovered from under a large ice sheet near the shore of the marina. His back pack and weight belt were still on, but the tanks, which had been wired to the backpack were found 20 feet away. The regulator mouthpiece was floating above the empty tanks. Reported in the statistics of the University of Michigan, Michigan Sea Grant Program, 1979. -
1973 0 0 Not Recorded New Zealand Napier, Jetting Sledge rolled onto the diver. -
1972 3 7 Not Recorded UK "A diver died trying to plug an underwater sluice yesterday in Portsmouth Dockyard. He was trapped in the narrow sluice for 30 minutes", Reported in the Glasgow Herald -
1972 0 0 Not Recorded USA 37 S/S Air “The victim was diving from a salvage ship and removing steel from a sunken ship at 120 feet. He wore a variable volume dry suit and lightweight helmet. The victim had been down 26 minutes on his first dive of the day when he told the surface personnel that he could not get any air and that a piece of steel had fallen onto his air hose. According to the accident reports, the standby diver was in the water within 3 minutes and two SCUBA divers were in within 10 minutes. The victim was brought to the surface, re compressed and CPR administered to no avail� Reported in the statistics of the University of Michigan, Michigan Sea Grant Program, 1979. -
1972 0 0 Not Recorded Tunisia Cocean 57 SCUBA Ashtart field, installation of a shackle on an anchoring pipe. Diving SCUBA/Trimix from SBM Installer I. Descent along the chain - High swell, chain moving in chain direction in upper zone, vertically up and down (4 to 5 meters) below 60 m where it was almost horizontal in reduced visibility water. Chain hits Scuba tanks braking the attachment between tanks. Diver catches the chain to prevent further hit, movement of water removes mask and one fin. After releasing the chain, diver could replace mask and locate the fin and come up, the buddy diver was watching above in a zone with visibility (bubbles still coming up), both returned safely at surface..... -
1971 1 17 Not Recorded Australia Deep Sea Divers “Diver dies� PERTH, Sunday. — “A diver from NSW working underwater on an abandoned oil exploration rig off the WA coast, died at Royal Perth Hospital yesterday. The man, aged about 35, was found with severe cuts to his head and other parts of his body. Perth CIB has been called in to investigate the circumstances. He was working for a Melbourne-based company, Deep Sea Divers, at the abandoned Charlotte No 1 well, 25 miles north-west of Fremantle. The company is removing an underwater guiding system used to position oil drills. The diver was brought to the surface by a tug and flown by helicopter to Perth. He was dead on arrival�. Reported in the Canberra Times -
1970 5 15 Not Recorded Israel Military Elath, salvage operations on a Naval Axillary Vessel sank three months earlier in an attack 'by underwater raiders' One diver killed, three others injured in an explosion reported as being due to a mine planted by Egyptian frogman on the worksite. No other details. St. Petersburg Times -
1970 4 19 Not Recorded UK 11 S/S Air "..diver died the other day whilst six fathoms deep in the water at Southampton where some new apparatus taken from the womb...No other details (Pay for access archive) Reported in the Sheffield Daily Telegraph/The British Newspaper Archive -
1970 0 0 Not Recorded Japan Chamber Diver died in a fire caused by a 300W elecric light lamp inside the chamber igniting matress and blanket. Sheffield and Desautels “Hyperbaric and hypobaric Chamber fires, a 73 year analysis�, Undersea Hyperbaric Medicine, 1997, 24 (3): 153-164. -
1970 0 0 Not Recorded UK Humber Divers Diver killed in an explosion during salvage operations. Undated newspaper article -
1970 0 0 Not Recorded UK Topsides Two divers killed (bodies never recovered) when their zodiac full of explosives exploded during the first phase of diving operations to disperse the wreck of the platform supply vessel 'Tropic Shore' (Sank after colliding with the Britannia Gas Platform) off Great Yarmouth. Contract was awarded by Trinity House. Diving contractor may have been based in Newcastle. No other details. PC -
1969 0 0 Not Recorded USA Chamber Diver died in a fire caused by a shirt draped over a 150W elecric light bulb inside the chamber. Sheffield and Desautels “Hyperbaric and hypobaric Chamber fires, a 73 year analysis�, Undersea Hyperbaric Medicine, 1997, 24 (3): 153-164. -
1967 8 18 Not Recorded USA Military Two experienced divers died of bends on Naval mission during a deep sea diving operation. The divers died after being put into a decompressiuon chamber onboard the 'Skylark" (ASR-20, a Penguin class submarine rescue vessel, launched 1946, decommissioned and sold to Brazil in 1973). The precise location of the vessel was not revealed by the Navy. New York Times -
