Incidents List
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Year Month Day Surname Forenames Location Contractor Client Depth Type of Diving Details -
2013 1 30 Lazzaro George H USA Aged 41, married with four children, described as an engineering technician, killed in an incident around 14:30 while conducting 'routine underwater test infrastructure maintenance' at the US Army UNDEX Test Facility (UTF) 'super pond' at the Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland. The UTF is 1070 feet long, 150 feet deep. First death since the facilty ewas opened in 1995. NB, this fatality was followed by a double fatality less than a month later (James Reyher/Ryan Harris, 26th February 2013). No details. www.exploreharford.com -
2013 1 18 DSV "Hallin Penrith" Myanmar The DSV “Hallin Penrith� sank on the 18th of January after being holed on the evening of the 17th. Hallin stated that they were convening an internal enquiry with the assistance of 3rd party experts to establish exactly what happened. Notwithstanding the fact that the inquiry is still in progress to determine the full facts, it initially appears that Penrith hit an unchartered rock while going at 10Kts offshore Myanmar. At the time of the incident Penrith was contracted to support survey work connected with pipelay work offshore Myanmar. All 42 crew and client personnel abandoned ship to the life rafts initially, and were evacuated thereafter to the clients pipelay barge. There were no injuries to personnel other than 2 minor first aid cases suffered in the initial impact. The crew are in the process of being repatriated. Penrith is fully insured and whilst extremely regrettable, this incident will not unduly impact the company financially or put anyone’s job at risk. Longstreath<br />Update: It is understood that Hallin received a full insurance settlement after the incident. -
2013 1 0 IMCA Safety Flash 02/13 UK Saturation Safety Flash regarding a "Serious DP Diving Incident" (Refers to the Bibby Topaz incident on 18th September 2012 that left Chris Lemons isolated on the seabed for 40+ minutes), describes incident, actions taken, ivestigation and reccommendations. One result not mentioned elsewhere was that the DP system manufacturer had developed a CD/software update that would prevent a further or similar incident on a DP similar system. -
2012 12 7 Kolo Samiu Tonga S/S Air Aged 30, fishing (illegally using hookah gear) for sea cucumber in Ha'afeva (Ha'apai island) from decompression illness. Noted as the third fatality using illegal diving equipment in the last year (The other fatalities ocuured on the 30th October 2012 and 9th December 2010) but the victims were not named). Reported by Matangi, Tonga online -
2012 10 30 Not Recorded Tonga SCUBA Diving illegally for sea cucumber on Tungua in the outlying Ha'apai islands, 'symptoms were consistent with decompression sickness'. SCUBA diving for sea cucumbers is illegal under the Tonga Fisheries Act. Two other free-diving sea cucumber fishrermen died in the previous seven days, one off the Northern coast of 'Atata island - leg caught in nylon line - the other from Patangata was found dead on the reef by other fishermen returning from Pangaimotu island. Reported by Matangi Tonga Online -
2012 10 23 HSE Alert UK Divers and supervisors are being warned that they could be putting lives at risk if they forge documents, and could also face criminal charges. It comes after a diving supervisor received a Police Caution under the Fraud Act 2006 for signing blank pages of a diver's log book. The diver had subsequently falsified details of dives to make it look like he had the necessary experience needed for a Closed Bell course in Scotland. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) alerted the police when initial checks by course leaders indicated that some of the dives were not possible without a very high risk of decompression illness. Chris Sherman, HSE's chief inspector of diving said: "Divers and supervisors need to be reminded that log books are legal documents which must be completed accurately. Had the man succeeded in completing the course, which is for experienced divers only, he could have led dives which he was not properly qualified for, putting others at risk. HSE diving teams will investigate all cases where divers are found to hold forged documents or qualifications and will work with police where necessary." -
2012 10 20 Antifave Robert Wayne Canada SCUBA Aged 51, from Lantzville on Vancouver Island, harvesting Geoducks in Rendell Sound (Off the West coast of Haida Gwaii) Emergency services called between 11:00 and 12:00 with reports of a diver in medical distress, helicopter (en route from Comox to Smithers) diverted and coastguard vessel "Sandspit" responded, crews recovered the diver from the water, administered CPR, taken to hospital in Queen Charlotte, pronounced dead. 'Coroner investigating'. Reported in the Vancouver Sun -
2012 10 2 Selvamani M India Topsides Aged 45, resident in Anna Nagar area of Kasimedu, described as a diver cum assistant crane operator, Fishing department project at the Kasimedu fishing harbour, recovering a beam with projecting iron rods out of the harbour (It was preventing boats coming alongside the wharf). He ran under the crane to move the divers compressor (mounted on a tricycle) but was crushed under the crane when it overturned, report not clear) due to the weight of the beam. Another worker was taken to the Government Stanley hospital with minor injuries, the crane driver fled the site as relatives and other fisher folk rushed to the harbour demanding action be taken against the contractor. Survived by wife (Arasi) and daughter. Reported by About Chennai. -
2012 8 23 Echevarria Pardo Columbia Aged 48, married with three chidren, ex-navy diver, working with 7 other divers on the Luxembourg flagged Jan de Nul dredger "Charles Darwin" (Launched 2010, 180 metres long, 40 metre beam, twin trailer suction dredges each with 3,400 KW of power) off the Port of Santa Marta. Described as 'human error' - they started the turbines with divers in the water. Two divers caught, Echavarria recovered to the surface 20 minutes later, apparently still alive but died, his dive partner Duva Hernandez suffered broken legs, taken to hospital. No other details. Reported by El Informador -
2012 8 23 Hernandez Duva Columbia Working with 7 other divers on the Luxembourg flagged Jan de Nul dredger "Charles Darwin" (Launched 2010, 180 metres long, 40 metre beam, twin trailer suction dredges each with 3,400 KW of power) off the Port of Santa Marta. Described as 'human error' - they started the turbines with divers in the water. Two divers caught, his partner, Pardo Echavarria recovered to the surface 20 minutes later, apparently still alive but died, Duva Hernandez suffered broken legs, taken to hospital. No other details. Reported by El Informador -
2012 8 18 Olurunwa Nigeria Storm surge hit shanty cabins at the Kuramo Beach, Victoria Island early hours of Saturday morning, "So far, only the body of the local diver earlier found on Saturday has been identified. The local diver identified simply as Olurunwa lost his life in his attempt to save the drowning victims. Reported in the Vanguard -
2012 8 10 Martin Christopher USA SCUBA Aged 24, hired by Eagle Creek Golf Club in Orlando to retrieve golf balls. Two divers, but working solo in different locations. The other diver saw the diving tank floating on the surface but neither he or the Orange County Dive Team could locate the body. Body recovered late evening the day after. Presumbed drowned but no other details. Orlando Sentinel -
2012 7 3 Antonov Rosen Bulgaria SCUBA Training to dive (Described as a professional SCUBA duver) with the institute of oceanology of the Bulgarian Academy of Science near Varna on the Black Sea Coast (Programme specifically for the Kozloduy nuclear power plant). Second fatality in two months associated with this power plant (Radoslav Stoyanov or Dimitrov, 5th May 2012). No details. Reported by Publics.bg -
2012 6 26 Not Recorded Nigeria S/S Air Diver from Ijar described as 'senior' with 25 years of experience working for a contractor out of Port Harcourt (Rivers State). Disappeared during salvage of a sunken dredger on the Ughelli River (Delta State). Reported as having reached the position of the sunken dredger then disappeared. Appears from photos to have been a surface supplied mobile/portable set up, but no details. The dredger was run by a contractor (Owned by the Hon Friday Onodjai, former chairman of of the Ughelli North Local Government council and one time member representinf Ughelli North in the Delta State house of Assembly) working for NDDC (Niger Delta Development Company) and sank on Monday 25th near the Amekpa junction 'while executing a project to open up the river'. Search for the diver continued Thursday 28th admist confrontation with the local Otor-iwhreko community trying to stop the search operation until after ceremonies to appease their Gods for defilement of the river by the dead diver. Riot controlled by the military. It was alleged that prior to the commencement of the dredging, some employees of the owner of the dredger had made some spiritual consultations and disclosed to Hon. Onodjai that there is the need to appease the gods of the river before the commencement of the project, a suggestion Onodjai allegedly refused with a wave of the hand saying that he is a Christian and that such insinuations are mere superstitious beliefs. However, a week after the commencement of the project, the dredger sank and in an attempt to recover it, divers were brought in from Port Harcourt. It was during the rescue of the dredger that one of the divers was discovered missing after he had gone into the water but failed to come out. Another report commented that prior to this incident, there have been a series of profitable excavating activities due to the high demand of white sand for construction activities in the area (So was this a publicly funded river widening operation or commercial sand extraction?) Reported by Urhobo Times/Vanguard. -
2012 6 9 Kurida Pjero UK Topsides Croatian, aged 29, Bosun on the PSV E R Athina. The Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) report highlighted failure by senior crew to follow formal risk assessments, inappropriate emergency response and improper planning of the use of a Fast Rescue Craft (FRC) as a painting platform. The bosun suffered severe internal chest injuries after becoming trapped between the hull and the lifting frame of the FRC whilst repairing a small area of damaged paintwork on the hull whilst at anchor two miles off Aberdeen (“possibly trying to push the FRC away from the supply ship’s hull,� as the vessels collided against each other, caused by the prevailing swell and tidal stream). With no external signs of bleeding (After the incident, he was coughing and breathing heavily, but the second officer did not see any external signs of bleeding. When he was asked about his injuries he replied that his right arm was sore and that he thought his ribs were broken), the crew underestimated the extent of his injuries and a fishing vessel was employed to take him to hospital at a speed of 8.5 knots. They also alerted the ship’s agent, rather than the coastguard, losing “valuable time,� found the report. MAIB Report -
2012 6 2 Pool Joshua Lee Eugene USA 2 S/S Air Aged 28, Commercial diver with Seattle based Global and Salvage, working the weekend on a pivate gold claim 70 miles north of Anchorage on Willow Creek, using a compressor and diving gear, dry suit (No life jacket) with 50lbs of weight (25lb chest weight with quick release, 25lbs on a non-quick release waist belt) to work a 'neck-deep eddy' behind a boulder (using a suction lift) upstream of Shirley Town Bridge. Working with one other guy (onshore) and in quickly rising water level when apparently he went short of air, stood up and lifted off his helmet, slipped on a rock, lost his helmet and 'went downstream', Incident occurred at around 16:00, body located at 18:00, possible head injury, recorded as drowned. Lived in Anchoorage, expecting his second daughter to be born in July. Alaska Dispatch -
2012 5 17 Cancino Manuel Gomez Gonzalo Mexico SCUBA Aged 28, poaching for sea cucumber 22 miles off Progreso (Yucatan) with two companions off a 25' boat. Inexperienced, probably did not use decompression stops, died before he got to hospital. Autopsy stated death due to decompression illness. Progresohoy.com -
2012 4 27 Rhodes Randy R USA 4 SCUBA Aged 55, from Indiana, clearing zebra mussels from a water intake at a private residence on Keuka Lake, reported as surfacing and calling for help before sinking under the water about 18:15 hours, body recovered from 13' of water, 80' from the shore by rescuers who were on site within 5 minutes of receiving an emergency call at 18:20. Alive when pulled from the water but declared dead in hspital two hours later. Not counted in the 'working diver' fatality count as this appears to be a local resident clearing his own or a neighbour's water pipe on a Friday evening. Appears to have been a solo SCUBA diver. Sadly this death will not be remembered for the circumstances of the death but a very public argument between the New York State SCUBA team who claim to have rescued the unconscious diver and Wayne Fire Department Cold Water Response team who say they located the diver and Steuben County Dive Team volunteer members who say they then brought the diver to the surface. Steuben Courier -
2012 4 22 Abu Khalil Hussein Ahmad Lebanon 50 SCUBA Aged 42, head of the Environment and Development department and the Marine Exploration Department, diving off the village of Qleileh, Tyre, inspecting a seafloor project designed to increase fish numbers. His body was located by a Navy SAR team the day after. Reported as having died of a heart attack. Dailystar.com.lb -
2012 4 13 Neve Nigel Gabon Topsides Acting as Company Site Representative on a DSV offshore Gabon, reported as possible stomach heamorrhage, no other etails. Longstreath blog -
