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Incidents List

  1. Year Month Day Surname Forenames Location Contractor Client Depth Type of Diving Details
  2. 2012 4 14 Hampton Jarrod Arthur Australia Paspaley Pearls SCUBA Aged 22 from Brighton, Victoria, one of a six man commercial diving team wild pearling off 80 mile beach, 160 km south of Broome. Came to the surface 'distressed' and died at the scene. 8 hour vessel transit to Broome, investigation ongoing.
  3. 2012 3 31 Kay Marson Ashly USA Karst Underwater Research 54 SCUBA Aged 29, volunteer diver, one of a six man team from Karst Underwater Research (A not-for-profit organisation that maps and measures flow and water quality of underwater springs for state agencies and water management districts in Florida), diving with three others at the Weeki Wachee Springs State Park. The group had descended to about 180' and as they ascended he took a different route and became wedged, possibly trapped by water flow (at about 100' depth), the team members tried but failed to release him. Rescue divers got to him in under three minutes from leaving the surface when the first group surfaced and raised the alarm, but found him dead with his regulator out and mask pushed onto his forehead. Body brought to the surface an hour later. The Ledger.com. The autopsy concluded death was caused by an air embolism (specifically, that an air bubble had lodged in his heart and blocked the blood supply to the lungs) and the medical examiner ruled it as an accidental death. Karst U/W research quoted as saying "Instead of following the ropes as he had done multiple times in the past, Marson rapidly moved into a restrictive area of the crevasse. It is believed that this behaviour was not calculated but a reaction caused by the affect of an air embolism he incurred while rapidly ascending from depth. Typically, this condition causes profound changes in mental functioning, including disoriientation, blindness, paralysis, seizures and loss of consciousness within minutes or even seconds of onset. If it occurs after surfacing, it is often fatal or profoundly disabling even with prompt recompression therapy. When it occurs underwater, the incapacity or unconsciousness it causes almost always results in drowning". Hernando Today. This fatality has not been included as a commercial diving fatality as this seems to be a weekend cave diving group using 'research' as a means of gaining access to cave systems that might otherwise be off-limits (TC).
  4. 2012 3 22 Driifingr Ethan Nigeria DSIT SCUBA Israeli, aged 31, initially reported as installing a diver detection sonar system 'Aquashield' (Built in Israel, owned by an American corporaton, aimed at detecting swimmers, divers, diver delivery vehicles etc) in Lagos harbour and that he failed to surface, body recovered the day after, reported as drowned. Later reports say that he was involved in ship's husbandry (hull cleaning) and 'knocked his head under the hull and died' and that the body was found floating nearby. No confirmed details, Nigerian authorities were disuaded from doing an autopsy after intervention from the Israeli consulate and ZAKA (Autopsy is forbidden under Jewish law unless the procedure is deemed by a rabbinical expert to be 'specifically of life saving value'). Nigerian/Israeli News
  5. 2012 3 19 Freigeiro Choucino Marcos Spain UCS, Algeceiras 20 SCUBA Spanish aged 28, Hull cleaning operation at the alpha anchotage in Port of Algerceiras on the container ship "Lica Maersk" (Launched 2001, 266 metres long, 37 metre beam, draft 21 metres, capacity 3,600 TEU), brush became detached, dragged the diver to seabed at 100m, body not located. Longstreath/GPS Buceo
  6. 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
  7. 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
  8. 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
  9. 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.
  10. 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
  11. 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
  12. 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
  13. 2012 2 23 Cappanera Daniele Italy 41 South Energy SCUBA Aged 41, doing maintenance work on an experimental tidal measurement buoy a mile offshore from Punta Righini (Castiglioncello, Livorno). Saw his colleague (Francis Vezzani) motionless on the seabed (at 'several 10s of metres deep') and went down to recover him, brought to the surface but colleague was pronounced dead when they reached port. Daniele Cappanera was taken to Pisa hyperbaric centre for treatment (suspected DCI). La Republica
  14. 2012 2 23 Vezzani Francis Italy 40 South Energy SCUBA Aged 38, doing maintenance work on an experimental wave measurement buoy a mile offshore from Punta Righini (Castiglioncello, Livorno). Seen motionless on the seabed (at 'several 10s of metres deep') by his colleague (Daniele Cappanera) and brought to the surface but was pronounced dead when they reached port. Daniele Cappanera was taken to Pisa hyperbaric centre for treatment (suspected DCI). La Republica
  15. 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.
  16. 2012 1 11 Hentze Jakun Andrias Faroes SJH Diving 2 SCUBA Aged 44, repair programme on the SHEFA-2 (SHEtland - FAroes fibre optic communication) cable of Nolsoy island. Was found in shallow water with his mask off and empty cylinder. No other details. Reported by SIBC, Dimma,fo, sandportal.fo
  17. 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?)
  18. 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
  19. 2012 1 2 Voiles David USA Golf ball diver 3 SCUBA Aged 43, Staff Sergeant in the Florida National Guard, ex 53rd infantry, Purple Heart, Army Commendation Medal, part time work retrieving golf balls at the Sherman Hills Golf Club, Brooksville. Disappeared, noticed only when his golf buggy was found unattended. His body was recovered by SAR divers the day after. Reported that the SAR diver found a nylon bag containing around 500 golf balls (Later weighed - in air - at 85 pounds weight) attached to a rope. He followed the rope and found the diver face down on the botton in 8 feet of water. His regulator was entangled in the line and pulled behind his back out of reach, mask still in place, single tank, gloves, wet suit, fins, knife hanging from his harness. Daily Mail
  20. 2011 12 20 Schock Timothy USA Police SCUBA Aged 41, Chesapeake police dive team training, taking part in a team underwater search and rescue exercise at Oak Grove Lale Park. Buoyancy vest inoperable (fault with inflation button prior to dive, during dive the inflation button fell apart so that vest flooded/would not inflate) surfaced and told his partner that he could not breath, during surface swim to shore slipped away from partner's grasp and sank, recovered by a resue diver but did not respond to emergency treatment. Had been a police officer for 16 years, in the dive team for 8, ex-marine, competitive cyclist. Investigation concluded that there was no stand-by/cover boat immediately available nor emergency responders. Accident initiated by failed buoyancy compensator and compounded by jammed weight belt release (Subsequent testing of the weight releases on the other 12 divers demonstrated that they all failed to release properly). Death ruled as an accident due to to drowning though the medical examiner stated that he had an enlarged heart that contributed to his death. Investigation also concluded equipment should have been serviced by a trained technician "Dive team members lacked the expertise". Post accident, team required to do 'buddy' checks, officers not allowed to dive if equipment is not fully functional. Chesapeake News
  21. 2011 10 17 Charles Rondell Trinidad Underwater Works Inc 5 SCUBA Aged 21, collecting seabed environmental samples from Port Lisa Harbour (Adjacent to the Methanex methanol plant on the Couva Industrial Estate), surfaced in distress at the end of his dive, took off tank but was still wearing weight belt. Slipped under water and failed to surface. Body recovered miles to the south three days later, No real details, waiting on reports. Trinidad Express.
  22. 2011 10 15 Eger Wolgang Austria Police and Fireman 1 SCUBA Aged 43, based in Orth (Lower Austria, on the Danube), experienced diver and diving instructor, two divers in a boat tending the free swimming diver just below the surface during a routine 'flow swimming' exercise. Went motionless in the water, was immediately pulled out and given CPR but did not respond. No water in the lungs, posible heart attack (Waiting on autopsy results) DiePresse.com
  23. 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
  24. 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
  25. 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
  26. 2011 9 1 Bentabet Khaled "Ben" France Police diver 12 SCUBA Aged 44, experienced police diver with the Coastal and River Section, part of a team searching a 2.7 kilometre tunnel section of the 10 metre diameter EDF canal between the river Durance and Mees for a handgun, 20 minutes into the dive lost buddy line to partner, disappeared. Body finally located a week later. May have been sucked into a side tunnel. Married with a 7 year old son. Reported by ALPES1, Provence, etc.
  27. 2011 8 22 Soto Luis Enriques Cabrales Mexico SCUBA Aged 30 from Guaymas, living in El Desemboque (Caborca), clam diver 'decompression illness'. La Policiaca
  28. 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
  29. 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
  30. 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
  31. 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
  32. 2011 6 28 Not Recorded UK Mylor Marine Maintenance SCUBA Falmouth contractor fined £10,000 with costs of £2,000 after admitting breaching r.6(2)(a), 6(3)(a), 6(3)(b) and 6(3)(d) of the Diving at Work Regulations 1997. The prosecution arose from a spot inspection by HSE at underwater maintenance work on moorings in the St Mawes area of the Falmouth estuary during which an inspector observed breaches of the regulations. ‘The dive was being carried out without essential equipment, using only one cylinder of breathing gas, when a secondary supply is mandatory, and the diver only had a mouthpiece demand valve when a full face mask was required. There was no standby diver, a lifeline or a line for voice communications with the diver who was only qualified to carry out recreational dives, not commercial ones. The diver did not possess a valid certificate to prove his medical fitness to dive. He was diving without the benefit of a plan for the work being carried out, which should have included a risk assessment and a project plan.’ Reported in Safety News UK
  33. 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)
  34. 2011 6 7 Garrido David Mato Portugal Marcor Xove SRL SCUBA Aged 30, Acuinova Fish Farm in the town of Myra, Coimbra, Portugal. Working for a Spanish Company. Sucked up a cleaning water inlet pipe. Body recovered an hour later by firemen. Reported by GPS Buceo
  35. 2011 5 24 Barbieto Jeffrey USA Grove Farm Fish Poi / Hukilau Food SCUBA Aged 41, Honolulu Fire Department Firefighter and part time commercial diver working at a fish farm 2 miles offshore Pearl Harbour. US Navy vessel 'Salvor' responded to a 2:30 pm emergency call and was on site in 5 minutes. The diver was given hyperbaric treatment onboard before being transferred onshore to the Pali Momi Medical Centre where he was declared deceased. Honolulu medical Examiner's office confirmed the cause of death as accidental drowning. 6 months later HIOSH proposed $50,000 penalties against Hukilau foods on the grounds that the death was preventable and that equipment and procedures were inadequate. 19 citations: 1 Failure to prohibit a dive team member from diving during the period that the diver was sufficiently impaired as to adversely affect his/her safety and health. 2 Failure to develop and maintain a safety practices manual, which shall be made available at the dive location to each dive team member. 3 Failure to inquire into the dive team member’s current state of physical fitness prior to each assignment and failure to indicate to each dive team member the procedure for reporting physical problems or adverse physiological effects during and after the dive. 4 Failure to provide a means for exiting the water that extends below the water surface and a means for assisting an injured diver from the water. 5 Failure to provide decompression, repetitive, and no-decompression tables at the dive site. 6 Failure to maintain a depth-time profile, including when appropriate, any breathing gas changes for each diver during the dive including decompression. 7 Failure to check the physical condition of the diver after each dive, including instructing the diver to report any physical problems or adverse physiological effects as well as the location of a decompression chamber which is ready for use. 8 Failure to provide a decompression chamber capable of recompressing the diver at the surface to a minimum of 165 fsw (6 ATA) at the dive location. 9 Failure to limit SCUBA diving at depths deeper than 130 fsw. 10 Failure to limit SCUBA diving at depths deeper than 100 fsw, or outside the no-decompression limits, where no decompression chamber was ready for use. 11 Failure to provide a clean standby diver to assist a diver in the water at any time during the diving operation. 12 Failure to require a diver to be accompanied by another diver (buddy system), maintaining continuous visual contact during the diving operations, or alternatively, line tending from the surface. 13 Failure to provide a diver-carried reserve breathing gas supply for each diver consisting of a manual reserve (J valve) or an independent reserve cylinder. 14 Failure to provide every diver with a buoyancy compensator device, aka BCD and require the diver to use the BCD for SCUBA diving. 15 Failure to provide and maintain a list of emergency contact numbers for an operational decompression chamber, accessible hospitals, available physicians, available means of transportation and the nearest U.S. Coast Guard Rescue Coordination Center at the dive location. 16 Failure to record and maintain accurate dive logs as required by the HIOSH Standards. 17 Failure to record and maintain depth-time and breathing gas profiles, decompression table designation, and elapsed time since last pressure exposure if less than 24 hours or repetitive dive designation for each dive outside the no-decompression limits, deeper than 100 fsw. 18 Failure to maintain records for each dive in which decompression sickness was suspected or symptoms were evident. 19 Failure to maintain records for each equipment modification, repair, test, calibration or maintenance service. Reported in the Pacific Bulletin
  36. 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
  37. 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
  38. 2011 5 1 Makuch John USA Police diver SCUBA Aged 56, collapsed during a training exercise at Port Huron YMCA, 'massive Heart Attack', other team members (trained paramedics) were unable to save him. He had joined the St. Clair County Sherriff's Office dive team in 1991 and had worked his way up through the ranks to Assistant Chief. First recorded fatality since the team was founded in 1969. Reported in the Daily Tribune
  39. 2011 4 21 Catalan Hugo Amaliel Soto USA Erosion Barrier Installations 5 SCUBA Aged 23, employed out of Fort Lauderdale as one of a two man diving team surveying erosion on a man made lake at the Stoneybrook Golf and Country Club in Estero, surfaced and waved in distress but sank from sight before his partner onshore could reach him and could not be found in the murky water. His body was located 3 hours later by rescue divers. As the resue diver brought the body ashore they were followed by two snakes believed to be water moccasins (Shot and killed by shoreside deputies on alligator watch, one with a shotgun, the other an AR-15 rifle) His ditched gear was also recovered. 5 days after the death, Lee County Medical Examiner determined it was an accidental drowning. Reported in the Naples Valley News.
