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Incidents List

  1. Year Month Day Surname Forenames Location Contractor Client Depth Type of Diving Details
  2. 2020 10 27 Paxton Alex USA Georgia Power S/S Air "Aged 31, Oliver Dam near Columbus, reported as drowning, 'had to be rescued and transported to Piedmont columbus regional Emergency Room, pronounced dead', possibly Differential Pressure but no details, reported by WTVM OSHA summary stated t 2:30 p.m. on October 27, 2020, Employee #1, Coworkers #1 and #2, and their supervisor, divers employed by a civil engineering construction company, were engaged in a diving operation at a lake dam. They were assigned to conduct inspections and repairs to several gates and chains. During a solitary dive with an umbilical supplying breathing gas and video, Employee #1 climbed down a long ladder to the water's surface. He then descended into the water, sliding down the chain with his right hand while feeling the side of the dam face with his left hand to guide his way down. At a depth of approximately 15 to 20 feet, his left hand came into contact with a 10-inch hole in the dam's face that led into a Penstock Pipe. Differential pressure caused the employee's left arm to be sucked into the pipe up to his shoulder. He cried out and then went silent and unresponsive. The dive supervisor attempted several times to communicate with Employee #1 but received no response. The supervisor instructed Coworker #1, the backup diver, to go into the water. Coworker #1, after reaching Employee #1, reported that Employee #1 remained unresponsive with no signs of breathing. Coworker #1 was unable to free him from the pipe. Several dam employees were called to the scene, and one of the dam operators closed a valve which released the diver from the pipe. Coworker #1 brought Employee #1 to the water's surface, where he was attached to the emergency retrieval system, removed from the water, and placed on the main deck where emergency medical technicians were standing by. Employee #1 was transported to the hospital, where he was declared dead. The subsequent investigation reported that mechanical asphyxiation may have been the cause of death. At no time had Employee #1 lost air. OSHA concluded contractor complacency, lack of knowledge of site, lack of risk assessment, no LOTO, did not verify valve closed, ineffective use of flowmeter, client complacency, lack of knowledge of own systems (Did not know which valve to close), flawed LOTO procedures (Logbook showed valve closed but it was not)"
  3. 2021 3 3 Gockerell Anthony Glen USA Grayzone Seafood and Trade LLC 23m S/S Air "Aged 35, father of four, wife expecting another, geoduck harvesting in the Dungeness West geoduck tract in the Strait of Juan de Fuca 6 miles East of Ediz Hook. Air line entangled at around 08:30, pulled to the surface by deck crew and given CPR during transit to Port Angeles where fire department medics continued treatment as he was transferred to the Olympic Medical Centre where he was pronounced dead at 09:46. Reported by the Peninsula Daily News.Accident Investigation. OSHA Summary Nr: 133933.015 Event: 03/03/2021 Employee Is Killed After Drowning During Clam Harvest Dive At 8:30 a.m. on March 3, 2021, an employee was finishing a 70 foot dive to harve st geoducks (clams) and had just completed a 10 foot rest to slowly equalize pre ssure before returning to the boat. The air line the employee was using became t angled and he was unable continue his ascent. During the time he and his coworke rs (the boat crew) were attempting to free his air line, his mask came off causing him to drown."
  4. 2021 8 4 Aguilar Torres Ruben Mexico Arendal Diving off the Jacson 34, initially reported as 'an accident on an oiltanker' and 'bursting of a pipeline caused the death' but no real details. The same contractor (Arendal) had a previous fatalty in 2019 (Adolfo Leon Carrillo) Reported in social media (Facebook) and Tabascohoy.com
  5. 1977 5 10 Hoffman C H UK IUC 152 Saturation American, aged 22. Venture 1, conflicting reports, had finished dive, acting as bellman, either fell unconscious in the bell and drowned in trunking or fainted and fell through hatch, recovered by diver but he then drowned in trunking, possible pO2 issue? UPDATE: See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venture_One_diving_accident