2012 3 17 Shiotsuki Mitsui Japan SCUBA Aged 45, one of three divers (with Saturo Yuge and Taizo Yokoyama) who died on the same dive, removing submerged concrete blocks from a marine farm off Tsukumi in Oita Prefecture. The three entered the water at 09:30, located unconscious underwater at 10:00, all apparently with empty tanks. Coastguard suspect faulty procedures and awaiting autopsy reports. The Japan Times online -
2012 3 17 Yokoyama Taizo Japan SCUBA Aged 45, one of three divers (with Mitsui Shiotsuke and Saturo Yuge) who died on the same dive, removing submerged concrete blocks from a marine farm off Tsukumi in Oita Prefecture. The three entered the water at 09:30, located unconscious underwater at 10:00, all apparently with empty tanks. Coastguard suspect faulty procedures and awaiting autopsy reports. The Japan Times online -
2012 3 17 Yuge Saturo Japan SCUBA Aged 45, one of three divers (with Mitsui Shiotsuki and Taizo Yokoyama) who died on the same dive, removing submerged concrete blocks from a marine farm off Tsukumi in Oita Prefecture. The three entered the water at 09:30, located unconscious underwater at 10:00, all apparently with empty tanks. Coastguard suspect faulty procedures and awaiting autopsy reports. The Japan Times online -
2012 3 15 MacLean Roderick UK SCUBA Aged 33 from Finstown, Scallop diving operation off the Orkney island of Eday, failed to surface from a dive, search for body called off after 5 days. STV. -
2012 3 6 Not Recorded Spain SCUBA Aged 35, working on a tuna farm at San Javier off the coast of Murcia, evacuated from site to port and admitted to the Cartagena hyperbaric unit. "Stabilized by the emergency services and transferred to the hyperbaric medicine unit". No details. GPS Buceo -
2012 3 1 Not Recorded Sergio Spain 40 SCUBA Aged 21, student at the Alicante Marine and Fisheries Institute, enrolled in a profesional diving course at the college, was on a training dive with a teacher and three other students to 40 metres, took out mouthpiece, swallowed water, panicked and made emergency ascent without stops. Given oxygen therapy and transferred ashore to a hyperbaric centre and treated for ommitted decompression. The teacher and one other student who assisted him to the surface undertook another dive to complete their decompression stops. The report commented that tests to assess students prior to being allowed to take the diving course (Swimming, breath holding for a minute and an 18 metre free dive) were discontinued 5 years ago and that has resulted "in a huge deficiency in the quality of the students" Reported by Informacion.es -
2012 2 24 Amando Hugo Villajuana Mexico SCUBA Aged 36 from Puerta Chuburna, wife and four children. First diver to die in the official - on the second day - of the Sea Cucumber season, harvesting operation onboard the 25 foot long "VMCM 5" working 20 miles out of Celestun (Yucatan Penninsula). Accident ocurred at 13:00, admitted to hospiral in Celustan at 16:00, declared dead at 17:30. Reported as due to DCI, depth initially reported as 'cinco brazas '(5 fathoms or 30 feet) but later corrected as 12 fathoms (60 feet). No other details. Reported by Por Esto -
2012 2 22 Collins Lawrence Canada SCUBA Aged 49, one of a three man commercial sea urchin harvesting dive team on board the vessel 'Water Queen' working off Digby Neck in the Grand Passage Waterway (Bay of Fundy off St St. John, an area with the highest tides in the world - Mean spring tide 14.5 metres, extreme range 16.3 metres), 30 minutes into the diver, failed to surface with the other team members around 13:00, seen on the surface being swept away by fast currents, vessel crew searched for about 15 minutess then called emergency services about 13:30, RCMP called at 13:45. Ebb tide, Southerly current, air temp 43F, water 42F, 5 foot seas, search hampered by fog. Reported as having just moved to the area from Ottowa and as having held a commercial diving licence since the early 1990s (but had only been in the water about 10 times in the last 10 years) and that it was his first dive harvesting sea urchins. Search called off four days later (RCMP - "There is no reasonable expectation that he was going to be found alive"), body not found. Reported by Postmedia news and others. -
2012 2 2 Amaro Canche Victor Mexico Aged 43, sea cucumber harvesting out of Puerto Chicxulub 'out of season' (Fishing season opens on the 22nd February), no permit, boat 'Dumbos' not registered, reported as the first fisherman/diver to die in 2012, came ashore, felt unwell, taken to the American medical centre, but declared dead, apparently died of DCI related injuries, may have cut short decompression stops to shorten dive/avoid detection by Naval patrol boat. SIPSE.COM Yucatan -
2012 1 11 Not Recorded Malaysia Rumoured that two divers were killed on a job in Malaysia but no details, not confirmed (Longstreath) -
2012 1 9 Not Recorded Singapore SCUBA Ship's husbandry, diving in support of locating a vessel into a dry dock. Surfaced with his diving partner but went back down, failed to surface. located (unconscious?) on the bottom of the dock, failed to respond to treatment, (possible cardiac arrest?) -
2012 1 9 Silva Carlos Portugal 20 SCUBA Aged 60, Isle of Madeira, near Ribeira Brava. Aquaculture (Fish farming) operation, appears to have been a two man diving team working on a holding cage at a depth of 10 to 20 metres but water depth was 60 metres, no topsides crew, supervisor or DDC. An alternate report suggests the diver may have dived to 60 metres to recover a dropped diving cylinder. Disappeared, body not recovered, search called off after 8 days. Married, two children. forum-mergulho.com -
2011 12 9 Not Recorded Tonga S/S Air Aged 43, illegal sea cucumber fishing (season closed in mid October), diving with two other fishermen using a basic hookah equipment near Luanamo island (Ha'apai), experienced severe abdominal pains but died before the health officer from Ha'afeva arrived on the island. Inquest concluded that he died from decompression illness. Police arrested two Asian men (reputed to have bought the sea cucumbers and then left the island and charged them with illegal havesting off-season and use of using illegal equipment) and three Tongan men the day after on the island of Nuku'alofa. Second illegal sea cucumber harvester to die on the island this year in virtually identical circumstances (the previous fatality was on the 1st of September). Vava'a Press -
2011 11 14 Compresor shutdown Canada S/S Air Paraphrased from CDAC report:- �MONTREAL —Quebec’s labour minister said it’s “unimaginable� that wildcat strikers would cut off the air supply to two construction divers on a worksite north of Montreal on Monday. The divers in Trois-Rivieres, about 140 km north of Montreal, were shaken but unharmed when a roving group of union delegates forcibly shut down the waterfront worksite. The revelations were made Thursday in Quebec City during legislative hearings for proposed union reform legislation (Bill-33). The president of the union representing the divers told the Labour Minister that delegates from a larger union demanded the waterfront site be shut down the moment they arrived. When workers refused, one of the delegates shut down a generator which supplied electricity to radios, lights and the air compressor that fed air to the underwater divers. The two divers in the water used their emergency air supplies to resurface safely. A member of the diving team who was on shore when the generator was shut off said that the union reps threatened him. “I told them that there could have been an incident, or something serious, like a death� he said. “They told me that I could also be involved in an accident.� The company running the worksite has not pressed charges. Two larger unions represent 70% of construction workers in the province. They are fighting Bill-33 which strips them of their power to decide which and how many workers are assigned to construction sites. The government argues the two larger unions use this right to intimidate workers who are part of smaller unions by banning them from certain construction sites. The smaller unions, which collectively represent 30% of Quebec construction workers, favour the bill. Meanwhile, the union said Monday’s situation was a misunderstanding. “The version of the incident that I heard, is that one of the workers, in a moment of confusion, stopped the generator,� a spokesperson for the QFL said. “If they shut down the generator on purpose, then that is unacceptable.� CDAC -
2011 10 6 Not Recorded Czech Republic 8 SCUBA Aged 22, commercial diving operation to clear drainage/sewage pipes in a pond at the Lany game park (Rakovnik Lany, Bohemia), blockage gave way, differential pressure, diver sucked into a concrete sump feeding a 50cm diameter outlet pipe. Body not recovered until the day after due to the dangers of accessing the sump. Mediafax tn.cz -
2011 10 6 Silva Antonio Portugal SCUBA Aged 45, resident in Aveiro, found dead in the evening, in SCUBA gear near his boat anchored in the estuary, assumed to be drowning (pending autopsy) but mask broken and bleeding from the ears. Reported to be completely inexperienced, had a bag with a few clams, alledged to be illegal clam fishing. Wife and two children. News Ralaccionadas -
2011 9 26 HSE Prosecution UK The supervisor of a diving project at Ramsgate Royal Harbour Marina was fined £5,000 and ordered to pay £2,000 in costs after pleading guilty to a single breach of the Diving at Work Regulations for failing to ensure a standby diver was ready to enter the water in the event of an emergency. Concerns were raised about the standard of his operation by a fellow diving supervisor on a neighbouring quayside. The Health and Safety Executive investigated and found that the standby diver was not in a state of immediate readiness to provide assistance to the diver in the water (The standby diver should have been fully dressed and kitted up to enter the water with his diving helmet in hand or close by. However, he was only in his dry suit, which put the diver in the water at serious risk had he required urgent assistance). DG had previously been served with a Prohibition Notice by HSE in October 2010 for a similar failing as a diving supervisor. His employer had spent time retraining and mentoring him before allowing him to continue in his role, but he ignored the guidance given. After the hearing, the HSE Inspector said: "The diving supervisor has a critical role to play in ensuring that a dive is conducted in such a way that the safety of the divers in the water is protected at all times. It is reasonably foreseeable that a diver may require urgent assistance from a standby diver should an emergency unfold, and therefore, the standby diver should be ready and able to enter the water in seconds. Yet that did not happen on Mr Gill's watch, and this clearly compromised safety. He should have known better having previously been warned about his conduct as a supervisor, but he ignored the trust, training and guidance of his employer to repeat the same failings." HSE Press Release in January 2013 -
2011 9 9 Not Recorded UK Sheringham Shoal Offshore Windfarm off Norfolk, diver medivac by helicopter to Norwich Hospital with 'broken ribs, broken arm, traumatised". No other details. Norfolk News -
2011 9 2 Cardenas Jose Jesus Mendoza Mexico SCUBA Aged 34 from Puerto Libertad, living in El Desemboque (Caborca), clam diving off a boat owned by Germain Marin Guzman some 3 km off the beach, surfaced and complained of chest pains, died before he got to hospital. La Policiaca -
2011 9 1 Not Recorded Tonga Aged 54, reported as having died from decompression after diving for sea cucumbers near the island of Leleka in Ha'apai on the late afternoon of Thursday, September 1. Police confirmed that the deceased from Ngele'ia in Tongatapu died shortly after surfacing from diving. Tonga News -
2011 8 22 Soto Luis Enriques Cabrales Mexico SCUBA Aged 30 from Guaymas, living in El Desemboque (Caborca), clam diver 'decompression illness'. La Policiaca -
2011 8 12 Alonso Roberto Lopez Moroyoqui Mexico SCUBA Aged 17, living in Colonia Nueva Penasco, possibly his first trip as a working clam diver, diving 10 km off La Cholla, ill when surfaced, transferred to the Penasco hyperbaric centre, reported as having died of 'severe decompression sickness type 2' Nuevodia.com.mx -
2011 8 12 Saavedra Janus Chavez Peru SCUBA Aged 27, scallop diver working on the sechura coast near Lobos Island, (Piura province), reported as dying of DCI, survived by wife and children aged 5 years and 2 years. RPP News -
2011 8 4 Cordova Gabriel Humberto Delgadillo Mexico SCUBA Aged 24, clam diving off La Cholla, Puerta Penasca. Reported as 'lost his life by drowning' in 'Los canales de la Choya' (The La Choya Channels). No details. Reported by La Policaca -
2011 7 15 Martinez Edgar Saul Reyes Mexico SCUBA Aged 22 from Hermosillo, Colonia Oriente, clam diver, died at Puerta Penasco on La Cholla beach. No details. Reported in La Policiaca -
2011 7 9 Alvarez 'Dani' Daniel Spain 2 S/S Air Aged 35, married, 11 month old twins, Seaweed extraction (Agar "Ocle") operation, diving from the Biempica III two miles off Gijon (North Coast of Spain), vessel reported the diver was unconscious, transferred ashore but did not respond to treatment. Recorded as 'death by drowning'. Basic kit (SCUBA style second stage/mask, air hose and rope, Full face mask or helmet, no comms, no bail out, no harness,no surface stand-by no medical O2 onboard. Probably kinked hose but no details. GPS Buzeo/Spanish Press -
2011 6 21 Surasin Indonesia S/S Air Aged 54, Port of Tanjung Perak, Surabaya, scrap metal diving off Jamrud pier from a small boat with two of his children, compressor may have failed, body floated to the surface, recovered and brought ashore by the children. Surabaya News -