  40. 2011 3 28 Mayo Hector Luelmo Spain Military 35 SCUBA Aged 24, Soldier with the V Batallon de Intervention en Emergencias based in El Ferral de Bernesga, Leon. Diving exercise, lost contact with his 4 man group. His three companions were treated for decompression illness. Body recovered the next day. No details. Reported in GPS Buzeo
  41. 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
  42. 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
  43. 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
  44. 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.
  45. 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
  46. 2011 1 25 Castro Policcarpio UAE Amasco, Dubai SCUBA Personal Communication “A diver was killed carrying out a hullscrub on the offshore anchorage Fujairah – date of incident 25th Jan 2011. Filipino diver, one of four using brush carts, crushed on surfacing between dive boat and tanker 'Najm' (Maltese flag, Iranian National Oil Company) in rough seas� PC. Waiting on further details
  47. 2011 1 25 Rouxhet Olivier Belgium Fireman SCUBA Paraphrased from press reports:- Aged 39, a Civil Protection Force Fire Rescue FF/Diver was killed in the Line of Duty during the search for 2 children in the Meuse River. The 12 and 6 year old children had been missing since January 16 when the oldest girl jumped after her sister who fell into the water were swept away by the current of the river in the vicinity of the eastern city of Liège.. The crew-chief of the diving operation over the the previous days got into trouble going down in the man-made barrier (Sluice gate) complex on the river. He gave alarm signals by his security line, but the surface-crew couldn't free him. They immediately started a rescue operation but it was too late. He had been smashed to a pier of bridge by the flow and lost a part of his diving equipment, most importantly his breathing mask. A diver of the Liège Fire brigade was also injured bringing the unconscious diver to the surface. An medical crew start life saving measures but he died on the way to hospital. The diver was divorced and leaves a 7 year old daughter. Reported on Flanders News.
  48. 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
  49. 2011 1 17 Karsky Erkan Georgia Kuzeyin Marine SCUBA Paraphrased from press reports:- “Two Turkish scuba divers were been killed (Double fatality, Murad Oglu) in an underwater explosion working on the salvage of the sunken Ukrainian ship '�Skaldovski� that sank in 2008 during a storm outside the Georgian Black Sea oil-export port of Kulevi. Preliminary probe indicated that the explosion could have been caused by hydrogen accumulated inside the ship The two divers were supposed to use a welder to fix the ship. Representatives from Georgia Petroleum, the owners and operators of the terminal, ruled out the possibility that the leak-out of oil products had caused the underwater explosion saying that the reservoirs on the vessel were emptied.
This has been the second similar incident in Kulevi for recent months. In December 2010, a 25-year old diver was badly injured when working underwater.
  50. 2011 1 17 Oglu Murad Kara Georgia Kuzeyin Marine SCUBA Paraphrased from press reports:- “Two Turkish scuba divers were been killed (Double fatality, Erkan Karsky) in an underwater explosion working on the salvage of the sunken Ukrainian ship '�Skaldovski� that sank in 2008 during a storm outside the Georgian Black Sea oil-export port of Kulevi. Preliminary probe indicated that the explosion could have been caused by hydrogen accumulated inside the ship The two divers were supposed to use a welder to fix the ship. Representatives from Georgia Petroleum, the owners and operators of the terminal, ruled out the possibility that the leak-out of oil products had caused the underwater explosion saying that the reservoirs on the vessel were emptied.
This has been the second similar incident in Kulevi for recent months. In December 2010, a 25-year old diver was badly injured when working underwater.
  51. 2010 12 22 Busso Philippe Vietnam Tourist SCUBA French tourist diving off the island of Cu Lao Cau, double fatality (with Russian Alexander Nikolaev). Another diver reported being knocked unconscious by a powerful explosion, local police blamed poachers 'blast' fishing. Voice of Russia
  52. 2010 12 22 Nikolaev Alexander Vietnam Tourist SCUBA Russian tourist diving off the island of Cu Lao Cau, double fatality (with Frenchman Philippe Busso). Another diver reported being knocked unconscious by a powerful explosion, local police blamed poachers 'blast' fishing. Voice of Russia
  53. 2010 12 20 Bartolome 01 Juan Spain Albaladejo Fishfarm 0 SCUBA 34 Year old diver employed by a fish farm in San Pedro del Pinatar in Murcia, initially reported that he died after accidentally shooting himself in the chest with his own harpoon. It happened shortly before 9.30 on Monday morning when an emergency call came through that the diver was seriously injured when in the water and was being transferred by boat to the local port. All attempts to revive the man, both on board the boat and after reaching port, were however unsuccessful�. 'Accident in the worplace'. Reported by Typicallyspanish.com. See second report (Bartolome 02, below)
  54. 2010 12 20 Bartolome 02 Juan Spain Albaladejo Fishfarm 0 SCUBA 34 Year old diver employed by a fish farm in San Pedro del Pinatar in Murcia, initially reported that he died after accidentally shooting himself in the chest with his own harpoon. See first report (Bartolome 01, above). 15 months after his death, following investigation "Jaula 23", two co-workers were detained in connection with firing the harpoon that killed Juan Bartolome. They were subsequently charged with negligent homicide, despite initially claiming that the accident was caused by the victim himself and reported as an accident in the workplace. The two witnesses said at first that he had died by accident when putting on his diving equipment prior to entering the water, but their statements contained contradictions and contrasted with evidence found in the boat and the diving equipment and investigators soon began to suspect the two of homicide by negligence. Forensic and reconstructive investigation concluded that the harpoon had been fired from a distance and under the surface of the sea, presumably by accident, by one of the diver's companions. The case against IHV, aged 58 from San Pedro del Pinatar and JFMN, aged 37, from Murcia is being held at the Magistrates' court in San Javier. Case ongoing (April 2012). Murciatoday.com
  55. 2010 12 8 Agustin Mike Nicaragua Alberto Woo SCUBA Diving off the fishing Vessel 'Marco Polo' for Lobster, they lost his bubble trail, diver disappeared/failed to surface, presumed dead. A few days earlier, another fishing vessel sank, the Captain was never found but two crew members got ashore. The search for the missing diver and Captain was abandoned after 5 days. laprensa.com. No other details.
  56. 2010 12 8 Lightfoot, US Army Captain Juan E USA US Army SCUBA Capt. Juan E. Lightfoot, 34, died at Womack Army Medical Center four days after an accident during pre-SCUBA training. The former Marine who had arrived at the battalion in November, commanded a Special Forces detachment of Fort Bragg's 7th Special Forces Group. As the incident was under investigation, no details were available, including the place or nature of the accident and whether it took place in the water, said a spokesman for 7th Group. The training was intended to prepare soldiers to attend the Combat Divers Qualification Course held at the Special Forces Underwater Operations School in Key West, part of the John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School at Fort Bragg. Reported in the Fay Observer.
  57. 2010 12 2 White Danny Williams Nicaragua Pasenic SCUBA Aged 31, diving to retrieve two anchors from the fishing vessel “Lady Sylvia� owned by Pasenic (Nicaraguan Shellfish growers). Solo dive, 30 minutes into the dive was found by colleagues dead on the seabed between the two anchors. Medical examiner stated cause of death was a heart problem. Survived by wife, 3 year old son and 1 year old daughter. Had worked for Pasenic for 11 years. Reported by GPS Diving
  58. 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
  59. 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
  60. 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
  61. 2010 10 13 Muller Travis USA Ron Perrin Water Technologies 9 SCUBA Paraphrased from press reports:- “A 28 year old diver from Arlington died at about 09:45 this morning while working inside a nearly full City of Richmond municipal above ground water storage tank in Richmond this morning. The diver worked for a contractor who was performing routine (Two yearly silt removal) maintenance on the 500,000 gallon tank, which is about 50 feet tall and was three-quarters filled with water. The diver descended into the tank in SCUBA gear (09:15) and went to the bottom (09:18) was vacuuming the bottom of it to clean it. His partner who was outside the tank on the top noticed the diver's tether line became slack (09:28). He then also put on scuba gear and went into the tank to find what was wrong. He found the man unresponsive with his mask off but started having regulator problems and surfaced. The Richmond fire Department responded and recovered the diver’s body (10:50)". Declared dead. Houston Chronicle.
  62. 2010 9 27 Paillacar Victor Javier Chile Fisherman SCUBA Aged 24, scallop diver from the 'Luisa' 30 minutes transit out of Puerta Natales, brought ashore dead after what was described as a 'decompression problem'. No other details. Reported by Polar Radio
  63. 2010 9 24 Not Recorded Croatia Tourists SCUBA A SCUBA cylinder exploded as it was being loaded onto to a diving bost in the Port of Komiza killing a 48 year old Polish woman, three other people were injured and taken to hospital in Split where a 43 year old man who had received head injuries died overnight. They were part of a 12 person group of Polish tourists on a SCUBA diving holiday. AFP
  64. 2010 9 14 Barrett Mark D USA State Police 23 SCUBA Aged 41, Died during a training dive in Lake Anna, reported as deep diver training with 16 other members of the Virginia State Police search and recovery team, ascending, seen to have difficulty breathing, assisted to surface, CPR, taken to hospital but died. Reported as drowned. First fatality on the dive team since it was established in 1962. The Munz
  65. 2010 9 14 Rine Duane 'Charlie' USA Fisherman 3 SCUBA Aged 51, Long-time crew member on the 164' Herring boat 'Western Venture', pair trawling out of Gloucester, 150 miles offshore. Nets caught around rudder/propeller. Paraphrased report:- "He had dived on the boat before and was willing and able to clear the net from the rudders. Around 7:30 or 8 p.m. he got into the water, immediately cleared the port rudder, but the starboard rudder is more difficult. He was under for around 10 to 15 minutes, and when he surfaced had abandoned all of his dive gear (tank, weight belt, etc.). Conscious and shouting to the crew when he surfaced, but after they lifted him out of the water with the sling he quickly lost consciousness and stopped breathing. The crew of the boat performed CPR for over an hour. They failed to resuscitate him and with no help on the way stopped CPR after 9 p.m. As we drifted by their stern. I could see the crew carrying his body to shelter from the back deck. At 9:30 p.m. the captain of Western Venture told us that we had lost him. When the Venture was able to pick up her gear, they found all of his dive gear tangled in the net. That he became entangled in the net under the boat is a fact. The rest can only be speculated upon." Gloucester Daily Times
  66. 2010 9 9 Ispas Lt. Catalin Romania Hunter SRL 40 SCUBA Turkish cargo vessel 'Medy' sank six miles off Constanta breakwater on the 1st September 2010. Private diving contractor put 4 divers onboard an ARSVOM (Navy) vessel to do a pollution survey to establish a contingency plan. First team dived successfully, second team (Ispas and Zarafu) followed, but nether surfaced. Romanian authorities intervened to remove the 22 tons of fuel and about two tons of oil and hired in a specialist Turkish diving contractor. To reach fuel tanks and engine room of the wreck, divers made a hole in the hull and began emptying the fuel tanks. The body of Ispas was found inside the engine room on the 12th December (Drowned, but with 20 bar air pressure still in his cylinder). Attributed to Nitrogen Narcosis. Apparently entered the wreck without using a lifeline (Ispas worked for the Naval emergency services but worked also for the diving contractor, unclear if he was a qualified commercial diver, Zarrafu was a full time commercial diver. No DDC, no medical back-up. The body of Zarafu was recovered on the 23rd December. Reported by Jurnalul.ro
  67. 2010 9 9 Zarafu Cristian Romania Hunter SRL 40 SCUBA Turkish cargo vessel 'Medy' sank six miles off Constanta breakwater on the 1st September 2010. Private diving contractor put 4 divers onboard an ARSVOM (Navy) vessel to do a pollution survey to establish a contingency plan. First team dived successfully, second team (Ispas and Zarafu) followed, but nether surfaced. Romanian authorities intervened to remove the 22 tons of fuel and about two tons of oil and hired in a specialist Turkish diving contractor. To reach fuel tanks and engine room of the wreck, divers made a hole in the hull and began emptying the fuel tanks. The body of Ispas was found inside the engine room on the 12th December (Drowned, but with 20 bar air pressure still in his cylinder). Attributed to Nitrogen Narcosis. Apparently entered the wreck without using a lifeline (Ispas worked for the emergency services but worked also for the diving contractor, unclear if he was a qualified commercial diver, Zarrafu was a full time commercial diver. No DDC, no medical back-up. The body of Zarafu was recovered on the 23rd December. Reported by Jurnalul.ro
  68. 2010 8 17 Diaz Lt Mejia Honduras Navy SCUBA A Navy diver from Honduras today drowned while trying to salvage a narcotics plane from the Ulua River in Choloma Cortes in northern Honduras. Authorities reported that he and other colleagues had found the twin-engine craft and were preparing to salvage it when his safety rope was caught in the aircraft. Police seized 500 kilos of cocaine which they believe came to Honduras in the aircraft. Reported in Elheraldo.hn
  69. 2010 8 8 King Patrick Donald USA Forever Resorts 18 SCUBA Aged 30, killed in an accident while diving at Lake Nacimiento in the Bee Rock Cove area. His diving partner, aged 18, was injured and taken to U.C.L.A. Medical Center after initially being treated at the scene. The diver was pronounced dead at the lake after apparently attempting to salvage a sunken boat. According to sheriff's department officials, it appeared that a tether line that linked the divers became tangled in a separate line between the salvage boat and the sunken vessel. King ran low on air and was attempting to "buddy breathe" with Burgess when there may have been an equipment failure that caused Burgess to jettison his dive gear and began to surface from below 60 feet. Burgess was able to surface and call for help, The other diver later surfaced unconscious and was given CPR prior to paramedics declaring him dead at the scene, according to a press release. Both men worked for the resort company that runs the lake.
  70. 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.
  71. 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.
  72. 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
  73. 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.