1967 0 0 Not Recorded Japan Chamber Clinical chamber (Hospital) fire, first of 4 (the others were in 1989, 1993 and 1996) in Japan caused by patients taking butane or chemical hand warmers into the hyperbaric O2 rich environment. The patient was 20 minutes into his third HBO2 treatment at 1,7 bara (25 fsw equivalent) with about 50% O2 in the chamber. The nurse saw a flame start at the abdomen before it engulfed the entire chamber. The fire was initiated by the patient igniting a butane hand warmer. Sheffield and Desautels “Hyperbaric and hypobaric Chamber fires, a 73 year analysis�, Undersea Hyperbaric Medicine, 1997, 24 (3): 153-164. -
1967 0 0 Not Recorded China Chamber Clinical chamber (Hospital) fire, The fire was initiated by the patient lighting a cigarette. Sheffield and Desautels “Hyperbaric and hypobaric Chamber fires, a 73 year analysis�, Undersea Hyperbaric Medicine, 1997, 24 (3): 153-164. -
1966 0 0 Not Recorded Australia 58 Bass Straits, Port Philip maintenance diver, following a strike by Australian divers (Paid much less than the expat American divers), companies cut costs by using non divers who had attended a two week training/induction course as LSTs. This led to a spate of incidents where divers were switched onto empty quads. In this incident the diver had twice been switched onto empty quads on the same dive, lost his temper and surfaced shouting abuse, dead at surface of explosive decompression. Reported that the company withheld 75% of his 20,000 A$ life insurance from his widow "for training expenses". Bubblesblower/Longstreath -
1965 9 21 Not Recorded Vietnam Japanese diver killed and 11 other persons injured in an explosion during salvage operations on the Saigon River. No details. Reported in the Chicago Tribune. -
1964 2 17 Not Recorded USA Military Chamber “A flash fire inside a decompression chamber killed two Navy deep-sea divers and injured two others today during an experiment at the Washington Navy Yard� No other details. New York Times -
1961 2 28 Not Recorded Papua New Guinea Military SCUBA At the preliminary inquest into the death of Leading Able Seaman Allan Smith (Died during a training exercise alongside HMAS anti-submarine frigate 'Quiberon' berthed off Rushcutter Bay at Garden island. (Had been underwater about 15 minutes when he floated to the surface unconscious' Reported as “air embolism� , but no details) it became apparent that another Navy diver, a member of the Papua new Guinea Naval Division, had died under very similar conditions a day later at the Manus Naval Base. No details were given. Reported in the Sydney Morning Herald. -
1959 11 30 Not Recorded USA Comment is the Sarasota Herald-Tribune in an article referring to a state weekend death toll of 20, “Florida traffic accidents killed 13, a professional diver drowned and two men were fatally shot in hunting accidents�. No other details or reports. -
1958 3 11 Not Recorded USA Boston Naval Base 4 A civilian diver employed by :contractor working for the Navy at the South Boston Naval Shipyard became wedged at the bottom of piling, twelve feet below the surface within inches of rescue, but drowned. No details. New York Times -
1957 7 14 Not Recorded UK Military Royal Marine taking part in a combined operations exercise in Portland Harbour, failed to surface after three and a half hours, found dead at the bottom of the harbour. "It was in no way associated with any explosion". "Naval authorities are satisfied that the man's death was an accident". The Bulletin -
1957 3 12 Not Recorded Mexico Saturation Acapulco, a diver, described as an ex-Olympic diver and trainer of navy frogmen, died on a dive into Acapulco bay in a search for the bodies of two wealthy American tourist thought to have been murdered on a glass bottomed boat. No other details. Reported in the Los Angeles Times. -
1955 8 11 Not Recorded Germany “Wilhelmshaven. An Underwater explosion today killed a diver working on the wreck of the submerged German cruiser Koln in the harbour here� Reuters -
1955 0 0 Not Recorded Australia Japanese. Reported as dying of diver's paralysis. Buried at Piper's Head on Melville Island alongside the bodies of two other diver one who died in 1953, the other Satihel Iwanoto who died in June 1957. Reported in The Age. -
1953 7 10 Not Recorded Malta RN Chamber Four Naval ratings, 3 British and 1 Indian, killed in a explosion in the decompression chamber of the 1440 ton RFA Salvage vessel 'Sea Salvor' during diver training whilst in Valetta harbour. A fifth Naval rating died a day later. No Details, but believed to be the same incident reported by Sheffield and Desautels in which 5 people died . The Glasgow Herald -