2011 6 11 Mackie Graham UK SCUBA Aged 31, commercially qualified diver, diving for scallops off Methil in Fife. Paraphrased from press reports:- The diver had gone into the sea at the start of his shift, but colleagues became alarmed when no bubbles came to the surface. Crew members on the fishing vessel ‘Rob Roy’ issued a mayday call to Forth Coastguard shortly before 2:30pm. Two divers on a nearby catamaran went down to bring the unconscious man to the surface. A spokesman for the Coastguard and Maritime Agency, which co-ordinated the rescue, said: "The unconscious diver was transferred on to the Kinghorn inshore lifeboat, which had a paramedic and oxygen on board, and was taken into Methil. When the lifeboat arrived at Methil, a decision was made to transfer the diver on to the helicopter and take him to Edinburgh Royal Infirmary." The diver died a short time later in hospital. His identity has not been released. A spokesman for Fife Constabulary said: "Fife Police are currently investigating the circumstances surrounding the death of a 31-year-old male, who was diving off the coast of Methil this afternoon. A report is being submitted to the procurator-fiscal’. Reported in the Scotsman. One of two scallop diving fatalities (the other was James Irvine, 24th March 2011) that led to an HSE safety alert (22nd June 2011) -
2011 6 10 Quiroz Edixon Venezuela Topsides Aged 48, Diving supervisor, Flow station 57 on the Rosa Mediano production system near the town of Simon Bolivar on lake Maracaibo. Reported that he was at the bow giving directions to secure a 2" riser to the wellhead platform when the PDVSA diving vessel went out of control (Went full ahead when the clutch control wire broke) trapping him between the vessel and a barge anchor wire. Broken ribs, internal bleeding, crush injuries. The diver was taken to the PDSVA clinic at Tia Juana but was declared dead on arrival. Reported by GPS Buceo, Longstreath. -
2011 6 4 Andres J. A. Spain 6 Zamakona Shipyards, Port of Santurce, Bilbao, cleaning the propellers of a Tug. Julio Da Costa was in the nozzle with his colleague, J A Andres outside, when the propellers were started. Andres was injured but blown away, Da Costa was killed when sucked into the blades. Reportd by GPS Buceo -
2011 5 23 Strakele Sean USA 11 SCUBA Aged 37, Diving for lobsters out of Provincetown off the commercial fishing vessel "Chase" in the vicinity of Race Point Lighthouse. Entered the water at 06:30, failed to surface an hour later. Diving solo on single SCUBA cylinder. Coastguard searches called off after two days. Body located the day after in 56' of water by another lobster diver from the fishing vessel 'Mad Dog' in the same area he had dived in, half a mile south of the lighthouse. Reported as 'drowned'. Cape Cod Times -
2011 5 15 Palma Miguel Angel Cupul Mexico 15 SCUBA Aged 60, 25 miles offshore from Merida (Yucatan penninsula) collecting sea cucumber, rescued alive and taken ashore for treatment but died. Causes reported as cerebral anoxia/acute decompression illness. Reported by Sipse.com -
2011 5 14 Cetz Joshua Mexico Aged 37, sea cucumber harvesting off Celustun from the vessel 'Dick Tracy', transferred to chamber ashore but died. Reported as the third diver to die of DCI this season (which finished on the 15th May). Reported by Por Esto -
2011 5 9 Not Recorded Spain During an audit in Algeciras, a diving contractor discussed 5 incidents that had occurred over the previous 18 months with another diving contractor in the port. As the author commented, “it shows how much we are missing and how important it is to use competent diving contractors�:- 1 Dive on a tanker at night. Tender comes up on divers umbilical and recovers hat and bailout. Diver has jettisoned his equipment and swum to the shore (established later). Algerciras port closed in while search is carried out for diver. 2 Dive carried out following 30’ decompression profile. Diver had worked at 60’ for an hour and profile not adjusted for deeper depth. Diver collapses on deck after dive. Paralysis of lower limbs, tongue and visual disturbances. Type 2 decompression sickness, diver evacuated to chamber to Malaga hospital, 3 day treatment. 3 Diver carrying out propeller polish on Tanker – propeller starts while diver working and pushes him away – ripped shoulder and leg muscles. 4 Diver carrying out our hull scrub wearing Aga mask – tangle with hull scrub brushes/ loose rope and Aga locating straps (spider). Mask ripped from divers head. Diver makes it to surface – partial drowning and hospitalized ( 3 months off work). 5 Three bailout delivery whips blow off the mask on the same day. PC -
2011 4 26 Pizanias N Greece Topsides Aged 29, commercial diver/diving school instructor. Throwing dynamite sticks at an Easter clrebration, expolded in his hand, hospitalised in Kalymnos, transferred to Athens but lost his hand and permanently blinded in one eye. Two other men died in similar Easter celebration incidents on Rhodes. Reported by Kalymniansvoice.gr -
2011 4 19 Enriques Jesus "Chuy" Mexico 9 Aged 28 from Holbrox, Quintana Roo, sea cucumber harvesting 24 miles off Celustan, died underwater at about 14:00 hours. No details. Reported by Sipse.com -
2011 3 31 van Delft Anton Lybia Aged 62, dive team leader working for Zwaytina Zwaytina Oil Company near Ajdabiyah. With two diving companions stayed on site rather than evacuating during the civil war. Compound was raided/looted by government supporters, detained two days, all three escaped to Benghazi. Reported that most of his medicines were lost/confiscated, rationed himself but suffered seizures and died of 'epilepsy'. Reported by Nu.nl -
2011 3 24 Irvine James UK 6 SCUBA Aged 42, from the Glenrothes area of Fife, disappeared at 13:00 GMT on Thursday off the coast at Lower Largo. "The two men who remained on the boat reported that the man had surfaced during the dive and requested more weights, but did not resurface after this." Paraphrased from AP/STV reports: “Police have confirmed that a body recovered from the water at 19:30 GMT on Friday was that of a missing scallop diver. Extensive searches had been carried out by police divers supported by the Central Scotland Police Diving Team, a Royal Navy rescue helicopter and Kinghorn Lifeboat were also involved. HSE investigation ongoing, unclear if this was a commercial dive, but is one of two scallop diving fatalities (the other was Graham Mackie, 11th June) that led to the HSE issuing a safety alert on the 22nd June -
2011 3 18 Marin Antonio Argentina Aged 43, carrying out underwater repairs to the bow of the "Golestan" moored in the port of Quequen, recovered to deck but failed to respond to treatment. No other details. Reported by DiarioNecochea.com -
2011 3 16 Rosita V Chile Salmon Company owned motor vessel 'Rosita V', registration 1871, sailed from Quellon at 15:00 0n 15th March will 11 persons onboard, shipwrecked on rocks 03:00 on Locos Island (15 miles NorthEast of Melinka) in heavy rain and strong wids, 8 persons survived - including all 5 members of the diving team - two crew died, one missing. Not enough lifejackets onboard for all persons, lights and flares did not work, vessel documentation incorrect (Listed as sailing with a crew of 4 but later confirmed it sailed with 11 onboard). "The Maritime Office has launched an investigation" NB Another crewmember aged 23 who was taken off this vessel when moored in Quellon harbour in October 2010 died in hospital. Chilean Press -
2011 3 10 Pendleton Vance Wayne Canada 14 SCUBA Aged 56, experienced diver and owner of a dive shop. Diving for Sea Urchins of l'Etete, New Brunswick, failed to surface, located on the seabed 'initial information is pointing towards drowning' but coroner to confirm cause of death, Worksafe and RCMP to determine whether the diver was working at the time. He was diving with 4 other commercial divers on a commercial harvesting operation. Lost sight of the group, they surfaced, at first nor concerned because he had a bigger air tank. When he failed to surface after 10 - 15 minutes, they went back in to look for him. He was found and brought to the surface but failed to respond to treatment. Reported in the Telegraph-Journal, Brunswick -
2011 2 19 Coliboro Carlos Isaias Melipillan Chile Aged 50, Shellfish diver onboard the 'Nortwester Matricula' working in the Falcon Estuary (36 hours sailing time from Puerta Natales). Expired certificates, no permit to be at sea, autopsy indicated that he suffocated after vomiting underwater. Reported in El Pinguino. -
2011 2 19 LaClair Patrick J USA Paraphrased from press reports:- “Coast Guard officials said a 54-year-old member of the Skokomish tribe ran into trouble while out on the water with a geoduck boat in the Hood Canal, near Hazel Point The man had two spotters, who saw that he was struggling and called 911 at around 4 p.m. A Navy rescue boat pulled the man out of the water and administered CPR while heading back to shore. Central Kitsap Fire whilst Rescue and Navy paramedics tried to help the man. The Kitsap County Coroner's Office declared him dead at about 7 pm� No other details. Reported by AP, Komo News, Kitsap Sun etc. -
2011 2 17 Clarkson Peter Australia SCUBA Aged 50 with 27 years diving experience, two man commercial abalone boat out of Port Lincoln (200 miles West of Adelaide). Reported as being attacked by two great white sharks as he surfaced. The skipper (who lost diver Danny Thorpe when his boat overturned in 2000 – he risked the long swim ashore leaving Danny Thorpe with the boat but 'when help arrived all they found was Thorpe's shredded life vest and a beat up old lunchbox, but that was all') said 'I saw the beast come up and take him. There was no way he could have survived'. Last August, the diver had described a previous close encounter with a great white during a diving ascent when endorsing a shark deterrent system. 'The search for the victim's remains ongoing'. Reported by the Mail online, Herald Sun etc -
2011 2 12 Montecinos Juan Francisco Vejar Chile 8 SCUBA Aged 34, volunteer with the town of Chol Chol fire team, training exercise off Lican Ray, reported as having lost consciousness underwater, brought to the surface by other team members but did not respond to treatment. No further details. Reported in El Diario Austral. -
2011 2 9 Rodriguez Norlan Jose Vasquez Nicaragua SCUBA Aged 28, rescue drill training exercise from the vessel "La Novia del Xolotlan" in the port of Managua, came to the surface calling for help but submerged before they could get to him. Body recovered two days later. No details. Nicaraguan Press -
2011 1 27 Not Recorded USA, Washington S/S Air Paraphrased from press reports:- “A 30-year-old commercial diver was taken to a hospital Thursday after his breathing apparatus malfunctioned near Suquamish. The Port Orchard man was harvesting geoduck while tethered with an air hose to a boat, said a North Kitsap Fire & Rescue spokeswoman. The diver was at a depth of 60 feet at about 11:30 a.m. when his breathing apparatus malfunctioned. The malfunction forced the diver to surface faster than recommended to avoid decompression sickness. He was driven by boat to a dock at Kiana Lodge in Suquamish where he was evaluated by medics. The man showed no symptoms of sickness and was transported to Harrison Medical Center in Bremerton as a precaution. Reported as the second geoduck diving accident in as many months in the Suquamish area. (Two Bremerton divers were hospitalized Dec. 14 after the support boat they were tethered to drug them into deep water in Port Madison). North Kitsap Herald -
2011 1 19 Saes Sandro Brazil 26 SCUBA Aged 42, city of Florianopolis, carrying out survey for repairs to the Hercilio Luz bridge (Longest suspension bridge in Brazil at 821 metres long, built 1922) with one other diver but appears to have been a solo dive. Dive was meant to last 20 minutes, after 35 minutes partner asked for help. As fire brigade commenced search operations, diver's body came to the surface. No response to treatment. Reported as acute respiratory failure by drowning. Equipment reported as being in order. Work was resumed a month later with a new diving contractor (North Star) using three divers and a supervisor with a DDC on site. No other details. Reported by Terra Noticias -
2011 1 13 Araya Hernan Alvarado Chile Aged 40, died in the regional hospital of Copiapo (Where there is a hyperbaric centre) at 11pm. He was suffering from acute decompression illnesss after working at the Seafood site of Caleta La Ovillina, 30 km north of Caldera. Press report inicated that he might have survived if there had been a DDC on site. Reported by GPS Buceo -
2011 1 12 Not Recorded USA S/S Air Paraphrased from press reports “ Juneau, Alaska. The Coast Guard is investigating the death of commercial diver off a boat southeast Alaska� The 68-foot fishing vessel “Island Dancer� was diving for sea cucumber in Chester bay, off Annette Island. Crew told investigators that the diver surfaced at about 1 p.m. Wednesday, took off his mask and immediately sank. They pulled the diver out of the water using the air hose and gave first aid but he did not respond to treatment�. Alaska daily News -
2011 1 5 Flores Alvaro Hernandez Mexico Aged 28, diving under the fishing boat 'Joisafco III' that had run aground near a packing plant assessing hull damage and preparing to refloat the vessel. The Captain started the engines and the rotating propeller immediately sliced off the diver's left arm. His brother on deck reached in to try to pull the diver out but the propeller dragged him under and inflicted a fatal cut to the throat that virtually decapitated him. Fire department divers recovered the body and severed arm. Reported by Hoy Tamaulipas.net -
2010 12 14 Not Recorded USA 26 Two Bremerton commercial geoduck divers were taken to hospitals Tuesday after their support boat dragged them into deep water in Port Madison. A 50-year-old woman was flown from Suquamish to Harborview Medical center in Seattle at about 1:30 p.m. The woman was in stable condition as of 7:15 p.m. Her diving companion, a 27-year-old man, was driven to Harrison Medical Center in Bremerton. The divers were working in about 50 feet of water when strong winds pushed their support boat into deeper water. The divers were tethered to the boat, which dragged them to a depth of about 85 feet. They were then pulled to the surface by workers on the support boat. -