  74. 2010 3 31 Casagrande Jean Christophe, known as 'Cox' Morocco Hydrokarst 53 SCUBA French (Albigensian) , aged 42, dive to recover a current metre at the site of the commercial freeport 'Tangier med 2000' at Ksar Sghir. Sub contract from SRPTM (Société Réalisation Port Tanger Méditerranée, a Saipem/Bougues company). Reported that his cylinders came to surface and he was found unconscious on the seabed, recovered to the surface by diver two, did not respond to treatment. Experienced diver, had been working with the same contractor since 2004. Engaged to be married. Ongoing investigation. PC plus Bladi.net and ladepeche.fr
  75. 2010 3 30 Han Warrant Officer Joo-Ho South Korea South Korean Navy 24 SCUBA Aged 53, a member of one of the underwater demolition teams attempting to rescue potential trapped survivors in the hull of the 1,200 tonnes Naval vessel “Cheonan� (Sank late 26th after an explosion split her in two 105 miles from the west coast port of Incheon just south of the disputed border line, 58 crew rescued, 46 missing). Reported as becoming unconscious in the water after a dive to 24 metres, brought up and transferred to a nearby US Navy hospital ship 'Salvo', but died. He joined the Navy in 1975 when he was 18, survived by his wife and two children. A South Korean fishing boat that participated in the search operation went into missing 01/04/2010, killing two people and leaving seven others missing. AP Later reports that the Cheonan was sunk by a torpedo. Strategy World, Los Angeles times, Telegraph etc
  76. 2010 3 30 Not Recorded South Korea South Korean Navy 24 SCUBA Two members of the 170 divers in the underwater demolition teams injured attempting to rescue potential trapped survivors in the hull of the 1,200 tonnes Naval vessel “Cheonan� (Sank late 26th after an explosion split her in two 105 miles from the west coast port of Incheon just south of the disputed border line, 58 crew rescued, 46 missing). Reported as being hospitalised on the same day as a colleague, warrant officer Joo-Ho Han, died. AP. Later reported that the Cheonan was sunk by a mine or torpedo.
  77. 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
  78. 2010 3 2 Dongwoon Kim Philippines Conclinic SCUBA Aged 34, Korean, Doosan Heavy Industries, working as the site manager at a power plant in Cebu (Not employed as a diver, expired work permit and visa). Apparently he 'insisted on fixing a a leak in the cooling water pump area himself' 'with the pump running'. Quote from colleague:- 'When we tested the pump (with the diver still in the water...) he was probably taken by the vacuum to the water pond which is really deep, he must have lost his oxygen in his tank and drowned'. After 15 minutes and he had not surfaced, the crew started to get worried and stopped the pump to carry out a search. Body recovered and taken to hospital but declared dead on arrival. ABS CBN News
  79. 2010 2 16 Woodle PO Ronald Tyler USA US SEAL SCUBA Known as Tyler, Aged 26, Enlisted in 2007, Special warfare operator 2nd class (SEAL) died during a diver training exercise near Key West. Found unconscious in the water, failed to respond to treatment. Citizen times
  80. 2010 1 6 Bonifacio Petty Officer 3 Armand Philippines Coastguard 68 SCUBA Aged 42, 18 year veteran Coastguard diver working on recovering bodies from the wreck of the MV Catalyn B which sank off Limbones Island (Cavite Province). Volunteered to dive to about 221 feet, as another PCG colleague was unavailable. On the first of three scheduled dives for the day, Bonifacio, along with his dive buddy, retrieved a woman’s body. On their second attempt, the two reached the ship’s wreckage again. On their ascent, however, diver felt Bonifacio shake his hand at about 170 feet deep, a signal that he was not feeling well. Bonifacio reportedly increased his ascension speed, which was against basic diving safety rules. “He wanted to speed up his ascent, which would put him more in a very compromising situation. He was held back although his buddy assisted him in breathing in air)," SOG diving team head Lt. Commander said in a GMA News’ 24 Oras report. At around 140 feet, Bonifacio lost consciousness. He was resurfaced and brought to a decompression chamber for first aid. Inside the chamber, things went well as Bonifacio regained consciousness and was reportedly still able to follow orders. Two hours later, Bonifacio succumbed to cardiac arrest and was pronounced dead on arrival at the Jose Reyes Memorial Medical Center. In an ABS-CBN newscast, Bonifacio’s grieving wife rues the death of her husband, who had been in the service for 18 years and was already looking forward to retirement. “I wanted to stop him, as he was getting weak physically," the wife was quoted as saying. Bonifacio had been an integral member of the SOG diving team, had been trained by the Philippine Navy and the Japan International Cooperation Agency. He participated in the relief operation for the typhoons Ondoy and Pepeng, which hit the country in 2009. He was also part of the rescue operation for MV Princess of Stars, which sank in Romblon in 2008, where 300 of the 800 passengers remain missing. “We checked the equipment. It’s not the equipment," but a PCG spokesperson admitted in the newscast that government divers do not have the required gas mixture for deep-sea diving. GMA News
  81. 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
  82. 2009 11 3 Johnson Michael USA US Aqua Vac Inc SCUBA Aged 45, specialist lake and pond clearing contractor working at the Baxter health Care campus where there are a string of retention ponds. Diver got into difficulty, a co-worker went in to aid him (hospitalised with hypothermia) but unable to pull him out. Recovered from the pond bottom 45 minutes later by fire department rescue divers, helicopter to hospital but pronounced dead. "Air hose had broken",. Chicago Daily Herald
  83. 2009 10 15 Woriki Johnson Nigeria Nigerian Navy diver SCUBA Paraphrased from reports:- “A Naval rating on board the new Navy gunship, NNS Zaria, stationed at the Escravos river in Warri South-West local government area of Delta State got drowned in the sea trying to recover the detached anchor of the gunship last Thursday. Informed sources told Vanguard that the rating, from Rivers State, was a diver and was well kitted before taking the plunge into the sea in a bid to retrieve the detached anchor of the new gunship and never surfaced again. His corpse only came afloat Saturday morning and was brought to the Warri Central Hospital morgue where his brother and some relations were on hand planning to take the body for burial immediately since he is a young man. Hospital sources confirmed the incident, just as security operatives kept mum. However, some officers were heard grumbling over why a "so-called new gunship would lose its anchor in so short a time," and also “bemoaning the untimely death of their fallen colleague�. Vanguard.
  84. 2009 10 6 York Jamie Canada ODS Marine 4 SCUBA Paraphrased from press reports. “Canadian, from Ottawa, aged 35, contracted by Parks Canada to carry out cleaning operations along the Trent waterway drowned following the accident on Dam 1 at Trenton's north end despite dramatic attempts to rescue him. Initial reports indicated the diver became trapped while removing logs in four metres of water. He said the ministry dispatched their own divers to the scene in order to help with the rescue attempt. At one point one of the ministry divers supplied air to the trapped man. Fellow dive team members called for help at about 9:20 am when the diver did not surface. At that point, reports to rescue officials said, he'd been down for five minutes without contact from the surface. It would be more than two hours before his body was recovered and resuscitation efforts would be called off.� The Belleville Intelligencer. Parks Canada later disbanded their part-time in-house dive team ('having reviewed their insurance') even though they had a 100 year safe diving record and the diver that died was working for a diving contractor. Court case in 2011 The trial was told that he was diving from a pontoon boat positioned near the dam when he reported that a “stop log,� the device used to control water flow, was not sitting properly. He told the support crew aboard the boat that the water was “ripping� through the gap. He was told to try to get a closer view of the stop log, but was sucked by the current into the gap. A crew from the Quinte West Fire Department used underwater cameras to find York’s body and was able to free him, but he was pronounced dead at Trenton Memorial Hospital. A post-mortem found York had died from chest compression while he was trapped. A Ministry of Labour investigation found that the pontoon boat had been positioned in such a way that York’s umbilical cord to the surface had been sucked into the gap by the current, pulling the diver in with it. The Ministry found that the dive should have been stopped as soon as York reported the gap. Contractor was fined $100,000 and also ordered to pay a 25-per-cent victim surcharge to assist victims of crime. The diving supervisor was personnaly fined $8,000 for failing to ensure the diver was provided with safe working conditions, protection, measures and procedures (Specifically the diving supervisor "shall ensure that diving is not conducted in hazardous water flow conditions" The Ottawa Citizen/Belleville Intelligencer
  85. 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.
  86. 2009 9 18 Chia Gerald Singapore J Diving Services 20 SCUBA Paraphrased from the news report “1st time working for company, 2nd diving assignment for firm, 3rd day on the job, Diver drowns. 21-year-old diver's body found after two days. His badly decomposed body, missing off Western Singapore for two days, bobbed to the surface on Sunday evening; air tank taken by police for probe. In between running his own scuba diving firm, known as Jet Scuba, Mr Chia did freelance work for commercial diving companies. Relatives identified him through the tattoos on his body. The body of Mr Gerald Chia Jia Jie, 21, was found near the oil rig he had been working on, still clad in dark-blue work overalls and with his gas tank and face mask still in place. A Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) boat, part of the search operations that had been under way for more than 50 hours, spotted the body at about 6pm. When Mr Chia went missing at around noon last Friday, he was on only his second assignment underwater for J Diving Services. He had started freelancing for the company only two days before that. He was carrying out installation works on the oil rig berthed in the Jurong West Anchorage at the time, 'his job was to install shackles on the rig, a relatively simple task', said the diving supervisor. 'Seasoned divers would take 15 minutes to do it, and newcomers, half an hour at the most', he added. Mr Chia had gone underwater, about 20m down, with a more experienced partner, as is the practice in the industry. The pair were supposed to surface together, but his buddy told his colleagues later that Mr Chia needed to share oxygen (it was air, simple SCUBA operation, TC) with him, although it was not clear why. Mr Chia took two breaths of air before ascending to the surface. The supervisor said Mr Chia's buddy followed him up, but lost sight of him and started searching for him without success. Friends said Mr Chia, who studied marketing at the Management Development Institute of Singapore, took up leisure diving only a few years ago, but quickly became a qualified dive instructor.� Reported in the Straits Times (Note. Reports, if accurate!! indicate basic sports SCUBA gear (half mask not full face) and only PADI qualified whilst Singapore regulations (TA/WSH) for use of SCUBA at work require minimum full face mask, life line, surface communications, locator beacon and professional qualifications, but this is only speculation pending official reports TC)
  87. 2009 9 5 Renner Robert “Robbie� USA J. H. Reid SCUBA Aged 42. Paraphrased from initial press reports:- “State police have recovered the body of a SCUBA diver who disappeared while looking for some missing construction equipment in a Monmouth County river. Robert Renner was part of a (Dock builder) crew that's constructing a 65-foot fixed span bridge to replace the aging Highlands-Sea Bright Bridge, but was off duty when he entered the Shrewsbury River on Saturday. He was trying to recover a jack that had fallen from the bridge earlier in the week. Diving solo from a 20' flat bottomed boat, went in with a downline tied to his arm. The rope came loose and he failed to resurface, the two people who were with him in a boat notified authorities shortly before noon. His body was recovered about six hours later. Officials say the area where Renner was diving is filled with debris and known for swift currents, and rescuers had to wait a few hours until they could safely enter the water. The cause of death was not immediately known.� Reported in the Star Ledger, NJ.com.. (OK, Not strictly “at work� so not included in the 'count', a weekend dive, unasked, just trying to do his boss a favour, but included here as a tragic example of why we have commercial standards. TC)
  88. 2009 9 2 Guerro Giovanni Ecuador Inepaca SCUBA Aged 37, Wife and two daughters, Died in a diving accident onboard the fishing vessel 'King'. Had worked 8 years as a diver for the company, had been onboard two months. Family informed but vessel would not be back in port for another 4 days. No details. Eldiario.ec
  89. 2009 8 28 Gillies Alasdair UK Eilean Glas Salmon Ltd 15 SCUBA ver to go down with him, but he was on leave the day of the accident, and there was no-one else equipped to go to the diver’s assistance. The contractor admitted that while operating as diving contractors in the loch to clean out dead fish from cage nets, carry out maintenance work, and install a predator net, it failed to issue diving rules or lay down emergency procedures. It also admitted failing to appoint a diving supervisor; failure to provide a logbook; and failing to ensure that the divers employed had their personal logbooks signed daily by a supervisor, failing to test and examine Scuba air cylinders to ensure they were safe for diving; to control access to diving equipment in a store; and to prepare a written health and safety policy for employees. Contractor fined ₤1,000.
  90. 2009 8 16 Amor Murray Australia South West Rocks Dive Centre SCUBA Aged 62, lost a hand and leg when a cylinder being charged exploded. Paraphrased from official reports “A SCUBA cylinder ruptured causing serious injuries to the person who was filling the cylinder. The cylinder was an 88 cu ft aluminium manufactured to Australian Standard by CIG in 1983/84 and was in current test. The cylinder had a working pressure (WP) 224 bar (3248.84 psi) and a test pressure (TP) 352 bar (5105.328 psi). A number of SCUBA cylinders that had been filled during the same time were checked and were gauged at 220 bars (3190.83 psi). The compressor had a blow off (safety valve) fitted and set at 285-290 bars (4133.575 – 4206 psi) which was tested during the investigation and blew at 282.68 bar (4100psi) on the compressor gauge. The investigators concluded that the cylinder could be over filled by a person not taking notice of the pressure showing on the fill panel gauge, however this pressure is below the test pressure of this cylinder, and based on the fact that 10 other cylinders in this same group of cylinders all showed a pressure of 220 bars (3190.83 psi) there was no reason to believe that this cylinder was in fact over filled. The cylinder when it ruptured exploded into 4 pieces and the valve. In 2 of the pieces there was evidence of cracks through the neck and threaded area of the cylinder. The investigators noted that there were records available showing a number of aluminium cylinders manufactured world wide prior to 1990 from 6351-T6 alloys that have ruptured, in some cases with serious consequences. workcover.nsw.gov.au, dol.govt.nz
  91. 2009 7 6 Brown Darren UK Shell Seekers SCUBA Aged 41, Gathering scallops in Lulworth cove. Diving solo from a RIB with a boat handler who was collecting the scallops in bags marked by surface buoys . She raised the alarm when she came to the last marker buoy and the diver was missing. Three Coastguard teams scoured the shoreline, Weymouth inshore and all weather RNLI lifeboats and Coastguard helicopter searched at sea joined by RN mine hunter HMS Middleton (on exercise in the area) but it was a safety boat from the Army's Lulworth range which found him three hours later, swimming with the tide three miles away. “Diver was difficult to locate because he was not carrying a surface detection aid, however the fact that he was wearing a dry suit increased his survivability� (in the water for about four-and-a-half hours). Quote:- "That's the risks we take to supply shellfish to these top celebrity chefs, it highlights the dangers we take and we depend on getting paid reasonably for our efforts�. He said that he will now always carry day and night flares and other aids.