1953 7 10 Not Recorded Malta RN 52 Chamber Paraphrased from paper:- “Within 2 minutes of commencing pressurisation an unprotected 100 Watt bulb imploded at between 5 and 6 bara (!34-170 fsw) and incandescent ignited the canvas floor. The five occupants unsuccessfully trued to stamp out several small fires which rapidly spread to the wooden floor and benches. Within 1 minute flames engulfed the chamber and the pressure rose to 9.2 bara (265 fsw). The chamber was surfaced 5 minutes into the dive and when opened flames came out of the open doorway requitring extingushing by fire hose. Within 6 hours all 5 occupants had expired from their 90-100% total body surface area burns�. Sheffield and Desautels “Hyperbaric and hypobaric Chamber fires, a 73 year analysis�, Undersea Hyperbaric Medicine, 1997, 24 (3): 153-164. -
1953 6 19 Not Recorded Australia S/S Air Report of a Japanese diver who died at sea being cremated. No details -
1953 4 4 Not Recorded France Le Havre, Three divers were killed and two missing, presumed dead, after dynamite exploded in the port of Le Havre. The men were preparing to blast a channel leading to the docks. -
1952 9 10 Not Recorded USA S/S Air Surfaced at end of dive, either unscrewed face plate or took off helmet, sat on gunnel of small dive support tender boat, it capsised. Diver drowned. No details. Reported in the Chicago Tribune. -
1950 8 31 Not Recorded France "Diver Blown up in Launch Explosion. A diver was blown to pieces at St. Nazaire yesterda when the …" Report dated 1st September 1950. No other details (Pay for access archive) Reported in the Western Morning News/The British Newspaper Archive -
1950 3 15 Not Recorded UK "Diver killed in old warship". Diving on the wreck of the 'Warspite" (Went aground off Prussia cove, Cornwall in 1947 on her way to the breakers yard). Another six men were trapped below water in the hulk of the 30,600 ton baatleship for two hours. The explosion was an air blast that blew out an air lock as the men were making the vessel airtight for lifting operations. The Windsor Daily Star -
1949 8 12 Not Recorded "Diver killed by wreck blast.."No other details (Pay for access archive) Reported in the Aberdeen Journal/The British Newspaper Archive -
1948 12 9 Not Recorded Russia Headline "Seabed fight with octopus" A seabed fight between two deep sea divers and a giant octopus in the depths of the Pacific Ocean harbour of Nevel in the Soviet Far East is told in the Soviet Navy Paper 'Red Fleet'. Straits Times -
1948 7 18 Not Recorded Australia "Three pearl divers have died". "Three divers for pearl shell have lost their lives in Northern waters in a fortnight. On July 18, a diver died in Darwin Harbour (Do Pang) and another at Broome. On Friday the lugger 'Plover' returned to Darwin to report the death of William Djawa, 28, a Koepanger". Reported in the Singleton Argus, NSW -
1948 5 25 Not Recorded France S/S Air "A diver is missing and three workmen were slightly injured after an explosion aboard a destroyer in Toulon Naval Harbour. The vessel was being dismantled when the explosion occurred. The cause was not known" Reuters/Straits Times -
1945 9 11 Not Recorded USA Military Chamber Brooklyn Navy Base, 2 divers died, one injured, possibly dead, during chamber training (simulated dive) onboard a Salvage vessel off Bay Ridge, Brooklyn. Chamber fire reported as having been started by sparks from an overheating electric fan. Sheffield and Desautels “Hyperbaric and hypobaric Chamber fires, a 73 year analysis�, Undersea Hyperbaric Medicine, 1997, 24 (3): 153-164. -
1944 6 6 Not Recorded France Military From the Obituary of Lt Cmdr Robbie Robinson:- “As a member of a landing craft obstruction clearance unit, Petty Officer Robinson had the task of opening a path through the booby-trapped obstacles on the beaches below the high water mark. This meant defusing improvised and unfamiliar deadly explosives on the shore and underwater while being sniped at and sprayed with machine-gun fire. The unexpectedly heavy surf made his task all the more tiring, but after opening an initial path his team had cleared a gap in the enemy defences 1,000yds by 400yds by the end of the first day. Eventually, he helped to clear more than 2,500 obstacles. Two other naval divers were killed during these operations and 10 injured. Robinson himself was knocked out when six feet underwater by an explosion that left him paralysed for several hours. A Royal Engineer working close by was killed outright, but Robinson was saved by a specially designed Kapok jacket under his diving suit. Although he was left with back trouble ever after, he returned to work on the beaches and harbour of Cherbourg a couple of days later�. Reported in the Telegraph (UK). -
1944 0 0 Not Recorded Egypt Military S/S Air RN Salvage diver, inspection/repair of cruiser ASDIC dome, dropped off down line and sank a reported 40 extra feet, giant squeeze (pushed into helmet by differential pressure) and died instantly. Reported in “Ordeal by Water� a description of WWII Salvage operations, by South African Lt-Cmdr Peter Keeble RN. -