2010 12 0 Not Recorded Georgia Paraphrased from press reports:- “In December 2010, a 25-year old diver was badly injured when working underwater at the oil port of Kulevi�. Reported in the press articles reporting the deaths of Erkan Karsky and Murad Oglu in January 2011 -
2010 11 29 McCarthy Peter Joseph Thailand 80 Rebreather British, aged 47, diving instructor, disappeared on an 80 metre deep dive into the mouth of a submerged volcano off the Thai island of Koh Tao with a party of eight other British and Italian divers at about noon, local time, on Monday. The other instructor on the dive told Thai media that Mr McCarthy did not come up after the nine man hour-long dive. Each of the divers had two hours of oxygen. The other divers used up their remaining oxygen in searching for their instructor, reports said. The instructor was described as a very experienced technical diver - expert in a specialised type of scuba diving that uses a mix of gases to allow divers dive go deeper and for longe (Technical diving). The original diving group consisted of the two instructors, four men and three women. Mr McCarthy had a diving licence issued in the Gulf of Thailand province of Chumpon. Daily Mail UK -
2010 11 27 Not Recorded Norway Aged 47, Reports described him as 'A professional diver in his 40s was killed during a working dive at a pumping station at the Husqvarna factory in Sarpsborg, Ostfold on Saturday morning'. Possibly trapped underwater and/or lost air supply, but no details. Checking the factory inlet was an annual job he had done several times previousl. Water was ice covered at the time. The diver appears to have been a volunteer/sports diver from the Sarpsborg diving club but employed to undertake a commercial (water inlet) diving job. Does not appear to fit in with Norwegian regulations. No published incident report found to date. Reported by NTu -
2010 11 18 Nolesolo Roberto Villata Peru SCUBA Aged 38, one of two shellfish divers (Valiente Zapata Wilbert was killed) diving from the scallop boat 'Robert Alexander' off the island 'Lobos de Tierra' involved in a decompression incident. No details. Reported by GPS Diving -
2010 11 18 Wilbert Valiente Zapata Peru SCUBA Aged 38, one of two shellfish divers (Roberto Villata Nolesolo was seriously injured) diving from the scallop boat 'Robert Alexander' off the island 'Lobos de Tierra' involved in a decompression incident. No details. Reported by GPS Diving -
2010 11 13 Rain Javier Gueichapiren Chile SCUBA Shellfish diver working on the 'Westhoff' 20 miles south of Puerto Melinka Weste, disappeared. Search by Navy personnel located his body on the North coast of Puerto Llancos two days later. www.armada.cl -
2010 10 19 Alarcon Mario Peru Aged 48, had stopped diving 'but for financial reasons' moved from 'the slums of Lucy Villanueva' to the Island of Parachique (Province of Sechura) to work in the pearl shell extraction industry. Surfaced in a rush and complained of chest pains, died diuring the transfer to Parachique. No treatment equipment on the boat. Wife and six children. Elregionalpiura.com -
2010 10 2 Barrientos Jose Ascensio Chile Aged 54, Shellfish diver onboard the vessel "Seno Vera" 13 miles off Puerto Aguirre suffered fractured left leg and serious cuts to both legs from the vessel's propeller. Transferred ashore (seems to have taken over six hours to get the rescue boat there and back to port) and to hospital. No other details. Armarda.cl -
2010 9 7 Villalobos Roberto Antonio Chile S/S Air Aged 36, one of three brothers (Victor Manuel, Julio Humberto and Roberto Antonio) crewing the fishing vessel "Manchita" out of the port of Ovalle (La Lobera) in Talcaruca inlet harvesting limpets. Victor and Robrto dived, but after 20 minutes it was noticed that Roberto's umbilcal was not moving, pulled to the surface but appeared already lifeless. Taken to port where paramedics confirmed him dead. GPS Buceo -
2010 9 6 Giogine Augusto Brazil Aged 50, diver charging diving cylinders onboard the trawler 'Luz do Dia' port of Saco de Bananal (Near Rio). 04:30 on a Sunday morning, reported as compressor explosion, a splinter of wood hit him in the neck causing massive bleeding. Reported in Angranews -
2010 8 30 Mieses Kelvin Dominican Republic S/S Air Aged 24, reports unclear, but appears to have been a decompression incident related to long or deep surface supplied air dive during which the compressor failed preventing him from undertaking decompression stops. Treated at the local El Seibo hospital and referred to regional hspital in San Pedro de Macoris where he died. Unclear if there was a back up air supply, a bailout or if there was a DDC on site or at either hospital. Reported in diariolibre.com -
2010 8 21 Hussein Mahmoud Ali Egypt Paraphrased from Press Reports:- Port Suez saw a tragic accident that claimed the live of a 40 year old vessel maintenance diver when the crew of a cargo ship waiting to transit the canal started the engines. A team from the Maritime Rescue Police recovered the body which was found to be badly damaged by the effects of the large propellers. The authorities detained the Iraqi Captain and ordered his prosecution (charged with negligence at work and killing the diver). Rosaonline.net -
2010 8 6 Not Recorded Switzerland Aged 47, Conny-Land theme park in Lipperswil, Norther Switzerland, cleaning a dolphin tank on Friday night, apparently pulled from the water unconscious but failed to respond to resuscitation. Later reported that cause of death was a heart attack. No other details -
2010 8 5 Not Recorded Japan SCUBA Japaneses, aged 58, a diving instructor giving tourists a diving lesson off Koki Beach in Nago, standing barefoot in shallow water at 9 a.m. stung by a stonefish. Suddenly felt a sharp pain on the bottom of his left foot and quickly lost consciousness. Another instructor at the beach provided first aid but the victim stopped breathing before an ambulance arrived later died. A spokesman for the Okinawa Health Department’s pharmaceutical team said this was the first reported death caused by the venomous fish in 27 years. Reported in Stars and Stripes (Big American forces base in the Area). Sports SCUBA, but professional instructor and at work. -
2010 7 29 Dobrajc Ziga Italy 4 Rebreather Aged 31, Slovenian biologist working at the Piran Marine Biology centre, diving on a 'Trieste HBY' rebreather off Miramar, injured in the same incident that killed Samo Alajbegovich on the 25th July. He was recovered from the sea unconscious by rescuers 10 metres from the shore in less than 4 metres of water. On life support in hospital for 4 days, declared brain dead, life support switched off. Reported in Slowwwenia.enaa.com -
2010 7 27 McCullough Mike USA SCUBA American, mid twenties. Paraphrased from press reports:- “A SCUBA diver retrieving golf balls at The Coeur d'Alene Resort Golf Course drowned Tuesday afternoon, the Kootenai County Sheriff's Department said. "The lady driving the boat to the green said she had seen him at the back edge of the green diving for balls but hadn't seen him in an hour and half," said one golfer. “We started looking around to see if we could see him and when we looked over the left side of the green, we saw his face down body limp under the water, about 15 feet (offshore). But he wasn't moving and there weren't any bubbles coming out. The witness and a staff member took a boat out, pulled the body aboard and took the victim to an adjacent dock around 4 pm. The witness said the body was without diving gear when it was spotted. He was pronounced dead at Kootenai Medical Center around 5 p.m He was working for a contractor who picks up golf balls and other debris from the lake bottom in the area. Tuesday afternoon his gear was still at the bottom of the lake, said the sheriff's department. “Our divers will recover that and investigate this as the case goes on�. CDA Press. -
2010 7 25 Alajbegovich Samo Italy 7 Rebreather Aged 41, Slovenian biologist working at the Piran Marine Biology centre, diving on a 'Trieste HDT' rebreather off Miramar, body located in 7 metres of water 200 metres from the beach location where his diving partner, Ziga Dorajc was pulled alive, but unconscious (He subsequently died in hospital), from the water 4 hours earlier. Reported in Slowwwenia.enaa.com -
2010 7 22 Torres Luis Martin Cohuo Mexico From Celestun but resident in Hunucma, wife and two children aged 14 and 7, shellfish diver, died in a decompression incident. No details. Reported by Yucatanalamano.com -
2010 7 21 Wesley Skiles USA 21 Rebreather Aged 52, Professional underwater photographer and explorer of underwater caves in Florida, diving 3 miles off Boynton Beach, found unconscious on the seabed by colleagues, did not respond to treatment. Gainsville Sun -
2010 7 13 Not Recorded Finland S/S Air Reported as a 43 year old diver working at the oil port of Kemi (checking port sonar equipment) became distressed in the water whilst working on Monday 9th July, was pulled to the surface and taken to hospital in a critical condition, died on the following Friday. Dates are confused (Monday was 5th July?) No other details. Reported by hlb.fi -
2010 7 12 Not Recorded Germany 39 year old commercial diver disappeared whilst working on clearing fishing nets from the propeller of the liner 'Noordam' in Bremerhaven (Crew had complained of vibration). Not clear whether propeller rotated or fell off, but diver disappeared in the fast flowing current of the Weser Police report, no other details -
2010 6 19 Nasca Michele Italy Aged 57, 7 o'clock in the morning, snorkel diving with his brother to collect seafood near a pier near in the town of Zapponeta (Foggia, Italian East Coast north of Bari), sucked into into the 1 metre diameter inlet of a pump 2.5 metres below sea level (grill may have been faulty) supplying salt water to the 'Margherita di Savona' natural salt drying pans. Reported as 'shredded' by the impeller which was located only 30cm from the entrance. Apparently there was a sign prohibiting swimming in the area at the head of the pier, but not on the beach either side of it. A local fisherman was reported as saying that many years ago another spear fisherman had died at the same place in the same manner. Reported by Stato quotidiano -
2010 6 10 Levican Juan Bernado Chile Aged 30, Town of Quemchi, Butachauques Island, shellfish diver. Surfaced and reported not feeling well, taken ashore by the vessel "Dona Amelia" but arrived at the Metahue medical centre dead and was then transferred to Isla Grande. No other details. GPS Buceo -
2010 5 31 Not Recorded Greece Press report stating that “a diver working for Hellenic Petroleum in Aspropyrgos (West of Athens) died while working on repairs to a water tank� reported as lost consciousness underwater, taken to hospital but did not respond to treatment. No other details. Ekathimerini.com -
2010 5 27 Orellana Luis Alberto Romero Chile 7 SCUBA Iquique, Chile. Shellfish diver with 30 years diving experience, Luis Alberto Romero Orellana, died yesterday at 11 am in a diving accident. At the time of the incident Luis Alberto was doing scrap recovery work for a fishing company. His teammates gave notice of the accident via mobile to the Maritime authorities, the patrol vessel "Defender" and a rescue RIB/divers of Harbor Master recovered the diver's body. Diving solo, no stand-by. Reported by gspbuceo -
2010 5 25 Costa Dr. Paolo Italy 107 Rebreather Aged 60, dive team of 4 people filming for Rai 3 programme "Geo and Geo" on Sardinia (Oliena, Nuoro) in an underwater spring (Su Gologone). Reported as becoming ill (Heart attack) during the ascent, failed to respond to treatment. A companion who assisted him up was treated for omitted decompression. Vip.it -
2010 5 23 Eves Stephen James UK Topsides Aged 26, car crash on his way to work at Connah's Quay at 07:35 on a Sunday Morning. Reported in the Liverpool News -
2010 5 22 Smith Gary USA SCUBA Aged 61, founding member and chief officer of the Lacey Township Dive Team, diving off the 'Dina Dee', a 42' charter vessel out of Barnegat Light, not clear if it was a Search and Rescue dive or training dive (He was an SAR diver Instructor), surfaced unresponsive, did not respond to treatment. Atlantic City Press. -
2010 4 8 Ojeda Rodrigo Argentina 30 Apparently the 32 year old diver was killed during construction of the Maldonado tunnel in Buenos Aries, possibly a decompression incident. All we know is that city mayor went into print in August saying he found it 'serious' that they had “failed to inform the company�, that the urban development minister and director of works “have concealed the death of a worker on the site that is the most important of his administration�. No other details. Reported in Diario Cronica and Partido de la Cuidad -
2010 4 7 Al-Trabulsi Jonas USA S/S Air Aged 26, of Kemah, drowned while cleaning the hull of a boat and was found floating in the water, was pulled from the water near Waterford Harbor Marina after police were called to investigate. An autopsy performed Thursday listed the cause of death as a drowning, He was a contract hull cleaner and was cleaning a boat in the marina. The compressor he was using to get air was laying on its side when police arrived but it was unknown if that contributed at that time because there was some pressure left. Associated Press. -
2010 3 24 Canales Rodrigo Varas Chile Surface Swimmer Aged 28, shellfish diver off Caldera (El Morro), disappeared. Not counted as a commercial diver for our purposes as this was free diving. Noticia Relacionada -