  92. 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
  93. 2009 6 16 Hassan Alabi Malaysia Fire and Rescue Department SCUBA Aged 41, working for the Setiu Fire and Rescue Department, part of a team undertaking a search for a missing person who had fallen from a boat into lake Kenyir. Entangled in the branches of a submerged tree, drowned. Body recovered by colleagues some 7 hours later. Inference is no comms/lifeline. Wife and three children awarded 25,635RM (£4,400) compensation..
  94. 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
  95. 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
  96. 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.
  97. 2009 5 4 Holt David C USA DIT 12 SCUBA American, aged 37, father of 2 undergoing commercial diver training. Harbour training dive at pier 66, Seattle. 4 divers in the water, diver surfaced, then sank, found on the bottom after 10 to 15 minutes, CPR, unconscious, taken to Harbor View Hospital, Seattle, critical in hospital, died several days later when taken off life support. No details.
  98. 2009 4 5 Connor Melvin 'Chippy' Anguilla Fisherman SCUBA Aged 64, self employed diver/fisherman "He never worked for a man yet, from the time he was a boy all he did was dive", had been diving for lobster, conchs and welks since he was 16 (in 1960), described as a 'fit bachelor who had a plywood and fibreglass fishing boat (built by a relative) named the boat Victoria after the British Queen Victoria because his birthday, 24th May, fell on the same date as hers'. He was diving solo off Blowing point with matker buoy and flag and appears to have been run over around 09:00 hours by a 'Fun Time' charter vessel and died of propeller injuries. The Anguillian
  99. 2009 4 4 Daniel Yvon France SARL Kerioica SCUBA Aged 50, commercial diver and the manager of SARL Keroica, under contract to Armour Travaux Sous Marins, La Trinite sur Mer harbour, Pontoon inspection, solo, no stand-by,
  100. 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).
  101. 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
  102. 2009 3 26 Burfield Ronald USA Police 4 SCUBA American, aged 46, Erie County police training dive, found on lake bed, did not respond to treatment.
  103. 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'
  104. 2009 2 25 Mirabella Maurilio Honduras Waihuka Adventure Divers SCUBA Diving business owner on Roatan island selling shark feeding dives to tourists. Allegedly tried to kill a competing dive operator underwater at a shark feeding site. Witnesses said he attacked another dive guide who took a group of tourists to the shark feeding site, apparently attempting to prevent the competing dive operator from profiting off of "his sharks". He tried to shut off his air supply. The authorities have charged Mirabella with attempted murder (He declined to comment on the charges, but said he sells shark feeding dives because "without sharks, scuba diving in Roatan isn't worth much").
  105. 2009 2 11 de Gelder Paul Australia Australian Navy 0 SCUBA Australian Navy clearance diver, aged 31, in-water exercise testing sonar defence equipment off HMAS Darwin in Garden Bay, near Sydney, whilst swimming on the surface was attacked by a shark, lost a hand, severe leg injuries led to loss of leg, intensive care but stable, survived.
  106. 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
  107. 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
  108. 2008 11 17 B AC Spain Broth SA or Consomar SA 28 SCUBA Aged 50, head of a diving contractor from Valencia, Broth Sa, working (Inspection and filming) on an outfall 1 kilometre off the town of Moraira-Teulada (Spanish East coast, South of Valencia), failed to surface. Supervisor dived but could not find him. The next day, after a two hour search by a combined fire/civil guard diving team, his body was discovered trapped in fishing nets. He had ditched his cylinders/buoyancy vest in a last attempt to escape the nets when his air ran out. Reported by Levante-EMV.com
  109. 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
  110. 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.
  111. 2008 9 9 Jamal Mohammed Borhan Singapore Underwater Contractors pty 11 SCUBA Paraphased from press reports at te time;- “Aged 26, East Petroleum "A" anchorage off Bedok Jetty, Oil tanker "Oliva" hull maintenance and inspection work, the diver went in to undertake an inspection but failed to surface, possibly swept away by strong currents. Married 1 year, 1 month old daughter. Body washed up 30 km away on an Indonesian island beach 12 days after he disappeared. Recreational SCUBA training only. Paraphrased from the later official Company report:- “A contract diver disappeared while completing an underwater inspection of a vessel that was anchored. All of the divers were using SCUBA equipment. Two other divers were replacing starboard ballast sea chest gratings for which the contract diver was completing the inspection. The depth of diving operation was 11 meters and the seabed depth was between 50 and 60 meters. Underwater visibility was fair on the day of the incident. The contract diver was last seen about 25 -30 meters off the starboard aft quarter of the vessel when he disappeared from the view of the other two divers. Despite extensive searches, the diver’s body was not recovered until 21 September, approx. 30 kilometres from the initial location. Contributing factors and insufficient controls related to the incident:- Actual Dive Operation did not comply with Dive Contractor’s risk assessment (diver not attached to a tender line), Diving Supervisor was actually diving, which contravenes local and Group standards. Dive operation undertaken using SCUBA (self contained underwater breathing apparatus) in breach of Company and OGP standards, which require surface supplied air. The required diver communications system, tender lines and flotation devices were not provided. One of the divers only had a recreational diving qualification. The Maritime & Port Authority Dive Permit was not complied with�
  112. 2008 8 22 Buang Abdul Hamid Singapore Dive tech Marine Services SCUBA a 7m diameter propeller (at Singapore Anchorage) on the tanker “Shetland Spirit�- when the engine/propeller was turned on. Buang suffered a broken left keg, ribs, collapsed lung and bruises, two months in hospital. About noon, the captain ordered the engine generators and fuel pumps be started because a nearby ship was drifting and it appeared that there could be a collision if the Shetland Spirit was not moved. Chief Engineer, who assumed that the diving operation was over, also began 'blowing the engine' - without permission - to ensure that there were no leaks or debris in the engine cylinders. The process also caused the propeller to rotate. (He would normally have been required to make a request to the bridge and receive orders from the captain before 'blowing the engine'). Blowing the engine', or turning the engine's drive shaft which is linked to the propeller, has to be done before the engine is actually started. Pleading for leniency, the lawyer stated 'It was reasonable for the accused to assume that there was an emergency.' Chief engineer fined $7,000.
  113. 2008 8 22 Malubag Ryan Jay Carino Singapore Dive tech Marine Services SCUBA Filipino, aged 22, One of three divers working on a 7m diameter propeller (at Singapore Anchorage) on the tanker “Shetland Spirit�- when the propeller was turned on, cuts and bruises, one week in hospital. About noon, the captain ordered the engine generators and fuel pumps be started because a nearby ship was drifting and it appeared that there could be a collision if the Shetland Spirit was not moved. Chief Engineer, who assumed that the diving operation was over, also began 'blowing the engine' - without permission - to ensure that there were no leaks or debris in the engine cylinders. The process also caused the propeller to rotate. (He would normally have been required to make a request to the bridge and receive orders from the captain before 'blowing the engine'). Blowing the engine', or turning the engine's drive shaft which is linked to the propeller, has to be done before the engine is actually started. Pleading for leniency, the lawyer stated 'It was reasonable for the accused to assume that there was an emergency.' Chief engineer fined $7,000.
  114. 2008 8 22 Not Recorded Singapore Dive tech Marine Services SCUBA One of three divers working on a 7m diameter propeller (at Singapore Anchorage) on the tanker “Shetland Spirit�- when the propeller was turned on, the two other divers were injured, he escaped with first aid injuries only About noon, the captain ordered the engine generators and fuel pumps be started because a nearby ship was drifting and it appeared that there could be a collision if the Shetland Spirit was not moved. Chief Engineer, who assumed that the diving operation was over, also began 'blowing the engine' - without permission - to ensure that there were no leaks or debris in the engine cylinders. The process also caused the propeller to rotate. (He would normally have been required to make a request to the bridge and receive orders from the captain before 'blowing the engine'). Blowing the engine', or turning the engine's drive shaft which is linked to the propeller, has to be done before the engine is actually started. Pleading for leniency, the lawyer stated 'It was reasonable for the accused to assume that there was an emergency.' Chief engineer fined $7,000.
  115. 2008 8 15 Not Recorded USA Fisherman SCUBA The body of a missing diver was located by fellow divers underwater after an extensive search by the Coast Guard and Navy crews 38-miles east of St. Augustine, The crew of the commercial fishing vessel 'Animal Control' sent a second diver in the water who located the missing man's body. The crew radioed the Coast Guard rescue coordinators at Sector Jacksonville for help after the missing diver did not resurface from what was supposed to be a 45-minute dive. The diver's body is being transported by a Coast Guard rescue boat crew to Coast Guard Sector Jacksonville where it will be turned over to the Duval County Medical Examiner later this evening. The fishing vessel Animal Control is headed back to St. Augustine. The Coast Guard is investigating the cause of the accident. Reported by the USCG in Military.com. No other details/reports
  116. 2008 8 3 Leduc Lt. Gerald R USA Fireman SCUBA American, aged 52, commencing a SAR dive (missing boater), apparent heart attack. A NIOSH investigation revealed a blood alcohol level of 0.25 (Rhode Island state law defines legal intoxication at 0.08 percent) and that he ignored two colleagues who urged him not to dive. Underlying cardiac condition, but the medical examiner found that “acute intoxication� contributed to his death (“primarily attributed to physical condition and inadequate capacity to perform a technical SCUBA diving operation�). He was off duty when he responded to the incident at Stafford Pond with his personal watercraft and dive gear, moments after he began his dive, firefighters in a nearby boat noticed a diver's tank valve floating on the surface of the water and radioed a mayday call. Divers were unable to resuscitate him after pulling him from the water, and he was pronounced dead at a local hospital. The medical examiner found that he likely died from abnormal heart activity and had an enlarged heart, high blood pressure and an acute blood ethanol level of 0.25 percent. NIOSH investigators recommended a number of measures including a zero-tolerance policy for alcohol, developing written policies and procedures to enforce the zero-tolerance policy, putting in place an effective incident management system that supports technical rescue operations, properly training, equipping, and supporting public safety divers, ensuring a safety officer properly trained in the technical rescue field being performed is on scene and integrated into the command structure, appropriate annual diver medicals, fitness programmes. NBC News
  117. 2008 6 20 Johnstone Christopher UK RN 6 SCUBA British RN reservist, aged 42, UK Navy diver training establishment, Horsea island, fell ill during training dive (casualty recovery drill). Initial reports indicated natural causes (heart attack) but at the inquest a pathologist who specialises in diving accidents said the immediate cause of death was a rupture in the lungs, due to failure to breathe out on the ascend to the surface. “He perhaps didn't breathe the gas out at the time. That's the only possible explanation�.
  118. 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.'
  119. 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.
  120. 2008 6 1 Le Sauteur Peter UK Alderney Marine Trust SCUBA Aged 55, Surveying the wreck of an Elizabethan gunship that sank in 1592 with a view to recovering two cannon. Fell ill after finishing a dive, unconscious, taken to hospital but pronounced dead.
  121. 2008 6 1 Swisher Donald USA Fireman 4 SCUBA American, aged 51, a member of the Arlington Heights (Illinois) fire department's technical rescue, hazardous materials response, water rescue and recovery dive teams, off duty, cleaning a swimming pool, autopsy concluded that he drowned. No explanation, might have involved heavy weight belt/inlet suction
  122. 2008 5 22 Rudakov Roman Maldives Touring Maldives SCUBA Russian tourist, aged 41, diving off the “Baani Adventurer� died from contaminated air (reported as 150ppm CO in his tank), 9 others ill with 80ppm CO in their tanks. Complaints from previous day and requests to change filter ignored (cheap none-CO absorbing filter fitted on compressor), Medical O2 cylinder onboard dive boat was empty.
  123. 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.
  124. 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.
  125. 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.
  126. 2008 3 17 Mason Rusty USA Enviro prot agency 31 SCUBA American, aged 54, working for the Florida Environmental Protection Agency off the NOAA vessel “Peter Gladding�, passed out during decompression stop, A certified dive instructor, he was one of seven people working aboard the vessel. After the dive, the two divers ascended to a 15’ decompression stage (complete with spare cylinders on a shot line). Partner saw that he had stopped breathing and tried to give him air but eventually ran out himself and had to surface. Two other divers immediately went down and recovered Mason from the bottom, 100 feet below (Tank empty, still wearing his weight belt), not breathing, no pulse. Members of the crew of the vessel took gave him CPR during the 15-mile boat trip to Fort Jefferson and a 75-mile rescue helicopter flight to the Lower Keys Medical Center near Key West. Pronounced dead at the medical centre.
  127. 2008 3 12 Not Recorded Netherlands Fire Brigade volunteer SCUBA Dutch, aged 38, member of the voluntary fire brigade from Terneuzen, died while recovering a car from the Gent-Terneuzen canal, apparently he did not surface as expected, was recovered alive but in critical condition and died later in hospital. The autopsy report stated "drowning". The driver of the car apparently committed suicide by driving into the canal. He was being sought by police in connection with the murder of his 2 children 24/02/2008.