1943 12 0 Not Recorded USA Military 3 S/S Air Naval diver, Deep Sea Diving School, Washington Naval base, training tank, welding, apparently electrocuted, only reported case of USN diver electrocution (Article by Robert Murray, US Naval Sea Systems Command). -
1943 6 0 Not Recorded UK Military Chariot Reported that at the training base on Loch Cairbawn (Scotland), a charioteer died in an accident. No details. Underwater Trust, Wikipedia etc -
1943 1 0 Not Recorded Sicily Military Submarine Operation "Principal" HMS P311 (Sunk with all hands and 10 diver/charioteers) was to attack Sardinia, HMS Trooper and HMS Thunderbolt were to attack vessels off Palermo (Sicily), one charioteer died during the Palermo attack. Underwater Trust, Wikipedia etc -
1942 8 0 Not Recorded UK Military Submarine RN Base HHZ on Loch Cairnbawn, a British Navy diver died during training with the Mark I Chariot. No details. Wikipedia and other sources -
1942 0 0 Not Recorded USA Military S/S Air After the bombing of pearl harbour, 7th December 1941, it was estimated that the Navy and civilian divers spend about 20,000 hours underwater in about 5000 dives on major salvage operations lasting over two years. Two divers died on operations cutting into the wreck of the Arizona (referred to as 'due to air pockets' but probably underwater oxy arc explosions, TC) and after consultation with relatives it was decided not to attempt to recover any more bodies 'Enough were dead, it wasn't right to risk any more lives' and she remains a war grave. They removed parts of the superstructure and some guns, but the hulk still lies where she sank, atop the wreck is a white marble monument (Fund raising was pushed by Elvis Presley) The Arizona monument is widely reported, the deaths of the two divers was reported in the Deseret News in 1963. (As far as I can tell, these divers actually died in 1941/1942 during initial salvage operations. TC) No other details of the divers or other diving incidents. -
1941 4 5 Not Recorded Uruguay Military S/S Air "Graf Spee divers trapped in wreck. Three British divers have lost their lives while working on the wreck of the sunken Nazi pocket…" (The Graf Spee was scuttled off Montevideo on the 19th December 1939 in 11 metres water depth. She was partially broken up in 1942-1943 though parts of the wreck are still visible above the water. Salvage operations contined post 2004 as the wreck is considered a hazard to shipping) No other details (Pay for access archive) Reported in the Portsmouth Evening News/The British Newspaper Archive -
1940 12 13 Not Recorded UK S/S Air "How Fife diver met his death. Cut his air pipe when it fouled. Efforts to rescue a diver whose air pipe became fouled while he was …" No other details (Pay for access archive) Reported in the Dundee Courier/The British Newspaper Archive Same death as reported 1st November? -
1940 12 1 Not Recorded UK S/S Air "Fife diver drowned at work. Strenuous but unavailing efforts were made to save a diver whose life-line…" …" No other details (Pay for access archive) Reported in the Dundee Courier/The British Newspaper Archive. Same diver as report for 13th December? -
1940 9 19 Not Recorded Australia S/S Air “DEFECTIVE AIR PIPE BLAMED�. BROOME, Tuesday. “A finding that a leading diver, a young Kupanger, died at sea from asphyxia caused by the bursting of a defective air pipe, was returned by the Coroner (Mr. E. S. Reynolds) at an inquest. The Kupanger died on September 19 about 127 miles south of Broome, between Anna Plains and Wallal. The Coroner said that the air pipe, opened at a place where it had burst, showed that the canvas reinforcement was of distinctly defective manufacture�. Reported in the Daily News, Perth, WA. -
1940 6 19 Not Recorded Australia S/S Air "Diver Injured. Diver Jackson, employed by the Timms Bridge Construction Co pty Ltd., Queen's Domain, was injured yesterday while at work below the water at the main abutment of the Hobart Bridge. The accident occurred about midday, and it is understood Jackson received a knock which caused slight concussion. It is expected he will be able to resume work in a few days". Reported in the Mercury, Hobart, Tas -
1939 0 0 Not Recorded USA Chamber Vessel chamber, four divers had completed surface decompression using masks and O2 had built up inside the chamber. The compressor (oil lubricated) had left a thin film of oil on the inside of the chamber. When the attendent - who was smoking a cigar - opened the external door it initiated a fire. All four divers survived though there are no details of how severe their injuries were. Sheffield and Desautels “Hyperbaric and hypobaric Chamber fires, a 73 year analysis�, Undersea Hyperbaric Medicine, 1997, 24 (3): 153-164.