2010 3 22 Medina Daniel Choquehuanca Renzo Peru Aged 21, from La Bocana, shellfish (Scallops) diving operation off the island 'Lobo de Mar' (Or Isla Lobo de Tierra) 8 hours out of Parachique from the vessel 'Brandon IV', reported as a long dive, surfaced with a pulmonary embolism and died. Body brought ashore and taken to the central morgue in Piura, pronounced cause of death as lung collapse. Reported in La Primera, Peru -
2010 3 7 Sanchez Lareo Anxo Miguel Spain 9 SCUBA Aged 40, asked to free the anchor of a sports boat by the owner 'who knew he was a diver' in the River Ares Estuary at 2 o'clock on a Sunday afternoon (Galicia), failed to surface. Rescue services found his body entangled in fishing gear on the seabed. Reported by gspbuceo.com -
2010 2 8 Not Recorded Kuwait Quote from the Arab Times “An Egyptian diver in his 40s died while doing maintenance work on a huge gate in Al-Zour, reports Alam Alyawm daily�. However, the Al-Seyassah daily said �The diver fell off a boat and drowned. The corpse was fished out of the waters by divers from the Coast Guard� No details though this potentially conflicting description brings to mind a significant reporting issue in that I have heard several unofficial rumours that diver fatalities are regularly being reported as 'sailor in the sea, drowned' rather than 'diver killed at work' – a rather convenient tactic for avoiding investigations, bad press and awkward questions. (Though for 'half a story', the events on the pearler 'Dart' off Australia reported in December 1895 take some beating!) .............................TC -
2009 12 6 Not Relevant James Edward USA SCUBA or snorkel James Edward XXXX, aged 61, who was found dead at Swami's Beach in Encinitas in December, drowned in the ocean while under the influence of methamphetamine, the Medical Examiner's Office said Friday. Along with "acute methamphetamine intoxication," cardiovascular disease was a contributing factor to the drowning, the medical examiner said. A surfer found XXXX's body facedown in the sand about 7:40 a.m. on Dec. 9, "clad in a full wet suit and flippers and obviously dead," the medical examiner's report said. His brother told reporters at the time that James XXXX had gone lobster diving late Dec. 6 or early Dec. 7 before a rainstorm hit the county. San Diego Union-Tribune -
2009 11 15 Morales Miguel Angel Chile 2 SCUBA Aged 49, Cleaning operation in a 'pond' (9 billion m3 storage facility) owned by the National oil Company, described as having 30 years diving experience and working for a diving sub-contractor. One other team member (A none-diver, so effectively a solo SCUBA dive) raised the alarm when he failed to surface. Body recovered 7 hours later. No other details. La Estrella/Cronica -
2009 9 21 Reeves Larry USA SCUBA A Houston Attorney's website quotes the following regarding Jones Act compensation. “A commercial diver died in such an accident in Florida last week. The diver was at work near a wreck site, about four miles east of Rodriguez Key when he fell unconscious. He was brought onto the boat, and the other crews alerted the Coast Guard. The CG rescue boat arrived at the scene, and personnel administered CPR, but the diver never recovered. Investigations into the accident are still going on.� However, this comment appears to link to the death of Larry Herman Reeves, a 67-year-old tourist from Maryville, Tennessee, who died while scuba diving with his wife off Key Largo, Florida. The scuba diver was pronounced dead by the US Coast Guard paramedics who arrived at the scene in response to a call by witnesses. Unless further clarified, this fatality is excluded from the 'count' of working diver fatalities, TC. -
2009 9 19 Gunderson Jerry USA Rebreather Paraphrased from press reports:- “Aged 75, started diving for golf balls in 1953, when he was 19. His passion for diving for golf balls led to the founding of a chain of seven golf-supply stores, was found dead in the centre of the lake at the Deer Creek Country Club in Deerfield Beach on Saturday. Drowned. One of his sons died while diving for golf balls in a lake 27 years ago. "I lost my brother to the water, too," said Jerry Gunderson's other son, Marc, 53 who used to dive for golf balls himself. Jerry Gunderson started retrieving, collecting and reselling golf balls soon after his first dive as a teenager. At first, it was the simple act of fishing out the golf balls in a Lake Worth course in the 1950s, washing them, and reselling them. But he went on to build a Deerfield Beach-based chain of golf-supply stores called International Golf. He sold the business a few years ago and worked as a freelance diver for smaller companies. -
2009 8 3 Kasikcilar Taner Asian Turkey Aged 40, Salvage diving operation on the wreck of the Ro-ro ferry 'Hayak N' (Sank 300 metres off Bandirma as it left port en route to Istanbul on the14th September 2008 with the loss of 5 truck drivers), injured in an underwater explosion during cutting sheet metal that killed diver Rasul Kasikcilar, second diver (Tamer Kasikcilar). Reported in Netgazete.com -
2009 8 3 Plateau Rasul Turkey Aged 40, Salvage diving operation on the wreck of the Ro-Ro ferry 'Hayak N' (Sank 300 metres off Bandirma as it left port en route to Istanbul on the14th September 2008 with the loss of 5 truck drivers), killed in an underwater explosion during cutting sheet metal, second diver (Tamer Kasikcilar) was injured and taken to hospital. Reported in Netgazete.com -
2009 7 28 Ricciarelli Louis USA 6 S/S Air American, aged 56, diving off Quonset point from the 25'.commercial fishing vessel 'Chelsea Ann' for Qhahogs (clams). Diving solo, no crew. Alerted as 'not returned' by his wife, boat located with diving hose over the side. Divers recovered him from the seabed, deceased. “Equipment failure/lost gas� but no details. Reported in the Providence Journal -
2009 6 26 Not Recorded Honduras 43 SCUBA Paraphrased from press report:- “The Honduran indigenous community in La Mosquitia lives from the lobster catch. The export of the 'Panulirus argus' is also one of the most profitable Honduran exports, especially to the United States. During the lobster season, from August to May, most of the adult Miskito men dive, while younger males accompany them in small boats known as 'cayucos', floating alongside the bigger lobster boats. A study by the Honduran special ombudsman for ethnic groups and cultural heritage, sponsored by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), based in Washington, found that there are 4,200 divers living with injuries, nearly half the total Miskito diving population of 9,000. The Miskito men work 12 to 17 days out at sea, in five-hour diving sessions at depths of up to 43 meters. The annual death toll among Miskito lobster divers averages around 50, according to several reports.� IPS (Inter Press Service) NOTE, IF I ADD THESE DEATHS, 50 PER YEAR JUST SINCE 2000, THAT ADDS 500 DEATHS TO THE LIST TC -
2009 6 24 Logan Christopher USA 2 S/S Air American, aged 27, hired by Las Colinas Country Club to retrieve lost golf balls Employees at the club noticed that one of the men employed by the company contracted to recover the balls had not returned by closing time at 8 p.m, So someone went to look for him. Near the eighteenth green, an employee saw Logan’s breathing apparatus floating in the water and noticed that the pump that supplies the air was not running. The Irving Fire Department responded and found the diver's body submerged in the water. The Dallas County medical examiner’s office has ruled the death an accident due to drowning and the toxic effects of carbon monoxide. Wife and three year old son. Was SCUBA certified , took the part time job with a friend's golf ball retrieval business because his employer had cut his hours. -
2009 6 20 Terzuoli Joseph USA 70 Rebreather American, aged 46. Ran a wreck diving company diving from the 50' diving boat 'John Jack', took a party to dive on the WW1 wreck of the 'Texel'. Diving solo, SCUBA rebreather, apparently caught in fishing lines. Recovered by crew members. Had started diving again even though he had had a triple heart bypass in April, two months earlier. -
2009 6 8 Popov Andrei Vasilii Italy SCUBA Aged 28, Bulgarian, diving off a Spanish flagged commercial coral harvesting vessel 28 miles West of the Island of Marettimo (off Sicily). "Plunged into the sea and never resurfaced. The prosecutor's office of the Sicilian town of Trapani has ordered that an investigation is conducted into the disappearance". No details -
2009 6 5 Not Recorded Greece Aged 61, professional diver killed in the gulf of Thermaikos (Thessalonika) in an industrial accident, appears to have been crushed between floating units of some kind, body transferred ashore by Coastguard, "constrictive suffocating death". No other details. Reported by Enet.gr -
2009 5 24 Spencer Carl Greece 120 Rebreather British, aged 37. National Geographic Expedition filming the wreck of the 'Britannic' (Sister vessel to the 'Titanic'). British Hospital ship sank by a mine in 1916 with the loss of 30 lives off the Greek island of Kea. Reported to have surfaced rapidly, unconscious, flown by military super puma to Athens Naval Hospital, but did not respond to treatment -
2009 5 20 Sheffield David Anthony USA SCUBA Aged 44, volunteer member of Itawamba County dive team, searching Buttahatchie River for a missing teenager, spent two hours in the water, surfaced saying that he was unable to breath, taken onboard the boat and transferred to hospital but failed to respond to treatment, declared dead on arrival. Fatal heart attack. The body of the teenager was found three days later half a mile down river from where he disappeared. Media reports, PSD diver -
2009 5 18 Not Recorded Finland Aged 24 or 34, Bridge on a (hydro-electric?) dam at Ilomantsi in North Karelia, underwater repair works, trapped by differential pressure, body was dug out. No other details, reported in Journals Archive -
2009 5 17 Osburn Steven Dale USA 18 SCUBA Aged 58, member of Santa Cruz Underwater Recovery team, routine training dive in Patagonia lake, lost contact with team, located after 8 minutes, unconscious, brought to surface, failed to respond to treatment. -
2009 5 1 Pesce and Martinizi Vincenza USA 8 Topsides Ocean Hyperbaric Neurologic Centre, Lauderdale-by-the-Sea, Florida, 62 year old Italian woman with her 4 year old grandson, Francesco, undergoing hyperbaric oxygen treatment in a one man 'clam shell' chamber (Built by Vickers, 1967). they had flown over from Italy to get hyperbaric oxygen treatment (not available in Italy) for the boy who had cerebral palsy 100% O2 at 1.75 atm. 20 minutes into treatment, internal chamber fire. Decompressed in 90 seconds, 2nd and 3rd degree burns over 90% of their bodies, the woman died the following day, the boy died 6 weeks later. Ignition source may have been an internal speaker (no matches or electronic equipment inside the chamber) -
2009 5 0 Not recorded GOM 61 S/S Mixed Gas Cutting up of the wreck of the "High Island III" "There we were making gas dive after gas dive burning box after box of Brocos cutting up a bent and twisted pile of drilling derrick. The diver had rigged up to a big pile of I-beam and angle iron and was cutting it free of bottom. "up on the load, cut cut cut; up on the load, cut cut cut. Diver says, "OK get up on the load it's free to the surface." and goes back to the class II bell to watch the load come up. As it clears bottom I see what looks like a huge (20 to 30ft) cloud coming up under this pile of scrap. No shit, this was all this gas trapped in the scrap pile! The diver asks me "What the hell is that?" I respond knowingly, "The bomb you were building." I never would have thought that could happen". -
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 4 2 Coach Larry USA 2 SCUBA Aged 64, ran a diving business in Dallas, employed by Nacogdoches Soil and Water Conservation District (Conservation Agency), to unblock a 24� drainage/lake overflow pipe. Drove to site alone in his pick up, solo, SCUBA, no standby, lifeline or team. Started working at the inlet (upstream) end. Initial reports indicate that he removed the metal intake grill to get better access to the blockage, soon after bubbles stopped coming up. Rescue team blocked the exit (downstream) of the pipe with an air bag to reduce suction/flow and then recovered the diver from the inlet end using grapples. Had to remove harness/stab jacket to free body. Recovery operation took 30 hours (Entangled in debris some distance inside the pipe). -
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 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 5 Arriagada Ramon Riquelme Chile SCUBA Aged 41, died after being sucked into a water collection pipe while doing cleaning, at the Licancel cellulose plant (Wood pup) in the Region of Maule. The inlet pipe he was clearing connects the Mataquito river to the plant. Reported by Cooperativa.cl -
2008 12 9 Cuppini Alexander Italy SCUBA Aged 47 years died, maintenance of the Enel dam in San Pellegrino. Contractor prosecuted - diver had no medical, there was no risk assessment, there were no emergency procedures, inadequate diver training, diving equipment in poor state of repair and maintenance (using non-original parts that caused the failure of the regulator's first stage, dirt inside the first stage restricting gas flow) No back up equipment, no communications, no stand-by diver. Cause of death put down to a combination of “hypothermia and respiratory distress with accumulation of carbon dioxide." He appears to have died before anybody on the surface realised he had a problem. Reported in L'Eco di Bergamo.it -
2008 12 6 Parker Jonathon Canada 14 Canadian, aged 21. One of a two man commercial diving team working with a crew to refloat a fishing boat that sank in the Northumberland Strait in September about three kilometres off the coast of Pointe-Sapin. "He was struck or squeezed under the boat� Times & Transcript -
2008 12 2 Sanchez Carlos Julio Ecuador Paraphrased from press reports:- “Aged 28, Diver died in a sewer in the town Manta, Manabi, trapped in a sewage pipe and was overcome by fumes. 