  128. 2008 3 6 Le Pottier Marcel France Fire Brigade 4 SCUBA French fire brigade officer aged 42, two man team on SCUBA inspecting the hull of a damaged trawlerin the harbour of Saint-Quay-Portrieux in Brittany, tide going out, trawler rolled on its side, diver crushed against the quay.
  129. 2008 2 29 Heng Hii Teck Miri Not Reported 13 SCUBA Aged 42, professional ship repair divers working under the hull of the "Bunga Kelana 6' five miles off Bintulu, entered water, failed to surface, SAR diver located bodies two days later on ship's water inlet grill, but failed to recover divers due to currents.
  130. 2008 2 29 Jung Chew Kim Miri Not Reported 13 SCUBA Aged 37, professional ship repair divers working under the hull of the 'Bunga Kelana 6' five miles off Bintulu, entered water, failed to surface, SAR diver located bodies two days later on ship's water inlet grill, but failed to recover divers due to currents.
  131. 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
  132. 2007 11 11 Not Recorded France La Schaphandre 10 SCUBA Aged 39, French commercial diver, died during completion of work on the lock downstream of the slew bridge in Rochefort Harbour, no details
  133. 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.
  134. 2007 10 30 Loveria Tim USA Poterdam 6 SCUBA 46 year old from Conklin, New York, diving contractor out of New York, drowned Tuesday in Panguitch Lake, Utah. Failed to surface at about 1 p.m. He was removing a temporary dam his team had installed to allow water to be pumped out of a channel that crews were trying to dig deeper, Garfield County sheriff's deputies wrote in a statement. Other divers on the team found Loveria under 18 feet of water. Reported in Deseret News
  135. 2007 10 25 Myers Mathew USA Sealife Centre SCUBA American, aged 44, Resurrection Bay, Alaska, training dive to become a Sealife centre scientific diver, "ran out of air, may have panicked trying to take off his weight belt" drowned.
  136. 2007 10 17 Contreras Victor Lemus Chile Empresa Salmones Antártica 49 SCUBA Amateur Diver (He only had a license to dive to 20 meters), died in the Mallahue Culivation Center, in Achao Source: Ecoceanos, based on data from the Dir. of Labor, Directemar, Mariscope and the Tenth and Eleventh Regions District Attorneys Offices. No details
  137. 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"
  138. 2007 10 6 Reinaldos Pedro Alejandro Dominguez Chile Osvaldo Galindo SCUBA Aged 40. Diving at the Quiquel Cultivation Center in Dalcuahue province, - Suffered a diving accident that left him unable to walk several years earlier, continued in the business, working as a middleman between area divers and farmed salmon companies. After he was unable to contract divers for a job, he suited up and took to the water himself. Chiloé Provincial Labor Inspector Víctor Inostroza quoted as saying “The fact that the worker who died was handicapped just shows that there’s no one at the salmon farm worried about security. This diver was absolutely illegal. He didn’t have a diving permit. His equipment was in poor condition. There was no contingency plan and the diver wasn’t trained,�. Allegedly, this death brings to 50 the number of Chilean salmon industry divers who have perished in just the past two years though the same article quotes the diver's union as saying 15 divers had died in the previous 18 months
  139. 2007 9 25 Myers Mathew USA Sealife Centre SCUBA Aged 44, Marine mammal scientist with the Sealife Centre in Seward, alaska. Training dive, ran out of air, surfaced with instructor, decided to swim to shore (rather than to their anchored boat), unable to release weight belt or inflate buoyancy, submerged, instructor assumed he was trying to release his weight belt but he did not resurface. Pair were diving alone. Body recovered 90 minutes later.
  140. 2007 9 24 L Maciej Poland Tri-Marine 35 SCUBA Aged 29, one of two divers 'performing routine maintenance after a storm' at around 35 metres on the unmanned platform 'Petrobaltic 1" (An ROV was reported as monitoring the divers), apparently passed out and sank towards the seabed, the second diver went down to 45, 55 or 80 metres (depending on which press report you read, and prosecutors were unable to determine depth/profile as both dive computers and work logs were 'all lost') to find him and pulled him to the surface but he failed to respond to treatment (Second diver was transported by Navy helicopter and successfully treated for DCI in a chamber in Gdynia). Proecution a year later claimed no lifelines, insufficient number in the dive team, improper equipment (no communications, use of sports diving equipment for commercial purposes), misconduct. Incorrect diving gas mix was quoted as possible cause of initial loss of consciousness (Was this a nitrox or trimix dive?). Reported in Wirtualna Poland
  141. 2007 9 17 Hedden Bill USA SCUBA Alligator bit off diver's arm
  142. 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.
  143. 2007 8 29 Rodriguez Joaquin Castelao Angel Spain Coral Diver 28 SCUBA Aged 74, known locally as 'the angel of coral' had spent over 20 years living in Alcudiq collecting coralharvesting coral ('Red Gold') from his boat 'Nemo' in the channel between Menorc and Mallorca, 17 miles north of the port of Alcudia, diving with his son, became ill during decompression stops. An SAR helicopter dropped a medic onboard who confirmed he had died. Had spent years criticising intensive fishing methoids (like beam trawling) which damage the seabed. Reported by Diario de Mallorca
  144. 2007 8 22 Antinanco Pedro Alvarado Chile Aserma, Marine Harvest SCUBA Diver, Cultivation Center of Puchilco, located in Lemuy Island, Central Chiloé, Source: Ecoceanos, based on data from the Dir. of Labor, Directemar, Mariscope and the Tenth and Eleventh Regions District Attorneys Offices. No details
  145. 2007 7 28 Carey Lavar Bahamas Paradise Cove Resort SCUBA Paraphrased from a reported in the Nassau Guardian. “Grand Bahama police on Saturday reported another drowning. Initial reports by police indicate that 22-year-old Lavar Carey of Pinedale, Eight Mile Rock, an employee at a local watersports company, apparently drowned while at work at that facility in West Grand Bahama late Saturday afternoon. According to police shortly before six o'clock Saturday evening, the duty officer at the Police Dispatch Centre in Freeport received a call from a staff member at Paradise Cove Resort in Deadman's Reef, who reported that one of their divers was discovered by the resort's proprietor floating underwater, an apparent drowning victim. As a result, EMR Division and Central Detective Unit officers along with EMS personnel were dispatched to that location. Upon arrival there, the resort's owner, Barry Smith, pointed out Carey's body lying on the beach. He noted that Carey, who had been employed as a diver for the past year, had gone out as usual in a boat around 5:00 p.m., to collect the dive marker flags and floats and bring them ashore to secure them. After he failed to return within 20 minutes, fellow staff members became concerned and, along with Smith, they got into a boat and went looking for him. Smith stated that they found the boat that Carey had gone out in, but did not see him anywhere. After searching the area offshore from the beach for about 30 minutes, Carey was found floating motionless underwater. He was rushed ashore and rendered CPR and other resuscitative measures, but failed to respond. EMS personnel rushed him to the trauma section at the Rand Memorial Hospital, where he was pronounced dead on arrival at 6:35 p.m. by the doctor on duty.� Diver at work, but not a diving incident, TC
  146. 2007 7 22 Wilson Stephen USA SCUBA Sports diver, aged 36, fatally injured when struck by lightning as he surfaced. Miami Herald
  147. 2007 5 19 Hopkins Ronald Australia State Emergency Services SCUBA Aged 54, volunteer who drowned on a flooded boat training exercise in the Murray River at Mildura, body recovered the following day by NSW police divers the day after. Victoria State Emergency Services were convicted and fined $75,000 and ordered to undertake a thorough and regular review of it's workplace safety practices. Quote “Failing to ensure a person other than an employee was not exposed to risk�, regarded as a significant conviction as it recognised that organisations have an obligation not just to their direct employees but also the volunteer members. Sydney Morning Herald
  148. 2007 4 20 Kropidlowski Ken USA Orange County Sheriff's Department 9 SCUBA Orange County Sheriff's rescue diver rushed to a hospital with leg injuries after becoming entangled in a sunken sailboat while searching the wreckage for its missing owner. 18-year veteran of the department and a member of its dive team, he was 30-feet deep off a jetty in Newport Beach when he got tangled in debris about 11 a.m. and made an emergency ascent, "He was in extreme pain and had to be assisted onto the boat," ."He was rushed to harbor headquarters where an ambulance was waiting to take him to Hoag Hospital.He was treated for a torn ligament, his leg placed in a splint and released from the hospital on crutches, The 10-member dive team failed to find any trace of missing Phoenix boater William Eugene Ott during a two-hour search of the 30-foot sailboat.
  149. 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
  150. 2007 3 27 Wildin Leading Seaman Timothy Australia HMAS SCUBA Aged 24, diving off HMAS Frigate “Parramatta�, Jervis Bay, removing snagged commercial fishing gear from the propellers. “Seriously injured, spent time in intensive care�, Navy inquiry, report not seen, made a full recovery and returned to duties. At the Inquiry it was reported that he was found underwater, unconscious, entangled in fishing lines and may not have had easy access to his secondary breathing gear (Not fitted with a clip to keep it near his head), recovered to surface 'limp and vomiting'. smh.com.au/abc.net.au/news
  151. 2007 2 22 Birchedal Martin Gibraltar UCS or Gibunco/Scamp? SCUBA Danish, married with 2 children, died doing a hull cleaning job in Gibraltar, may have been a solo dive, no comms or stand-by diver. No details in the public domain. Inquest held in 2010 found that he had been using a single 80 litre SCUBA tank (Manufactured in 2003 with no test stamps since manufacture and containing 2 litres of fresh water) and an aga mask (recovered in 'destroyed' condition). Vox Gibraltar/Longstreath/PC
  152. 2007 2 20 Sue Qing Wen Singapore Dolphin Dive & Adventure 35 SCUBA Singaporean, 35m sports diver open water training dive, surfaced, sank, swept away by current, body recovered 3 days later Tank contained 785ppm CO and 12.3ppm H2S. Open verdict.
  153. 2007 2 7 Alvarado Martin USA State water dept 9 SCUBA Employee of the State water dept, part of a volunteer team of approx 12 divers who inspect/maintain the water system, died in an aqueduct, Dos Amigos pumping station, 5 mph current, tethered together, reported as not sucked onto the inlet grating, but no explanation, double fatality (Crawford) fined $16,120 for the two deaths
  154. 2007 2 7 Crawford Tim USA State water dept 9 SCUBA Employee of the State water dept, part of a volunteer team of approx 12 divers who inspect/maintain the water system, died in an aqueduct, Dos Amigos pumping station, 5 mph current, tethered together, reported as not sucked onto the inlet grating, but no explanation, double fatality (Alvarado) fined $16,120 for the two deaths
  155. 2006 12 9 Vera Daniel Castro Chile Invertec SCUBA Diver, Mapué Cultivation Center (close to Tranqui Island, South of Chiloé), Source: Ecoceanos, based on data from the Dir. of Labor, Directemar, Mariscope and the Tenth and Eleventh Regions District Attorneys Offices. No details
  156. 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.
  157. 2006 9 15 Not Recorded Australia Diving school Albury SCUBA Aged 35, Australian Army, undergoing commercial diver training, died during training dive, apparently ran out of air, became entangled in lifeline, did not activate reserve, no real details
  158. 2006 8 17 Duque Steve Arctic USCG 6 SCUBA Diving off the USCG vessel "Healy", Alaska, under ice. Incompetence
  159. 2006 8 17 Hill Jessica Arctic USCG 6 SCUBA Diving off the USCG vessel "Healy", Alaska, under ice. Incompetence
  160. 2006 8 14 Andrews David USA Rutgers Institute 15 SCUBA Aged 56, diving off the research vessel 'Arabella' to install a sensor on the LEO-15 (Longterm Ecosystem Observatory), got into difficulty, was pulled aboard given CPR and air lifted to hospital but did not regain consciousness. CDNN
  161. 2006 8 1 Cain Terrence Spain SCUBA British, aged 47, died on a holiday SCUBA dive off Benidorm from contaminated air (CO2 poisoning)
  162. 2006 6 18 Reyes Jose Diego Barria Chile Friosur SCUBA Shellfish cultivation, Elena Island, Cisnes Commons, Aysén Regioner, Source: Ecoceanos, based on data from the Dir. of Labor, Directemar, Mariscope and the Tenth and Eleventh Regions District Attorneys Offices. No details
  163. 2006 5 8 Barria Raphael Chacon Chile Peasuera San Jorge SCUBA Shellfish cultivation, Castro (Teupa chorito cultivation center), Source: Ecoceanos, based on data from the Dir. of Labor, Directemar, Mariscope and the Tenth and Eleventh Regions District Attorneys Offices. No details
  164. 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.