The victim spent more than seven hours inside a manhole until his body was rescued by personnel from the National Police, the Fire Department and Civil Defense, which initially had to use hydraulic drill, and then a bulldozer to dig down to the pipe where the diver was trapped. The head of the Fire Department said that apparently when the diver was in the culvert and pulled out what prevented the passage of water "We believe the current pushed him, prompting him to lose control and stay in a sitting position Four divers entered the pipeline, but all effort was in vain. Eldiario.ec -
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 16 Hartley Paul USA SCUBA Aged 51, commercial sea urchin harvester diving from the F/V Sunshine, found floating on surface, unconscious, failed to respond to treatment -
2008 10 11 DSV Mareverma Spain 114-ft diving support vessel “Mareverma� (former beam trawler LT 526) beached at the Playa del Rincon in Algeciras on Oct. 11. The incident was caused by the same storm which also grounded the Fedra and Tawe. -
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 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 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 6 19 Nasca Michele Italy SCUBA Paraphrased from various press reports- “An amateur diver aged 57 diving with his brother 'died after coming into contact with the suction pump connected to a dock.' ' The body, horribly mutilated, and was recovered by police divers.' 'The judiciary is investigating the hypothesis that there is no protection grill on the turbine plant.' -
2008 6 12 Qadar R. N. Abdul UAE SCUBA Kenyan, married with two children Gulf-news: Quote at the time :Sharjah: “A scuba diver working on a ship at Hamriya Port was killed while checking the ship's engine. The engineer was unaware that the scuba diver was working and switched on the engine, causing the scuba diver to get caught between the propeller blades. Police were unable to find most of the body parts and gave up the search after three days. The people involved in the incident were arrested, including an engineer and two assistants, who claimed that it was an accident and that they had no intention of killing him�. The Ukrainian engineer on the supply vessel 'Orel' who started the engine was found responsible and fined £34,000 'blood money' even though he claimed that he did not know the diver was in the water and had been instructed to start the engine by the chief engineer. Xpress online Note. The Ukrainian marine engineer was prevented from leaving Sharjah until he paid about US$73,000 “diya�, blood money, and a Dh6,000 fine. “I’m very sorry for the death of the man, who I know has two children. I feel for them as I am also a father of two,� He said the accident – which took place when he started the main engine – was not solely his fault as he was ordered by the chief engineer to start it not knowing Abdul Qader was still working astern. “Due to incomplete and inaccurate information and the lack of a translator [during court hearings], all responsibility was laid on me. I am not in a position to pay the amount. I cannot get a job as I don’t have my documents. My wife in Ukraine earns just $120 (Dh440) a month. He started working for the Sharjah-based Whitesea Shipping Company and Supply LLC in March 2007. “I haven’t seen my family since then. I want nothing more than to be home with them,� In August 2009, he received help from the local Russian speaking community, and was allowed home. -
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 4 28 Monreal Dwight USA SCUBA Aged 62, professional golf ball diver, Tampa Palms Golf and Country Club, attacked by an alligator while retrieving balls from a lake near the 13th hole. Dislocated left shoulder and puncture wounds to his left arm. Officials said the 13th hole would be closed until the alligator was captured and killed. -
2008 4 1 Edwards Darryl New Zealand SCUBA New Zealander, aged 54. Wellington harbour, inspecting the hull of a commercial charter vessel he had just hired. Reported as natural causes (a heart attack). Not a commercial diver. -
2008 3 24 BBC UK Bangladesh 61 S/S Air BBC news article covering the 'Kohji' ('those who search for something') working the rivers of Bangladesh using tyre air compressors, hose pipe and basic BA type full face masks to recover scrap, cargo and bodies. -
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 1 18 Hanson Ola Norway SCUBA Aged 25, from Karlskrona in Sweden, 4 man commercial scallop diving operation off a small fishing community of Froya in Southern Norway, found unconscious on the seabed attached to a scallop bag containimg 70Kg, cause of death not reported. One year old daughter, his mother said his dream was to work on the oil platforms. Reported by Dykarna.nu -
2008 0 0 Pol Carlos Spain 60 S/S Air ack hammer. He was on air as his breathing gas (at 60 m). Due to the nature of the operation, the visibility was badly disturbed and to counteract this, the company had requested that the diver place a 10�-12� diameter flexi hose airlift in close proximity to his working position, to clear away suspended particles. This was secured by the diver using rope and was made hot at the surface. There was no information as to whether the diver had a flow control valve at his side?  At some point the securing knot became detached, which caused the hose to drift out of position, coming into contact with the back of the divers head as he worked. The intense suction caused his band-mask to become dislodged and also trapped him at the base of the airlift, resulting in him drowning. Apparently several days prior to this particular incident there was a similar situation where the hose had dislodged and had trapped the working divers arm. On that occasion topside managed to switch off the airlift and the diver managed to free himself - though he did require hospital treatment to his badly damaged arm. Furthers details may be coming. PC -
2007 11 17 Chen-Lu Hsu Taipei 30 S/S Air Aged 51, diving off the commercial fishing vessel 'Hsinlienfa 168' off Turtle Island. Two divers died and two injured. Authorities stated they would prosecute (occupational negligent manslaughter) the vessel operator, Tu Chuen-yi, for improper operation of the vessel and allowing the propeller to cut all four airlines leaving the divers at depth with no air supplies. None of the divers had licences, no standby or safety equipment. -
2007 11 17 Pie-Chun Sun Taipei 30 S/S Air Aged 33, diving off the commercial fishing vessel 'Hsinlienfa 168' off Turtle Island. Two divers died and two injured. Authorities stated they would prosecute (occupational negligent manslaughter) the vessel operator, Tu Chuen-yi, for improper operation of the vessel and allowing the propeller to cut all four airlines leaving the divers at depth with no air supplies. None of the divers had licences, no standby or safety equipment. -
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 27 Luse William J USA 3 Aged 34, Trapped for about 15 minutes by water flow through a coffer dam 23/10/2007, lost air supply, initially thought to be recovering, died 4 days later “Luse got stuck when flowing water forced him into a void between the cofferdam and the gate, which was open and releasing water. A partner working with him was able to tie a rope to the trapped diver's equipment but was not able to pull him free. When Luse was eventually pulled up, the air hose he was using to breathe had been knocked from his mouth. Officials were uncertain how long he had been without air�. -
2007 10 8 Colson David Australia Topsides Paraphrased from press reports “The case is stark. It took David Colson over five hours to die of the cold in Bass Strait. The 24-year-old was the deckhand on a dinghy dangerously overloaded with 744 kilograms of abalone - the weight of at least eight adults - which foundered off north-western Tasmania. Had the boat's crew pulled off the day's work, it would have made Colson about $1000, the skipper/diver $6000 and the abalone quota-holding businessman onshore about $26,000. The boat's name? ''Too Easy''. The Tasmanian abalone fishery is the world's largest and Colson was one of many drawn by its potential bonanzas. He was licensed to dive - but diving licences are one thing and getting work from quota holders is another. Abalone quotas are fisheries gold. Tasmania permits 3500 quota units, each for 760 kilograms of abalone. Units trade for about $250,000, giving the industry a capital worth about $875 million. There are about 300 quota-holding ''entities'', many fewer individuals, and they hold the power. In October 2007, a quota holder through his company, engaged diver TB to work a unit at Black Reef, 1.5 kilometres offshore. TB, who owned Too Easy, took Colson on as deckie. They started on October 8 in still water, the diver below and the deckie handling the dinghy as they did runs along the reef. But Too Easy was accumulating bilge water below its floor, the inquest heard, and the mounting catch meant it was sitting lower in the water. After about six hours work, they were calling it quits when the slopping bilge water took control of the boat. Frenzied attempts to bale and throw the catch overboard failed. With Colson on his mobile failing to raise help, Too Easy went under about 3.30pm. Their emergency position radio beacons disappeared and flares didn't work. They began to swim with Burton still in his wetsuit and Colson in wet-weather gear wearing a small lifejacket. The alarm wasn't raised onshore for more than three hours and a local constable was slow to react. By then, Colson was succumbing to hypothermia as they kept swimming against currents - he probably died about 9pm. TB refused to let go, eventually touching sand on an island off Smithton about 10.15pm and dragging Colson's body ashore. They were found in the morning by searchers. The coroner heard that the quota holder believed he had no occupational health and safety duty to those on the boat, who he saw as independent subcontractors and also noted a lack of clear workplace standards for commercial fishing vessels. The state agency, Workplace Standards Tasmania said it had no capacity to police these standards anyway. The quota holder was reported as saying ''they seem to want to blame me, whereas I don't really have anything to do with it. It's a terrible, unfortunate incident.� The coroner found that there was:- No workplace safety code for the abalone fishery, No maximum load limits for commercial dinghies, No compulsory reporting system for fishers at sea, Inadequate rules for emergency beacons or VHF radio, Inadequate bilge pumps in dinghies, Inadequate marine training and vessel survey rules. Reported in the Sydney Morning herald -
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 17 Hedden Bill USA SCUBA Alligator bit off diver's arm -
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 9 10 Anh Duong Trong Vietnam Surface diving Vietnamese, aged 16, stabbed through the heart by a metres long needle fish (type of gar with a 150mm beak) whilst diving for sea cucumbers -
2007 7 22 Wilson Stephen USA SCUBA Sports diver, aged 36, fatally injured when struck by lightning as he surfaced. Miami Herald -
2007 7 17 Nahar Indonesia Paraphrased from press reports:- Pier Ipi, Nusa Damai, Ende, Flores Island. Wreck of a vessel sunk in September 2004, needed to be removed as it was obstructing ferry access to the pier. Diver killed in an explosion cutting into the hull during salvage operations. No details. Metrotvnews.com -
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 4 1 Campbell Joseph Jamaica SCUBA Aged 35, found with extensive head wounds along with rope/tools. Speculation that he may have been attaching cannabis container to a cargo ship (Smuggling) . Severe head injuries compatible with propeller impact. At least three civilian commercial divers contracted by vessel operators to search hulls for contraband prior to departure have been murdered, searches now conducted by security services. Reported in the Jamaica Observer -
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 10 7 da Costa Rivanildo Alves Brazil Aged 27. Diving subcontractor working for Petrobras in the Sergipe area. While a diver was in the water tying a line to tend the vessel to a submarine post (stack), the vessel was moved in his direction with the thrusters. When alerted of the danger, the vessel crew moved the thruster’s throttle to the off position, but one of the thrusters did not stop, due to a mechanical or electrical failure. The diver’s umbilical was caught by the thruster and the diver pulled into the blades. Globo News -
2006 10 0 de Matos Paulo Cesar Brazil 23 SCUBA Brazilian, Canoa Quebrada hydroelectric plant at Lucas do Rio Verde, arm sucked up an 8� diameter pipe, three dive team members could not free him. A week later officials were still discussing whether to lower the water level in the lake in order to free the body. -