  165. 2006 4 9 Villanueva Lorenzo Chile Pesquera San Jorge SCUBA Salmon fish farm, Hornopiren, Commercial diver, Source: Ecoceanos, based on data from the Dir. of Labor, Directemar, Mariscope and the Tenth and Eleventh Regions District Attorneys Offices. No details
  166. 2006 3 21 Seguel Walter Rodrigo Balboa Chile Ventisqueros SCUBA Salmon fish farm, Hornopiren, Commercial diver, Source: Ecoceanos, based on data from the Dir. of Labor, Directemar, Mariscope and the Tenth and Eleventh Regions District Attorneys Offices. No details
  167. 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)
  168. 2005 12 17 Atienza Juan Jose Spain Cadiz docks SCUBA Paraphrased from Press reports:-- “At four o'clock Sunday, the rescue services managed to recover the body of the diver who went missing on Saturday afternoon at Cadiz. The diver, aged 49 with 25 years of experience, worked at the factory in San Fernando, but participated in the work of putting ships into Cadiz dry dock (The vessel involved was the 'Rotterdam'). Companions of the diver called emergency services about eight o'clock in the evening because the diver who had checking the vessel's position in the dock failed to surface. Source: diariodecadiz.es/
  169. 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
  170. 2005 11 24 Jones Zakarij Mason USA PDCoF 60 SCUBA American, Professional Diving Charters of Florida, Ft Lauderdale, Vessel "Pro diver II", He drowned, Contrary to initial USCG report, it was a sports dive, hospital "lost the medical records", reports contradictory
  171. 2005 11 21 Bustamente Pedro Alvarado Chile Cultivos Marinos Chiloe SCUBA Shellfish cultivation centre, Dalcahue. Source: Ecoceanos, based on data from the Dir. of Labor, Directemar, Mariscope and the Tenth and Eleventh Regions District Attorneys Offices. No details
  172. 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
  173. 2005 8 27 Switala Michael USA Firefighter SCUBA American, aged 50, Lower Burrel, Pa, volunteer fire-fighter, Grove City Quarry, third training dive of the day, (purpose was to maintain PADI qualification). Completed dive, partner signaled ready to surface, he signaled back "OK� and began ascent but once on the surface could not locate Switala, but saw a flashlight distress signal underwater. Immediately descended, noticed that the regulator was out, tried to replace but it fell out, inflated BCD and brought him to the surface (estimated elapsed time at this point was less than one minute).. Taken to shore, immediately initiated CPR. Emergency medical services arrived within 15 minutes. Transported to a local hospital where he died the next day. The coroner listed the cause of death as drowning. Investigation recommended, 1: Fire departments should develop, implement, and enforce standard operating procedures (SOPs) regarding diver training. 2: Fire departments should ensure that each diver maintains continuous visual, verbal, or physical contact with his or her dive partner. (line-tended from the surface or accompanied by another diver in the water) 3 : Fire departments should ensure that a backup diver and ninety-percent-ready diver are in position to render assistance. 4 : Fire departments should ensure that positive communication is established among all divers and those personnel who remain on the surface. (In this incident, there were no personnel at the surface to perform monitoring, and underwater diver-to-diver electronic devices were not used).
  174. 2005 8 24 Stehbens Jarrod Australia University of Adelaide SCUBA Australian, Aged 23, gathering cuttlefish eggs for the university of Adelaide was killed by a Great White. Body never recovered, gear found intact Not wearing a shark repellor. Coroner was Anthony Schapel who recommended divers wear electric shark repellors as recommended by coroner Wayne Chivall after the death of Paul Buckland in April 2002 (Not mandatory, "but should not be discouraged when they are available") AAP General News, Australia
  175. 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
  176. 2005 8 7 Hernandez Juan Miranda Chile Marine Harvest SCUBA Salmon fish farm, Quinchao, Source: Ecoceanos, based on data from the Dir. of Labor, Directemar, Mariscope and the Tenth and Eleventh Regions District Attorneys Offices. No details
  177. 2005 8 5 Maldonado Luis Ojeda Chile Los Fiordos SCUBA Shellfish cultivation centre, Quellon, body not recovered. Source: Ecoceanos, based on data from the Dir. of Labor, Directemar, Mariscope and the Tenth and Eleventh Regions District Attorneys Offices. No details
  178. 2005 7 4 Yamashita Takahiro Japan Scientist SCUBA Aged 30, Research scientist (Marine invertebrates) at the University of Tokyo, taking water samples, failed to surface, searchers located his body on the seabed. University of Tokyo report
  179. 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
  180. 2005 6 9 Cartes Pedro Vivanco Chile Cammachaca SCUBA Shellfish cultivation centre, Guaitecas, Source: Ecoceanos, based on data from the Dir. of Labor, Directemar, Mariscope and the Tenth and Eleventh Regions District Attorneys Offices. No details
  181. 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.
  182. 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
  183. 2005 3 15 Picallo Sgt. Justo Jesus Indonesia Spanish Navy SCUBA 36 year old Naval officer, part of tsunami relief force, conducting a routine hull cleaning and inspection dive on the MS “Galicia� off Band Aceh. No details
  184. 2005 2 15 Wolmarans André South Africa Subtech Diving and marine SCUBA South African, aged 19, Durban harbour, cleaning the propeller of a fishing vessel, "someone inside the vessel accidentally activate the propeller". He was standing on it at the time, it took police divers 7 hours to find his body. Outdoornewswire.
  185. 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
  186. 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)
  187. 2004 10 15 Moore David UK Sea Technical Services for British Waterways 3 SCUBA British, aged 29 from Southsea, Hampshire, trapped under collapsed temporary dam on the Upper Lode lock gate (near Tewkesbury) during draining operations. British Waterways, the diving contractors and the diving supervisor all pleaded guilty to breaching Health and Safety and Diving at Work regulations. The supervisor was also the owner and director of diving contractor which employed divers paid on a daily basis. The diver was involved in construction work on the upstream side of a temporary dam, the water had been drained from the lock basin down to a depth of 0.3 metres. This meant there was a differential of more than three metres with the water level on the other side of the dam and this exposed leaks in the dam which the diver was sent down to seal. The diver suddenly shouted out and then there was a flood of water shooting out from the downstream side of the dam. The umbilical went tight and colleagues could see he had stopped breathing, they tried to pull him to the surface but it was impossible because of the pressure trapping him against the dam. They realised that the standby diver would face the same enormous pressure if he went in so took the decision to equalise the pressure first by closing the lock gates and opening a central gate - all of which took 15 minutes. Mr Moore was then flown by air ambulance to Cheltenham General Hospital but never regained consciousness. Four months later when the scene was finally safe to examine in detail it was found that the only place where the hessian seal had been effective had been in the centre of the lock. This was because the floor of the lock was convex and sloped down towards the edges which prevented the hessian seal being effective and leaks then occurred which caused the intense water pressure on the diver. "Hessian seals were known to be effective only if equally compressed along their length which would clearly require a level lock floor, however, these concerns were not recorded and they don't appear to have been considered by engineers or communicated to the dive teams, who had no previous experience of hessian seals." British Waterways had failed to carry out sufficient risk assessment, the contractor failed to protect its divers during the whole period of the project from September to October 15 and too had failed to carry out adequate risk assessment, the diving supervisor failed to ensure the dive site was safe, that there was a risk assessment for the dive, that the materials used were adequate and safe and he failed to obtain sufficient information about the hessian seal before committing the diver to the water." British Waterways were fined £87,000 with £75,000 costs, the contractor £15,000 with £6,000 costs and the diving supervisor £6,000 with £2,000 costs. Comment from the judge “"It is particularly grave when the events leading to his death were in my judgement so obviously avoidable, as this prosecution has demonstrated� Reported in the Daily telegraph, BBC, British Press, etc
  188. 2004 8 17 Fleming Adrian Canada Atlantic Fisheries SCUBA Canadian, aged 45, working on moorings in Bay Bulls harbour, Newfoundland, Drowned. The boat tour company was prosecuted for employing an unqualified diver. “He was inspecting moorings for a boat-tour company when he died and his death has once again brought to the fore the concerns surrounding diving work — work that provincial legislation says should be done by fully-equipped commercial divers, and the work that is actually done on an almost daily basis by divers who are neither fully equipped nor trained to the standard required by that legislation.� “All the regulations in the world won't save a life if they aren't enforced. That's a point that has already been made too many times in this province. In fact, if it is clear to all that no one is responsible for enforcing them, the toughest regulations in the world really aren't worth the paper they are printed on.� “Atlantic Fisheries Ltd. was charged with seven counts of violating the Occupational Health and Safety Act. The charges followed an investigation of the occupational health and safety branch of the government services department. A government statement said the charges "relate generally to its failure as an employer to ensure that its workers were made familiar with the hazards that may be met by them at the workplace, and to ensure the diving operation was conducted in accordance with the requirements of the related Canadian Standards Association code." The diver was not registered with the Diver Certification Board of Canada, the body that recognizes commercial divers. Reported by press and CDNN
  189. 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
  190. 2004 5 12 Shultz Don USA Police SCUBA Aged 43, part of a four man Phoenix Police team searching a canal for a wheelchair belonging to a woman who had drowned in the canal on Monday 10th May. Life line came off, found in a one foot gap under a lock gate mouthpiece out. Hospitalised in a critical condition, taken off life support on Wednesday and died three hours later. Reported by KVOA
  191. 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)
  192. 2004 4 11 Kneen Christopher UAE SCUBA International SCUBA British, aged 19, sucked into a pipe, desalination plant at Fujairah, UAE. Sports/tourist SCUBA diver doing a commercial dive, diving instructor who sent him to the plant was found guilty of causing death, plant operators were not held responsible for not turning off the pump that sucked him in.
  193. 2004 3 15 Bennett John Korea 45 SCUBA Trimix salvage operation
  194. 2004 3 11 Miller Mark USA Fireman SCUBA American fire-fighter/diver aged 43, testing new equipment in a lake, not tethered to partner, drowned under ice, ill fitting dry suit and 44lb weight belt blamed as contributory factors. NIOSH Report
  195. 2004 3 0 Not Recorded USA Fireman SCUBA Laconia firefighter, experienced diver died, during a practice dive on Lake Winnipesaukee. No details
  196. 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.
  197. 2004 3 0 Roy Matthias Francois Australia Holothurian Diving Pty 30 SCUBA Canadian, aged 24, recreational SCUBA diver, employed by a commercial diving company in Cairns to harvest sea cucumbers off Lizard Island, North Queensland. First dive of trip. No occupational experience. Possible entanglement whilst on beche de mer drift dive. Became detached from air hose. Recovered by co-workers after 16 hours. Significant marine predation post mortem. Drowned. Detached from air hose. Mouthpiece missing on regulator. Bailout worn but not turned on. Bail out regulator secured to cylinder. Owner of the company was fined $60,000, third breach of Workplace Health and Safety Act, diver "dangerously unqualified". Workplace Health and Safety, Queensland and Cairns Post.
  198. 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
  199. 2004 2 16 McLellan Sgt William Germany Army SCUBA REME Officer based at Osnabruck, routine exercise in the river weser with two colleagues, drowned, faulty SABA gear (SABA was condemned as unsafe by a 2002 MOD inquiry into two previous deaths by drowning)
  200. 2004 1 17 Grant Ribert David Australia Melbourne Diving Services SCUBA Australian, aged 32, SCUBA training in open water after a three day course, inexperienced. Company into liquidation, fined $200,000 for negligence "failing to ensure the safety of people other than employees" AAP News, Australia.
  201. 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
  202. 2003 8 19 Zinck James Canada Fish Farm SCUBA Tuna holding pond, Nova Scotia, Owner charged.
  203. 2003 7 22 Rotaru Mircea Romania Stef and Fan SRL 30 SCUBA Paraphrased from reports :- Aged 54 years, lexNavy diver, leader of 6 divers onboard a vessel undertaking installation cleaning operations (Black Sea, Gloria platform). After they arrived in the area, two divers went a depth of 30 meters to check the platform legs, and because they were late to emerge, Mircea Rotaru jumped into the water after them, but as he went down, they surfaced. They noticed he was missing and searched for him. He was found face up to the bottom and brought to the platform where he tried to resuscitate him, but without any result. His body was taken ashore to the morgue in Mangalia. Experts say it is possible that he had a heart attack when he jumped into the water. The contractor stated he had a medical� Reported by Kappa.ro
  204. 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.
  205. 2003 5 23 Bradley Michael South Africa Police 30 SCUBA Aged 35, Police diver searching Lesotho Katse Dam for victims of a helicopter crash. Reported as stopping breathing, probable natural causes, but no details. South African Press Association
  206. 2003 4 12 Williams Douglas USA NW Diving and Marine SCUBA American, 42 year old, just North of the Hood Canal Bridge, using a drill u/w to install buoy anchors, entangled, umbilcal wrapped around neck, asphyxiated or drowned. No other details, reported in the Spokesman review and Moscow Pullman Daily News.
  207. 2003 3 24 Riani Avishai Israel Ardag Fish Farm SCUBA Aged 42, dive team leader at the Ardag Fish Farm in Eilat where had worked for the previous 10 years. Around 9 o'clock in the evening in a storm, 20 -25 knot winds, 3 metre seas, went with one other diver went out to repair a seawater inlet pie (supplying fresh seawater to land based fish breeding tanks). Onshore team noticed his body floating on the surface and pulled him ashore but were unable to revive him. No obvious injuries, no details.
  208. 2003 3 20 Moore Steven Allan Canada Courtnakyle Fisheries Limited SCUBA Canadian, aged 40, one of a three man commercial sea urchin harvesting diving team in Nova Scotia, failed to surface, body recovered 3 days later. Company charged with failing to ensure workplace safety by allowing Mr. Moore to dive without a knife, secondary air supply, standby diver, recall system, diver buoy and life-line; failing to ensure safety equipment was available; failing to follow a code of practice; and failing to ensure the propeller on the vessel Doug's Dream was adequately guarded
  209. 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
  210. 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
  211. 2003 1 14 Regnolio Simone Italy Fireman and Adriatica Subsea Services 10 SCUBA Italian, 33 years old. River Tiber near Rome, Castel Giubileo, power plant water intake partially blocked, S/S Air diver trapped by differential pressure, No appointed supervisor or stand-by, Fire brigade attended, rescue diver in SCUBA on lifeline, he drowned, trapped diver managed to free himself. Fire brigade supv on site, Fire brigade diving team leader (not on site) and director of diving contractor (not on site) prosecuted. La Republica.it
  212. 2002 9 0 Maric Oliver Croatia Police SCUBA Aged 25, died during the search for missing Czech scuba diver Miroslav Kuklis whose body was later found in an underwater cave off the Adriatic Island of Sol. Reported that another police diver was nearly killed during the same operation. (Kuklis died of stab wounds, two men initially charged with his murder - 'homosexual love triangle' according to the press - were later released and sued the newspaper saying that Kuklis had most likely committed suicide by stabbing himself when he realised that he was lost in the underwater cave and trapped).
  213. 2002 7 8 Not Recorded USA Montgomery county SCUBA Diver died during a body search in Muddy River Lake, south lancaster County. No details. Reported by Lancaster Newspapers
  214. 2002 6 25 Jelasi Cristiano Italy Tecnosub 80 SCUBA Aged 25, off the island of Capri (Thyrrenian Sea), diving in SCUBA to 80 metres, alone, off a small boat to cut ropes off a recently installed water pipeline prior to trenching operations. Died in the water
  215. 2002 6 14 Jolliff Paul USA 15 SCUBA Firefighter, aged 37, died during the final dive of a 21 day open water SCUBA training course. Objective was to locate a cinder block by conducting sweep searches from a marker buoy and then bring it to surface using an inverted 5 gallon bucket as a lifting bag. Zero visibility, cold water. Underwater comms set only partially operational (he could hear, but not transmit). He and partner located block, as they were rigging it, he suddenly grabbed for his partner's face mask knocking him to one side, dropped his weight belt and disappeared. Second diver surfaced and raised the alarm. Stand-by diver entered the water immediately to commence sweep searches from the original marker buoy but after his 4th sweep was pulled to the surface by the crew pulling up the marker buoy in an attempt to see if the lost diver was still attached to the swim line. Buoy reset, but in a different location.. Search continued and the body was located over two hours later by sonar from a surface support boat. He was tied to the cinder block (They were using 5' long lanyards as the lifting rigging, he had gone into the water with his attached to his harness 'D' ring. It appears he attached it before releasing the second end from his harness). Death certificate recorded death as due to drowning. SCUBA cylinder was empty when recovered, some equipment breakages, but not concluded whether factors in the incident. The investigation made 3 recommendations:- 1: Fire departments should ensure that equipment checks are performed before each dive and defective equipment is repaired or replaced before the dive takes place. 2: Fire Departments should ensure that all participants in diver training have practiced the specific evolution in a controlled environment such as a swimming pool before attempting the evolution in open water.. 3: Fire departments should ensure that search-and-rescue operations establish and use reference points to conduct searches
  216. 2002 5 23 Macko Steven C USA SCUBA Aged 42, off duty firefighter/diver, working for a contractor installing a fountain in Petersen Lake, a 15 acre lake in the centre of O'Hare Office Plaza, with 4 other divers, died, no details but reported that he and his colleagues planned to swim across the lake to the fountain but that when he was pulled from water his air valve was turned off
  217. 2002 5 22 Blackley Martin UK Seahorse Aquaculture 16 SCUBA British, Royal Marine commando, aged 26, Altbea Fish farm, Loch Ewe, entangled in rope, valve not fully functional, speculated that he hyperventilated, panicked, drowned. He was unqualified, 3 man dive team, no dressed in stand-by, no lifeline, no communications, no knife, no risk assessment, no dive logs, On medical leave with a leg injury, diving in exchange for a £300 drysuit
  218. 2002 4 30 Buckland Paul William Australia 10 SCUBA Australian, aged 23, professional scallop diver, Shark attack. Was wearing a "shark pod" (Electric shark repellor), may not have been switched on at depth but was on at time of attack on the surface. May have been incorrectly fitted (electrode position). Recommendation from coroner that at all commercial and recreational divers working in waters where the presence of sharks is a risk should wear at shark repellent device.
  219. 2002 4 30 Not Recorded UK Police 42 SCUBA Police dive team trying to recover the bodies of three family members from the hull of their vessel that sank off the South Downs Coast, two divers surfaced, one with pains in arms and shoulders, the second with ruptured eardrums, treated in a DDC, OK
  220. 2002 4 0 Not Recorded Australia 3 SCUBA Deckhand on lobster boat trying to free a snagged pot in 2.7 metres, drowned, skipper fined $20,000, no stand-by diver, not anchored (live boating, engine running).
  221. 2001 12 31 Feher Mark USA SCUBA Aged 21, professional golf ball diver, working on the links at Boynton beach with his brother. Both on SCUBA but . Reported as an experienced diver, failed to surface at the end of the dive, recovered by his brother, drowned, no details. St. Petersburg Times
  222. 2001 12 17 Not Recorded Germany 40 SCUBA Aged 29, wife and six year old daughter, the manager of a 5 man diving contractor from Hamburg, 10 o'clock on a Monday morning, cleaning operations on frond mats at the Droda Dam, two man dive, after 10 minutes partner caught in fronds and had to ditch his weight belt and lost his knife, he surface safely but realised the other diver had not surfaced but could not go down to to lack of weight belt. Body pulled up on a line (lifeline?), may have been without cylinders when recovered (ditched his gear?), entangled, lost his cyliners, no other details. Reported in Schatzsucher.de
  223. 2001 11 13 Bray Thomas M USA Police SCUBA American aged 52, Philadelphia police force, assigned to the marine unit, recovering a buoy in the Delaware river near Fort Mifflin in Douth Philadelphia, entangled in the line, drowned. Reported in the Philadelphia Inquirer.
  224. 2001 10 17 Wave Dancer Belize SCUBA 17 out of 20 SCUBA diving American tourists and 3 crew members died when the “Wave Dancer� capsised in harbour when struck by Hurricane Iris. No evacuation, no hurricane contingency plan, worst known single diving accident.
  225. 2001 10 13 Frayne Kenneth USA Firefighter SCUBA American, aged 28. Volunteer fire-fighter with the Channahon fire department. Multi agency dive training exercise included a dive coordinator, an assistant dive coordinator, and seven divers in a man-made lake. They had sunk a boat and two mannequins in the lake to simulate a boating incident. Four of the divers, including the victim, were on their second dive when the victim went missing at the end of the dive. Initial confusion as to whether he had gone ashore, so some time before underwater search commenced. Dispatch was notified of the missing diver, and additional search-and-rescue crews responded to the scene with two rescue boats. The victim was found in the area of his last known location, approximately 1 hour and 15 minutes after he was last seen by his dive partner. His SCUBA cylinder empty, BD partially unbuckled, hood and mask off, regulator out. When the victim was brought to the surface he had blood coming from his nose and mouth. Transported to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead. Investigators recommended that:- 1. Fire departments should develop, implement and enforce standard operating procedures (SOPs) regarding diver training, 2. Ensure that each diver maintains continuous visual, verbal, or physical contact with his or her dive partner, 3. Ensure that a backup diver and a ninety-percent-ready diver are in position to render assistance, 4. Ensure that the dive coordinator stays informed about the rates of air consumption by divers, 5. Provide divers with refresher training on the hazards of lung over-expansion injuries and prevention measures. Medical examiner and the reviewing medical officer noted the possibility that an air embolism may have contributed to the drowning.
  226. 2001 8 10 Sempert Craig E USA SCUBA Aged 44, Owner of Craig's Dive Shop in Craig, was diving for a survey by Cape Fox Corp. Apparently got trapped in the outflow pipe from the power station pond south of Ketchikan, his body was recovered from the outflow pipe after his wife reported Friday afternoon that he hadn't come back from the dive. Inference is solo dive on SCUBA. Reported in Kenai Peninsula on-line
  227. 2001 6 11 Willis Emmett Clive USA SCUBA Aged 51, professional golf ball diver, 15th hole of the Westport Country club in Hickory, drowned, no details apart him only having been SCUBA certified three months prior to his death.
  228. 2001 3 8 Rosa Jose Luis Di Cstro Uruguay Navy 3 SCUBA Aged 23, Naval diver with four years experience, Port of Montevideo, propeller inspection of the crane barge 'General Artigas'. Appears to have been entrapment/out of air/drowning, but no real details. La Republica
  229. 2000 11 29 Not Recorded Fiji 130 SCUBA Two Fijian divers, 'one a master diver, the other less experienced' were hired to recover an anchor lost in 130 metres off Gau island. When they failed to surface, another diver attempted to rescue them, began to lose consciousness and inflated his ABLJ, he was admitted to the CWM hospital in Suva, given therapeutic decompression in a chamber and reported as having survived. No other details. Reported in the Fiji Times Online. (NB As far as I can ascertain, the facts are correct – two divers were hired, agreed to, and then attempted to, recover an anchor in 130 metres on air in SCUBA, TC)
  230. 2000 11 6 Ferreiro Eduardo Spain Tycsub 40 SCUBA Paraphrased from Press reports: “The accident killed a 35 year old diver carrying out commercial diving on a sewage outfall pipe at Mompos in San Sebastian. Contractor did not have the required permission from Maritime to carry out the work, no insurance, the diver had no medical, no in date SCUBA cylinder certificate, The ruling states that "The incident occurred about 11:00 pm on 6 December 2000, when the victim, who was turning 32, was unconscious with narcosis, anxiety, shortness of breath or over-exertion that could lead to carbon dioxide poisoning that caused death by cardiac arrest. These deficiencies pose serious violation of the applicable regulations posing a grave risk to workers leading to the death of the diver which would have been avoided had if the legally required security measures had been adopted by the accused�. Diver had no qualifications, and even if so would only have been certified to 25 metres under current legislation, no permit to dive from harbourmaster, no stand-by diver. The company manager was sentenced to a year and a half in prison, a fine of 1,080 euros, and ordered to compensate the family of the deceased with a total of 160,000 euros 5 years after the fatality. Bajoelagua.com
  231. 2000 10 25 Benvenuto Francesco Italy Barracuda 0 SCUBA Italian aged 32. Workshop in Genoa harbour, charging SCUBA cylinders, explosion, killed by facial impact from fitting/valve. Fitting with incorrect thread screwed into cylinder
  232. 2000 10 19 Reynolds David Grant Australia Cossack Pearls SCUBA Aged 31, from Queensland, was pearl diving with two other men off Onslow in October 2000 when tragedy struck. “His oxygen mask had become separated from his face and he was lying lifeless on the ocean floor�. Attempts by his co-workers to resuscitate him failed. The Perth Court of Petty Sessions found the man's employer was partly responsible for his death and imposed a $10,000 fine on the company. ABC News online
  233. 2000 9 19 Cummings Ron USA SCUBA Aged 49, highly decorated captain in the Phoenix fire department. Off duty, One of a three man team of fire-fighter with a commercial diving business, no back up, communications or stand-by, failed to surface after diving in to inspect the entrance gateway of an inlet to a 21' diameter syphon pipe running under the Aqua Fria river into a canal, part of the Central Arizona Project which delivers water from the Colorado river to the Phoenix area. Body recovered later the same day after syphon was drained. No details
  234. 2000 8 13 Smith Warren C USA 21 SCUBA Fire-fighter, aged 28, Search and rescue training dive in a lake. Circular search, partner lost the rope and became separated, basic SCUBA gear only, no voice comms, Another diver saw the victim who was distressed and frantically screaming, the victim knocked out the other diver's face piece. The victim, who was entangled in the buoy line was pulled to the surface by the line, given medical assistance and transported to hospital by air ambulance where he was pronounced dead, The cause of death was stated as pulmonary barotrauma. NIOSH report
  235. 2000 7 14 Poore Tommy USA SCUBA American, vesssel husbandry work on a vessel in the Houston Shipping channel, reported missing, body recovered two days l;ater. No commercial qualifications. NAOCD/cDiver
  236. 2000 6 27 Winkler Steven USA SCUBA American, aged 27, from Bellingham, professional sea cucumber harvesting off the vessel “Silver sea�, Griffin Bay, off San Juan island, critically ill, intensive care in Seattle hospital after surfacing from dive
  237. 2000 5 19 Harun Mohd Nor Malaysia Fire and Rescue Services SCUBA Paraphrased from the newspaper report:- “Another diver from the Fire and Rescue Services Department's scuba diving unit disappeared this morning during a search operation for a colleague who had gone missing since Monday around the waters of Pulau Lalang and Pulau Saga. The diver, identified as Mohd Nor Harun, in his 40s, is feared to have suffered a similar fate as his colleague, Idris Ahmad, 36. Idris was believed to have drowned while clearing the waters of discarded fishing nets. A police spokesman said the incident occurred about 11.30am today when the diver failed to surface for a break. His body was found by fisherman 3 days later. 40 divers were taking part in the search. Another diver became unconscious during the search and was admitted to the armed forces hospital at the Lumut naval base�. Reported in the New Straits Times
  238. 2000 5 16 Ahmad Idris Malaysia Fire and Rescue Services SCUBA Paraphrased from the newspaper report:- “Another diver from the Fire and Rescue Services Department's scuba diving unit disappeared this morning during a search operation for a colleague who had gone missing since Monday around the waters of Pulau Lalang and Pulau Saga. The diver, identified as Mohd Nor Harun, in his 40s, is feared to have suffered a similar fate as his colleague, Idris Ahmad, 36. Idris was believed to have drowned while clearing the waters of discarded fishing nets. A police spokesman said the incident occurred about 11.30am today when the diver failed to surface for a break. His body was found by fisherman 3 days later. 40 divers were taking part in the search. Another diver became unconscious during the search and was admitted to the armed forces hospital at the Lumut naval base�. Reported in the New Straits Times
  239. 2000 4 1 Connor Gary UK Fathoms Ltd. 61 SCUBA Paraphrased from press reports:- “Diver sacrificed his life to save a colleague as he continued his 15-year quest for the wreck of the Finnish freighter ‘Joanna Thorden’. The freighter sank at the notorious Pentland Skerries in the Pentland Firth during a storm in 1937, reputedly carrying copper ingots (and possibly even silver bullion). Gary Connor, a director of Wick-based Fathoms Ltd, was diving with Kenny Paterson, aged 34, on August nineteenth 1998. As they searched at a depth of 200ft (nearly 40ft more than the legal limit for commercial scuba divers), Kenny Paterson suffered symptoms of the bends and Gary brought him to the surface. Gary also suffered the bends but after treatment contracted septicemia and died in hospital in April this year. The sheriff returned a formal verdict on the medical cause of death and noted Fathoms staff originally told the Health and Safety Executive it was a recreational dive and outwith their scope of inquiry�. Reported in the Scottish Daily Record & Sunday. The FAI notes that Gary Connor died at Caithness General Hospital on the April first 2000, 20 months after the accident (cerebral anoxia, spinal bend, quadaplegia leading to tetraparesis and septicaemia), that SCUBA equipment was not appropriate for the diving operation, that the HSE was falsely induced into believing it was a sports dive and therefore there was no prompt investigation. He also noted that the actions of the deceased achieved the ultimately successful rescue of his colleague.