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 4 Irwin Steve Australia Surface Swimmer Australian, TV presenter “Crocodile hunter� stabbed in the chest by a stingray during filming on the Great Barrier reef, cardiac arrest -
2006 9 1 Ireland Patrick USA 61 Saturation Location was West Delta 104? Diver umbilical snagged by Manta Ray a week after Kevin Griffeth. See youtube link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=959CWu0w8dc&mode=related&search= -
2006 8 1 Cain Terrence Spain SCUBA British, aged 47, died on a holiday SCUBA dive off Benidorm from contaminated air (CO2 poisoning) -
2006 8 1 Erter Ryan USA 44 Vermillion VR 250, Remington Oil and Gas No formal reports are available yet. Diver apparently died in the deck chamber after recompression for suspected DCS ( on surfacing, complained of headaches and blurred vision) following a normally executed dive to approximately 150 FSW. Employer has released no information regarding the accident and the diving community awaits the reports from the Coast Guard and the MMS -
2006 8 0 Southworth Stephen Tobago Topsides British commercial saturation diver aged 40, died suddenly in a bar on the island of Tobago. The West Lancashire coroner ruled that the father of two had suffered clogging of his coronary arteries and an enlarged heart, which caused his death. He said doctors had passed him fit to dive in May 2006 and had not picked up on any major medical problems and recorded a verdict of death by natural causes. His widow told the court her husband, a saturation diver since 1997, had flown to the Caribbean to take up a job working on pipelines. She said she had spoken to him on a daily basis in the days running up to his death and he had been complaining about pain in his leg which were stopping him sleeping. "In the 10 days before he died, they had not been diving, he had worked on the decks of the boat. That night in the bar he dozed off. When his friends tried to wake him, at closing time, they couldn't. He was rushed to Port of Spain General Hospital where he was pronounced dead. A post-mortem report, carried out in Trinidad found he died from sudden cardiac problems. A second post mortem, carried out in the UK, was unable to establish the cause of death. Reported in the Blackpool Gazette. -
2006 4 26 Martinez Stephen USA SCUBA BOYNTON BEACH, Fla. --aged 42, professional golf ball diver hired by the city to retrieve golf balls from a lake was attacked by a 9-foot alligator. The alligator apparently bit the diver's air tank and tried to pull him under the water. The diver tried to stab the animal and it bit his arm, He was treated at a hospital for injuries similar to a dog bite. NB, Mark Feher, also a professional golf ball diver drowned on this course in 2001. -
2006 1 2 P J.C.G Spain Aged 31, resident of Beacon, port expansion in Castellon '"Died of suffocation and heart arrest" -
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 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 12 1 O'Conner Billy Ireland SCUBA Irish, aged 51, searching the wreck of the FV “Rising Sun� (Sank 29/11/2005) for the body of Skipper on behalf of his family, after dive, at 6 metre stop, disappeared. Body recovered some days later by Navy/Guarda dive team. Drowned. Reported by RTE news -
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 10 14 Karamanlis Stephen Greece Aged 28, working on a dredger salvage operation in the new shipyards, accident occurred at 04:00 in the morning, transferred to hospital ashore in Rhodes but declared dead on arrival, reported as drowned. No other details. Ministry of Maritime Affairs, Islani -
2005 9 29 Butel Russel August Australia SCUBA Paraphrased from press reports:- “The man killed by a crocodile in the Northern Territory was the second fatal attack in less than a week. Russell August Butel, 55, of Darwin, was taken by a five-metre saltwater crocodile about 11.30am yesterday, only five days after British snorkeller Russell Harris, 37, was also killed by a crocodile in the NT. Mr Butel and a companion were diving near Washon Head on the Cobourg Peninsula, about 150km north-east of Darwin, when the attack happened. Mr Butel, professionally dived frequently in his role as an aquarium fish diver.� He was collecting clown fish. Sky News online -
2005 9 28 Rig 'Hercules 25' USA Jack Up, Derrick fell onto rig, Hurricane Rita damage -
2005 9 28 Rig 'Rowan Fort Worth' USA Jack Up, Beached, wrtten off. Hurricane Rita -
2005 9 28 Rig 'Rowan Halifax USA Jack Up, Beached, wrtten off. Hurricane Rita -
2005 9 28 Rig 'Rowan Halifax' USA Jack Up, Beached, wrtten off. Hurricane Rita -
2005 9 28 Rig 'Rowan Louisiana USA Jack Up, Hurricane Rita damage. -
2005 9 28 Rig 'Rowan Odessa' USA Jack Up, Beached, reported missing, presumed sunk, Hurricane Rita -
2005 9 27 Hurricane Rita USA Category 5 hurricane, 155 mph winds and 60 foot seas. Rita caused significant damage offshore including 66 platforms destroyed, with 32 more suffering extensive damage, 13 MODUs broke their moorings and were set adrift, 1 jackup rig was sunk, with 7 jack-ups and 2 semi-subs experiencing extensive damage. 
Minerals Management Service -
2005 9 17 Brown Jeremy USA S/S Air American, aged 26, inspecting Falls hydroelectric dam (Badin lake) . Unsatisfactory report “Inspecting the head gates (replaced three years earlier, but sometimes failed to seal properly). Before beginning work, hydro station operators told the diver about an open valve, warning that water could be flowing at that point. (Later interviews revealed that other dive team members were not aware of the danger). Lost comms during the dive, pulled the life line to retrieve the diver - unsuccessful. Decided not to send a second diver when learned that the force of the flowing water could have trapped the diver in the valve opening. Instead, workers lowered the water level to retrieve the first diver. The team found that the diver’s safety harness had gotten caught on a protruding bolt. The snagged harness had negated efforts by the dive team to pull the diver to safety. The diver had been drawn into a gate valve opening by the tremendous water pressure, which led to compressional asphyxia�. Body recovered 4 hours after the initial incident. -
2005 9 9 Rig 'Noble Max Smith' USA Jack Up, Sustained major damage in Hurricane 'Rita' -
2005 8 31 Rig 'Rowan New Orleans' USA Jack Up, Capssed and Sank, Hurricane Katrina -
2005 8 29 Hurricane Katrina USA The final toll for Katrina was 47 platforms destroyed with 20 suffering extensive damage, 6 rigs broken from moorings and set adrift, 3 platform rigs destroyed and 1 jack-up capsized (Rowan New Orleans), with 2 jackups, 
5 semi-subs and 2 platform rigs suffering extensive damage. Minerals Management Service -
2005 8 29 Rig 'PSS Chenul' USA The PSS Chemul semi-sub was under construction for PEMEX in the Bender Shipbuilding yard near Mobile, Alabama. It broke loose from its moorings during the hurricane was pushed upstream by the storm surge, where it eventually became wedged under the Cochrane Bridge. The rig remained pinned under the bridge for several hours, causing the closure of the bridge. After inspection, the innermost lanes of the bridge were re-opened, with the completion of repairs planned for the end of 2005. Oil Rig Disasters -
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 7 10 Hurricane Dennis USA Hurricane Dennis was an early-forming major hurricane in the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico during the very active 2005 Atlantic hurricane season (Followed by Katrina and Rita). Dennis was the fourth named storm, second hurricane, and first major hurricane of the season. In July, the hurricane set several records for early season hurricane activity, becoming both the earliest formation of a fourth tropical cyclone and the strongest Atlantic hurricane ever to form before August; the lastly mentioned was a title it held for only six days before being surpassed by Hurricane Emily. Wikipedia -
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 6 3 Cardenas Jr Ciro USA 4 SCUBA Drowned in a drainage pipe, no lifeline or standby diver, scuba gear minus straps, he was holding or dragging his air tank along the 36-inch-wide drainage pipe when he drowned. -
2005 5 31 Millasich David Scott USA On his 44th birthday, went spear fishing (solo) off Paseo del Mar, was found lying on the rocks by a passerby walking his dog. Rolled him over and the saw that he was bleeding from the right side of his chest. The diver managed to tell him that he had slipped and fallen on his own 7" diving knife. Apparently he had pulled it out himself. Died from the wound. Daily Breeze. -
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 4 24 Baker Patrick Allan Canada SCUBA Aged 33, drowned whilst retrieving golf balls at the Saint Andrew by the Lake golf course, Penticton, British Columbia. No other details. Reported by Outdoor News Wire -
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 2 3 Butel Russel Australia SCUBA Paraphrased from the press reports:- “The family of a commercial diver killed by a crocodile in the Northern Territory last week says he had extensive experience in Top End waters and was not foolhardy. Russel Butel, 55, was collecting live fish with his dive partner off the Coburg Peninsula on Thursday afternoon when he was killed by a salt-water crocodile. He was the second person taken by a crocodile in Northern Territory waters in less than a week. Mr Butel's family has released a statement saying he fell in love with the tropical waters of the Top End during a visit to Gove in the 1980s, prompting him and his partner to open a local dive shop. The family says Mr Butel's experience in Territory waters was extensive and he was not foolhardy regarding his safety and that of his crew�. ABC Regional on-line -
2005 0 0 Coursey Adam USA Crushed leg, DC? -
2005 0 0 Rig 'Gulfwind' Chile Jack Up incident off Chile, no details -
2005 0 0 rig 'Transocean VII' Jack Up, Sank or wrecked? -
2004 12 12 Fukai Naoyoshi Japan SCUBA A 48-year-old fisherman (diving for lobsters) was caught in the screw of a 1.2T fishing boat and died soon after off Ukishima beach in Nishina, Nishiizucho, Shizuoka Prefecture. Asia Africa Intelligence Wire. No details, not sure whether this was a sports dive (Not included in professional 'count' TC) -
2004 11 5 Not Recorded USA Killed in a lift boat propeller accident -
2004 10 6 UK Diver UKCS Prosecuted by the HSE, forged HSE part II, 12 month custodial sentence. -
2004 9 15 Hurricane Ivan USA Hurricane Ivan passed through the Gulf of Mexico as a category 4 storm, with waves and winds which matched or exceeded the 100-year design criteria of many installations. A weather buoy near the Ensco 64 measured 83 foot waves. The final toll of offshore rigs exacted by Ivan was seven platforms destroyed, six with major damage, five drilling rigs with major damage, including the Ensco 64. Oil Rig Disasters -
2004 9 15 Medusa Spar USA Built to operate in deep water, the Medusa Spar is located in 678m of water in the Gulf of Mexico and was capable of handling 40,000 barrels of crude per day. Prior to Hurricane Ivan, a Nabors Industries workover rig had been installed on the platform. This rig was toppled during Ivan, sustaining extensive damage and causing some minor topside damage to the Medusa Spar. The workover rig was to be removed and the damage repaired in autumn 2004 -
2004 8 20 Rig 'Jim Cunningham' Egypt Semi Sub, Blow -
2004 8 10 Rig 'Adriatic IV' Egypt Jack Up drilling in the Med. Blowout. Subsequent fire destroyed the rig and the Temsah platform -
2004 7 31 Benton Liston Darren USA Aged 37, former Navy diver and Gulf War veteran. Greenville County pond (private pond near Jones Gap State Park) Trying to move a bucket clogging a drain , when brought to the surface, he was wearing everything but his mask and all his equipment was intact. Reported that as he removed the drain plug to empty the pond his arm was pulled into the outlet, trapping him. Emergency services called within 10 minutes (By his wife, he was diving solo). The Greenville County dive team found him a short time later, but it took more than a dozen men to pull him free of the suction holding him in place. He was pronounced dead a short time later. Reported by WIS -
2004 7 11 Beek Raymond van Malta 3 Freeport of Berzebbugia, conducting a video survey of hull of vessel "Verlaine", bow thruster started, Master & Chief engineer charged with involuntary homicide, prosecution failed on lack of proof, March 2007. Two other divers were reported injured in the same incident -
2004 7 11 Not Recorded Malta 3 Freeport of Berzebbugia, Raymond van Beek was killed whilst conducting a video survey of hull of vessel "Verlaine", bow thruster started, Master & Chief engineer charged with involuntary homicide, prosecution failed on lack of proof, March 2007. Two other divers were reported injured in the same incident and were taken to St Luke's hospital for treatement but were never mentioned in subsequent reports. -
2004 7 10 Davidson Robert New Zealand SCUBA Aged 35, recreational diver with 20 years experience, failed to surface from a solo crayfish collecting dive, death attributed to asphyxiation due to high carbon monoxide content in his cylinders -
2004 5 14 Not Recorded Venezuela Diver drowned in lake Maracaibo -
2004 4 25 DSV 'Ocean Winsertor' Indonesia Topsides In transit from East Timor to Singapore, off Lingga Island, 12 armed pirates boarded the DSV and robbed the crew at gun point. No deaths, minor injuries. Reported in the Sydney Morning Herald. -
2004 4 23 Buttrey Curtis USA 18 SCUBA American, aged 41, Contract diver working for the St Paul Regional Water Services, in Vadnais lake, cleaning water plant intake filter, at end of dive he and his partner left the job site but he failed to surface, apparently got caught in some weeds and cables. His body was recovered about three hours later. Drowned. No explanation. Reported in Star Tribune (MN) -
2004 4 16 Yusof Kadis Singapore Described as a freelance commercial diver who carried on diving after an underwater welding accident in 2003 left him with a burnt face, 'failed to surface after fixing tanker'. No other details. Straits Times -
2004 3 15 Bennett John Korea 45 SCUBA Trimix salvage operation -
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 2 16 Kowalski Kamierz Canada SCUBA Aged 44, harvesting geoducks at Eppers Passage, near Morfee Island (Close to Tofino on the West Coast of Vancouver Island), rescued from the water by the coastguard, died in Tofino hospital, reported as heart attack. Reported by Vancouver Sun and the Committee to Abolish Sport Hunting -
2004 2 2 Elof Dr Paul South Africa Chamber Dr. Paul Elof, 76, died when his (home made?) DDC exploded during self administered hyperbaric oxygen therapy, his brother, Gerhard aged 65, was standing close by and also killed. -
2004 0 0 Frigg Field During decommissioning of the Frigg field remains of munitions (Allegedly WWII mines) were seen during the “as left survey�, obviously inert/corroded but philosophically interesting that for 30 years a significant proportion of the UK gas was produced through a facility sitting on top of a 'bomb' -
2004 0 0 Not Recorded Saturation Release of gas from pipeline (gel barrier), diver skin burns, bell contamination (condensate?) (See IMCA SF 01/04) -
2004 0 0 Not Recorded 11 S/S Air Diver bruising plus damaged helmet during concrete mattress installation (See IMCA SF 04/04) -
2004 0 0 Not Recorded Deck Diver serious head injury working on deck (See IMCA SF 10/04) -
2003 12 23 Wiggins Neil UK Neil 'Wiggy' Wiggins died on 23 Dec at the age of 47. Paraphrased from MCDOA article:- "Neil joined the Royal Navy in 1972 at the age of 15 as a trainee electrical engineer. He qualified as an engineer but decided on a change of direction in 1977 to pursue a career as a Navy Clearance Diver. One of his first postings was to the Naval base at Rosyth where he was a member of the bomb disposal team. He returned to Portsmouth to complete the Leading Diver’s course at HMS Vernon, subsequently joining the saturation diving team (1981) which involved experimental deep diving and various diving trials. He joined Naval Party 1007 on board MV Seaforth Clansman where he was a member of the diving team that was responsible for the recovery of the navy’s first submarine, Holland One. A personal letter from the then Flag Officer Submarines, Admiral Herbert, read as follows: “His skill and leadership as the main dive team leader clearly provided inspiration to the other divers and he made a marked contribution.� Neil’s time served in the navy gave him a thorough grounding and the necessary discipline to pursue a successful career as a commercial saturation diver, working mainly in the North Sea with many of his old Navy team mates. Neil’s first contract was with the Aberdeen based diving company, Comex. It was in the summer of 1984 whilst working for Comex that he was called upon to carry out the heroic rescue of his colleague George Lawson who was rendered unconscious by an explosion during an underwater cutting operation (4th May 1984, Kingsnorth Explorer). Without a shadow of a doubt, Neil’s clear thinking, professionalism and determination saved George’s life. Neil was awarded the Frank Dearman award for bravery and a Queen’s Commendation. Neil’s calm and selfless bravery was again called upon in 1987 when he saved two hypothermic divers, Fred McNally and Kanute Monstra, from a stranded welding habitat. Again, Neil was recognised for his valour by being presented with the Silk Cut award for Nautical achievements -
2003 10 28 Anderson Michael R USA 11 S/S Air 33 year old, commercial fishing (sea cucumber harvesting), but though experienced SCUBA diver, inexperienced with surface supply, mask off, no fins, heavy weight belt, recovered to surface but no response, drowned. Reported to have gone without air for 5 to 10 minutes Alaska Digest -
2003 10 24 Harrison USA 70 miles south of New Orleans, three men, the diver, his son (tender) and boatman, in a boat working on a pipeline attaching a clamp when there was an explosion. The two men in the boat suffered serious burn injuries, the diver's body was recovered two days later. Probably live leak repair. No real details. Kansas City star. -
2003 10 22 Watson Christina Mae Australia SCUBA American, aged 26, on her honeymoon, dive on the SS Yongala, off Queensland. Allegedly murdered (Turned her air off) by her husband, David Gabriel Watson, In June 2009, he was convicted of manslaughter in a Queensland court over the death of his wife who died while diving in his company on the Great Barrier Reef in October 2003. Tina Watson died after being seen, by other divers in the area, in a close underwater embrace with her husband. She sank to the seabed while he headed for the surface, having failed to attempt a buoyant lift, to inflate his wife’s BC independently, or dump her weight belt Tina Watson’s inert body was captured unwittingly on the sandy bottom by another diver taking underwater photographs. It was suspected that Watson had deliberately restricted his wife while turning off her air supply, and upon her loss of consciousness turned it on again before letting go of her. The motive was suspected to be an attempt to cash in on her life insurance policy. Watson’s story was that he had tried to help his wife when she experienced difficulty in breathing, had a panic attack and knocked out his regulator, and that he had elected to go to the surface in search of outside help. While his wife was an inexperienced diver, Watson was experienced and held a rescue-diver qualification. He was sentenced to four-and-a-half years in jail in Australia, to be suspended after 12 months. The lightness of the sentence caused an outcry, particularly since the manslaughter conviction came after a coroner’s report stating that there was a good case to charge Watson with murder. After appeal, the sentence it was ruled that Watson should serve 18 months rather than 12 in jail, extradited to Alabama in 2010 facing further legal action in the American courts -
2003 10 20 Patterson Paul H USA American, aged 29, Coffeen power Plant, Illinois, working on the circulating cooling water system, sucked into the cooling water inlet. One report went “A diver was killed while doing maintenance for a power plant in Illinois. The diver was preparing to do routine maintenance at an Ameren generating facility in Coffeen, Illinois, when he disappeared from a tether Monday morning. Rescue divers were called to the scene in Montgomery County, but the situation was so dangerous they were not permitted to enter the lake. Investigators believe the diver was drawn into one of the two major intakes of the power plant, where he was killed. His remains have been identified�. The power company was fined $58, 500 after admitted directing the diver to wrong intake hatch, and it was ruled an accident. -
2003 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 1 25 Humphreys Tracy USA SCUBA Sports divers. Two men died while ice diving in a Lowden quarry, drowned, apparently after their tanks ran out of air as they searched for an opening in the ice. An investigator for the Cedar County medical examiner's office, said Thursday that Kevin Petersen, 31, and Tracy Humphreys, 30, were dropped off at Wendling Quarry Saturday. Their bodies were found Sunday morning, authorities said, with their air tanks empty. One man had PADI advanced open water and rescue level diver's certification but police could find no diver certification record for the other. The two had trespassed to dive in the quarry, which prohibits diving, authorities said. Authorities tested the rental equipment used by them and found the gear was working properly. The only problem was a hole in one pressure hose that would not likely have been the primary cause of the accident. Restrictors on either end of the hose prevent it from leaking air too quickly. Investigators found a rope tied to a tree hanging down into the water, but not tied to the divers. Quote:- "That would have been totally useless if they weren't tied to it, if you could find a rope in the water, you could see the hole anyway." Reported in the Cedar Rapids Gazette -
2003 1 25 Peterson Kevin USA SCUBA Sports divers. Two men died while ice diving in a Lowden quarry, drowned, apparently after their tanks ran out of air as they searched for an opening in the ice. An investigator for the Cedar County medical examiner's office, said Thursday that Kevin Petersen, 31, and Tracy Humphreys, 30, were dropped off at Wendling Quarry Saturday. Their bodies were found Sunday morning, authorities said, with their air tanks empty. One man had PADI advanced open water and rescue level diver's certification but police could find no diver certification record for the other. The two had trespassed to dive in the quarry, which prohibits diving, authorities said. Authorities tested the rental equipment used by them and found the gear was working properly. The only problem was a hole in one pressure hose that would not likely have been the primary cause of the accident. Restrictors on either end of the hose prevent it from leaking air too quickly. Investigators found a rope tied to a tree hanging down into the water, but not tied to the divers. Quote:- "That would have been totally useless if they weren't tied to it, if you could find a rope in the water, you could see the hole anyway." Reported in the Cedar Rapids Gazette -
2003 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 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 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 14 Fedin Sergy USSR Topsides Village of Slavyanka, Diving compressor operator, cylinder failed during pumping operations, lost one leg, other severely injured. Undersea Review -
2002 10 4 Not Recorded Norway Aged 27, Scallop diver off Froya -
2002 10 2 Hurricane Lili USA Topsides A late season hurricane in early October 2002, Lili peaked as a Category 4 in the Gulf of Mexico but rapidly weakened as it approached the Louisiana coastline. A BP spokesman reported that offshore platform sensors recorded 150 mph winds and 50-foot swells. The final toll for Hurricane Lili was 6 platforms destroyed, 31 seriously damaged, 4 MODUs were broken from their moorings and set adrift, including the Ocean Lexington, 2 jack-ups capsized. Oil Rig Disasters -
2002 10 2 Rig 'Nabors Dolphin 105' USA Jack Up, sank, Hurricane Lili -
2002 10 2 Rig 'Rowan Houston' USA Prior to hurricane Lili, the jack-up was drilling for Anadarko Petroleum adjacent to a production platform in Ship Shoal Block 207. It was evacuated 2 days prior to Lili's passage over the Gulf, standing with the hull pre-loaded and jacked-up 63 feet above the water. After the hurricane, the rig's severed legs were found leaning over on location, and the sunken hull was found resting on the seabed approximately 1600 feet north-west. Initial reports speculated that the Rowan Houston had been toppled after a collision with the drifting MODU Ocean Lexington, but this was later proved not to be the case. Inspection revealed that the starboard leg had initiated the collapse, with possible failure of the gear train-deck connection of the starboard leg during the hurricane. As the hull fell towards the water, the substructure and derrick may have impacted the starboard leg, causing the observed impact damage. The hull then drifted off and sank approximately 1600 feet north-west of its pre-storm location. The rig was subsequently salvaged by SMIT. Oil Rig Disasters