  240. 2000 4 0 Not Recorded Canada SCUBA Aged 36. A commercial diver with 12 years experience was drawn into a 30" diameter aerator intake pipe while attempting to locate the screens for two fire pump intakes. The pulp mill hired a diving company to inspect and clean two intake screens in their industrial effluent pond. Both parties thought that the work had been planned and all hazards identified. The pumps for the two intakes to be worked on had been identified and locked out. The diver, after entering the water with zero visibility, thought he had located the fire pump intakes when he was drawn into a nearby aerator intake pipe. The screen for this intake pipe had broken off and the diver was pulled, head first, 80 feet up the pipe. As the aerator intake pipe had not been identified on the drawings used, the 3 5,000 litre per minute aerator pump had not been locked out. There were no visual markers on the surface of the pond to identify the aerator or fire pump intakes. Worksafe Canada. Plus an OHS article in 2004 "It seems that Newfoundland's experience is also Canada's experience. In British Columbia, for example, there have been 33 workplace deaths in the commercial diving industry since 1975. The most recent fatality occurred in April, 2000 when a 36-year-old diver died while conducting maintenance work at a pulp mill"
  241. 2000 2 16 Williams Marcus Australia Endeavour Shipping Pty 10 SCUBA Australian, Diving in Investigator Roads, Gulf of Carpenteria. Diving operation to dismantle moorings in poor underwater visibility (<600mm) with surface swell and high current. Failed to surface, body never recovered. Contractor prosecuted (Inappropriate use of SCUBA for construction diving work. Cylinders not in current test. Lifeline disconnected by diver at surface and descended with lifeline over arm. Air purity not tested after previous oil contamination incident of HP compressor. No current medical certification. No standby diver fully equipped to act in standby diver role. No dive supervisor appointed. 30 minute delay to obtain appropriate equipment before search commenced) Workplace Health and Safety, Queensland.
  242. 2000 2 3 Not Recorded Ivory Coast Kenyan Navy 47 SCUBA Kenyan Navy diver died during body recovery operations on the crash site of Kenyan Airways airbus, 310, flight KQ 431 to Lagos, that crashed into the sea 2 miles off Abijan after take off , 169 died, 10 survivors.
  243. 2000 2 3 Weaver Bill USA SCUBA Paraphrased from the 'State News':- “A veteran commercial diver from Kodiak was killed while trying to clear line from a fishing boat's propeller, according to Kodiak police. Bill Weaver, 54, died when the skipper of the 81-foot trawler Lisa Malinda tried to move the vessel while Weaver was under the boat....�
  244. 2000 1 15 Bankert Gary L USA Fire Brigade 7 SCUBA 37-year-old male volunteer fire fighter drowned during a dry-suit certification training dive. The victim was one of six divers which included one certified diving instructor (Professional Association Dive Instructor [PADI] Dive Master) and five students (three of the students were volunteer fire fighters). The victim was a member of the fire department’s search and recovery dive team. On the day of the incident, the training was being conducted at a privately owned freshwater lake that is dedicated exclusively to recreational diving. The training consisted of one, 3-hour classroom training session (held on January 8, 2000), followed by three open-water dives conducted on January 15, 2000. The first dive was conducted in a controlled area near the shore. The second and third dives were logged open-water dives for dry-suit certification. On the third dive ascent, the group made a safety stop at a depth of 15 feet. After the instructor got the okay signal from all of the students, they continued their ascent to the surface. When the victim failed to appear at the surface, two of the divers descended to the bottom and began searching for him. They found the victim at a depth of approximately 22 feet. They brought him to the surface where rescue breathing was initiated while moving him toward shore. Once on shore, paramedics transported the victim by ambulance to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead at 22:38 hours. NIOSH investigators concluded that, to minimize the risk of similar occurrences, fire departments should ensure that divers maintain continuous visual, verbal, or physical contact with their dive partner. The death certificate lists the cause of death as severe metabolic acidosis as the result of near drowning. NIOSH report
  245. 1999 7 15 Pottberg Brian USA Fire Brigade SCUBA Aged 25, Member of Lee's Summit fire department. Described as a routine training exercise in Lakewood lake (Acting as the centre point for a second diver to swim increasing circular search pattern), “On July 15, 1999, one male fire fighter/paramedic/rescue diver (the victim) drowned while taking part in a drill. The victim, one of four rescue divers and a boat driver participating in a training drill, was assigned the "Pivot Diver" position. During the drill, a Safety Diver was to remain at the surface. The Pivot Diver (the victim), was to enter the water, follow the anchor line to the bottom, set up with a 50-foot length of rope, then signal the Pattern Diver (whose duty is to swim in a circular pattern searching for a rescue/recovery target) to descend and proceed with the drill. The crew on the surface observed air bubbles as the victim descended. Approximately 2 minutes later the rope bag surfaced while the bubbles continued. It appeared to the crew on the surface that the victim was searching for the rope bag because the air bubbles appeared to be moving back and forth. The Lead Diver instructed the Pattern Diver to descend and retrieve the victim. The Lead Diver also started to knock on the bottom of the rescue boat with a dive knife in hopes of signaling the victim to return to the surface. When the Pattern Diver surfaced, he reported the victim could not be found. The Lead Diver then instructed the Boat Driver to radio for emergency assistance and implement the department’s Incident Command System (ICS). The Lead Diver also directed the Safety Diver to initiate rescue of the victim. When the Safety Diver surfaced without the victim, the Lead Diver instructed the Safety Diver to assume the role of Pivot Diver. The Lead Diver assumed the role of Pattern Diver. Both the Safety Diver and Lead Diver dove below the surface to initiate a rescue of the victim. The victim was found during the search and brought to the surface approximately 11 minutes after the Boat Driver initially requested emergency assistance. When the victim was brought to the surface, the air regulator was not in his mouth and he was noticeably cyanotic and unresponsive. The victim received immediate medical attention on the Rescue Boat and while en route to a regional trauma center, where he was pronounced dead upon arrival. The cause of death was listed as drowning. NIOSH report.
  246. 1999 3 12 Tyre Shelley Tortola SCUBA American recreational diver aged 46, headmistress of a private school in Massachusetts, expert diver. Married David Swain in 1993. Federal prosecutor in Rhode Island wrote that there was "overwhelming circumstantial evidence proving that Swain murdered his wife�, evidence included Swain's "unusual behavior" after Tyre's death, his alleged financial motivation and the condition of Tyre's scuba equipment, which experts suggest "indicate that a violent struggle took place under water." A lawyer for Tyre's parents argued Swain killed his wife for money and had been involved in a romantic relationship with another woman. He said Swain knew he would not have been entitled to any money if he divorced his wife because of the couple's prenuptial agreement. Alleged that Swain cut off her air supply and held her in the water until she drowned.
  247. 1998 8 19 Paterson Kenny UK Fathoms Ltd. 61 SCUBA Paraphrased from press reports:- “Diver sacrificed his life to save a colleague as he continued his 15-year quest for the wreck of the Finnish freighter ‘Joanna Thorden’. The freighter sank at the notorious Pentland Skerries in the Pentland Firth during a storm in 1937, reputedly carrying copper ingots (and possibly even silver bullion). Gary Connor, a director of Wick-based Fathoms Ltd, was diving with Kenny Paterson, aged 34, on August nineteenth 1998. As they searched at a depth of 200ft (nearly 40ft more than the legal limit for commercial scuba divers), Kenny Paterson suffered symptoms of the bends and Gary brought him to the surface. Gary also suffered the bends but after treatment contracted septicemia and died in hospital in April this year. The sheriff returned a formal verdict on the medical cause of death and noted Fathoms staff originally told the Health and Safety Executive it was a recreational dive and outwith their scope of inquiry�. Reported in the Scottish Daily Record & Sunday. The FAI notes that Gary Connor died at Caithness General Hospital on the April first 2000, 20 months after the accident (cerebral anoxia, spinal bend, quadaplegia leading to tetraparesis and septicaemia), that SCUBA equipment was not appropriate for the diving operation, that the HSE was falsely induced into believing it was a sports dive and therefore there was no prompt investigation. He also noted that the actions of the deceased achieved the ultimately successful rescue of his colleague.
  248. 1998 8 13 Nicolson Constable David Canada Police SCUBA Police diver searching dam for missing 12 year old boy was sucked into same sluice. On a life line but it broke (along with his regulator) when pulled by the surface crew. Drowned. Ontario Ministry of Labour investigator concluded the diver would not have drowned had the dive been conducted according to the  Occupational Health and Safety Act and its diving regulations and recommended charges be laid against Waterloo regional police for several offences under the act, including failing to properly plan, equip and supervise a dive of that type, but the ministry chose not to lay charges because there was not a reasonable prospect of securing a conviction (his investigation identified safe-diving practices that were not followed that night including lack of identifying and controlling the hazardous sluice, failing to use a supply of air from the surface for a dive near a dam, and limited training in doing dives near dams. Several officers argued that police dive teams should be exempt from diving regulations when they are doing an emergency rescue. Investigators argued that the rules do not distinguish between emergency dives and commercial dives because "the hazards facing divers is the same no matter what their purpose." Police officer in charge of operation said that if it had been a missing adult, the search would probably not have gone ahead at that time, 'but with a child.........'
  249. 1998 8 11 Cranfield Walter Guam Deep Sea Technologies SCUBA Paraphrased from OSHA reports:- “San Franciso. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) fined a diving contractor $75,000 following the death of a diver who died from decompression sickness while working on a project to salvage artifacts from a Manila galleon which sank off the coast of Guam in 1690. After a six month investigation, OSHA cited Deep Sea Technologies, a subcontractor of The Pilar Project Ltd., for willful violations which led to the death, including failure to use two-way voice communication between a mixed-gas diver and surface crew; having no decompression chamber ready for use at the dive site; requiring employees using SCUBA equipment to dive deeper than 130 feet in sea water; exceeding the allowable service pressure on the compressed gas cylinders used by SCUBA divers, and lack of tables at the dive site which outline safe diving depths and durations. The violations are covered under OSHA's Commercial Diving Operations regulations.� The company was also cited for one less-than-serious violation for failing to notify OSHA of the fatality within eight hours. “OSHA will not tolerate this type of situation," said the enforcement director for OSHA in the western states. "This fatality could have been prevented. The employer knew they were diving too deep for the equipment they used, that they had no two-way communication, and that the tanks were over pressurized, and yet they continued to put the divers at risk, resulting in this tragic consequence." Ha also noted that another diver on The Pilar Project died in 1994, and another required emergency evacuation in 1993
  250. 1998 5 19 Blackmon Eugene USA Fire Brigade 9 SCUBA Aged 39, SAR diver with the fire department. Accident happened in the Little Calumet river undertaking a search for two victims, drowned. (A man described as being between 40 and 50 fell into the river, a man jumped in to give him aid, both drowned. The fire-fighter was trying to find the two victims). After an initial SCUBA search dive, due to zero visibility and the underwater current, the victim and his partner decided to change over to their underwater communication masks. Returned to the staging area, changed tanks and placed a 50 foot long, 4-inch round air float (rubber-jacketed fire hose) from shore to the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter that had just arrived. The divers decided to remove their SCUBA gear and free float to the Coast Guard cutter using the 4-inch float as a guide and flotation device, determining this would be the easiest way to enter the boat since it did not have a swim platform. Wearing his weight belt, the victim began his free float to the boat, holding on to his Buoyancy Control Device (BCD), tank, and the 4-inch air float as flotation devices. The weight belt consisted of three 10-pound lead weights secured around his waist. As the victim was approaching the boat he lost grip of the flotation devices and instantly went under the water due to the 30-pound weight belt that he did not release. His partner immediately went down after him, free diving with just his wet suit which created a buoyancy problem and limited his dive depth. After two attempts to reach the victim, he surfaced and called for assistance from the Air and Sea Rescue divers. One diver from the Air and Sea Rescue team descended to the area where the victim went down and located him. As the victim was pulled close to the water surface, the victim’s partner grabbed him. The Air and Sea diver lost his grip on the victim while adjusting his own equipment, and because of the 30-pound weight belt around the victim’s waist, the victim’s partner was unable to hold on to him, and he descended for a second time. The victim was located and pulled from the water approximately 10 to 15 minutes later by the police rescue divers. The victim received immediate medical attention on shore before being loaded into the Air and Sea Rescue helicopter which transported him to an area hospital where he was pronounced dead. Reported in the press and official records.
  251. 1998 4 22 Rozhkov Andrei Arctic Moscow State University Diving Club 50 SCUBA First attempt at underwater exploration of the North Pole, Russian firefighter and diver with the support of the Diving Club of Moscow State University, inexplicably went limp and died minutes into a solo dive. Team members later said they'd seen mysterious spotlights and heard a deafening "sonar ping" right before his death, prompting speculation that a patrolling Russian submarine may have caused his demise. Not confirmed, Cause of death reported as heart attack). The next attempted dive at the North Pole was organized by the same club next year, on April 24, 1999, and was successful. The divers were Michael Wolff (Austria), Brett Cormick (UK) and Bob Wass (USA)
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