  6. 2014 7 11 Roni Indonesia PT Primus PLTU SCUBA Expected Delta P. Google translate gives: Two bodies of victims of divers at the Tanjung Jati B Steam Power Plant (PLTU) Jepara were successfully evacuated by Indonesian Navy divers from the Koarmatim Underwater Rescue Service (Dislambair), in the waters of Jepara, Central Java, Friday (11/02). 07). At around 10:00 WIB, the Dislambair Koarmatim Dive Team managed to evacuate the victim's body on behalf of Roni (37), a resident of RT 12 RW 1 Pesisir Village, Besuki, Situbondo, East Java. Previously, the Navy Diving Team also managed to evacuate the victim's body on behalf of Eko Setiawan (25), a resident of RT 04 RW 01 Sidowungu Village, Gresik, East Java, at 12.30 WIB. Eko Setiawan's body was found in the Manhole-5 pipe with a distance of about 30 meters. The evacuation process was very difficult, because the victim was in an underwater pipe with a diameter of 400 cm, with a depth of about 10-16 meters. When it was found the position of the two victims was at a depth of 200 meters from the door of the PLTU cooling pool. For the time being, the exact cause of the accident is not known, but it is suspected that it was caused by ocean currents. The two victims were certified divers who were sent by a third party partner, namely PT. Primus. Kadislambair Koarmatim Marine Colonel (T) Bhirawa Budijuana said, to evacuate the two victims, the Diving Team directly brought diving equipment such as Scuba Set and MK-27 from Surabaya. "This team was sent specifically on direct orders from Pangarmatim Rear Admiral TNI Sri Mohamad Darojatim to assist in the search and evacuation of Search and Rescue (SAR) at PLTU Tanjung Jati," said Kadislambair. Source: https://tni.mil.id/view-63555-dua-korban-di-pltu-tanjung-jati-jepara-berhasil-dievakuasi-penyelam-koarmatim.html
  7. 2014 7 11 Setiawan Eko Indonesia PT Primus PLTU SCUBA Expected Delta P. Google translate gives: Two bodies of victims of divers at the Tanjung Jati B Steam Power Plant (PLTU) Jepara were successfully evacuated by Indonesian Navy divers from the Koarmatim Underwater Rescue Service (Dislambair), in the waters of Jepara, Central Java, Friday (11/02). 07). At around 10:00 WIB, the Dislambair Koarmatim Dive Team managed to evacuate the victim's body on behalf of Roni (37), a resident of RT 12 RW 1 Pesisir Village, Besuki, Situbondo, East Java. Previously, the Navy Diving Team also managed to evacuate the victim's body on behalf of Eko Setiawan (25), a resident of RT 04 RW 01 Sidowungu Village, Gresik, East Java, at 12.30 WIB. Eko Setiawan's body was found in the Manhole-5 pipe with a distance of about 30 meters. The evacuation process was very difficult, because the victim was in an underwater pipe with a diameter of 400 cm, with a depth of about 10-16 meters. When it was found the position of the two victims was at a depth of 200 meters from the door of the PLTU cooling pool. For the time being, the exact cause of the accident is not known, but it is suspected that it was caused by ocean currents. The two victims were certified divers who were sent by a third party partner, namely PT. Primus. Kadislambair Koarmatim Marine Colonel (T) Bhirawa Budijuana said, to evacuate the two victims, the Diving Team directly brought diving equipment such as Scuba Set and MK-27 from Surabaya. "This team was sent specifically on direct orders from Pangarmatim Rear Admiral TNI Sri Mohamad Darojatim to assist in the search and evacuation of Search and Rescue (SAR) at PLTU Tanjung Jati," said Kadislambair. Source: https://tni.mil.id/view-63555-dua-korban-di-pltu-tanjung-jati-jepara-berhasil-dievakuasi-penyelam-koarmatim.html
  8. 2021 9 16 Yulianto Indonesia PT Patra Dinimika OWA / PLTU SSDE Indonesian diver named Yulianto, working for Patra Dinimika, under subcontract to OWA, at the PLTU (electric steam power plant) in Jepara, Central Java. Delta P, with someone opening a valve or gate to an intake. Using SSDE, with umbilical and hat pulled off during recovery.
  9. 2020 9 21 Medina González Orlando Andrés Curacao Curacao Industrial Diving Venezuelan. Curacao, Damen Ship Repair, Pier B, (Double fatality with Eustoquio Madrid), one diver drowned, the second taken ashore alive but died, initial reports indicate 'unauthorised' (SCUBA) equipment. No other details. Reported by SubaQuatica Magazine: https://www.subaquaticamagazine.es/dos-buzos-mueren-en-accidente-en-damen-shiprepair-en-curazao-el-caribe/
  10. 2020 9 21 Madrid Eustoquio Curacao Curacao Industrial Diving Venezuelan. Curacao, Damen Ship Repair, Pier B, (Double fatality with Orlando Andreas Medina Gonzalez), one diver drowned, the second taken ashore alive but died, initial reports indicate 'unauthorised (SCUBA) equipment. No other details. Reported by SubaQuatica Magazine: https://www.subaquaticamagazine.es/dos-buzos-mueren-en-accidente-en-damen-shiprepair-en-curazao-el-caribe/
  11. 2017 1 25 Ortega Agustin Spain Balizamientos y Obras Hidraulicas de Mazarron. Sociedad Limitada Rebreather Aged 37, married, two children diving off Mazarron, working on the underwater pipelines associated with the Valdelentisco desalination plant near El Mojon diving from the vessel 'Ten de Todo'. Taken out of the water unconscious, brought ashore and taken to hospital in Mazarron where he was in cardiac arrest, did not respond to treatment. Reported in la Voz de Almeria. No other details. RB Faral Accident Database reported this as a commercial dive on a recreational rebreather.
  12. 2017 7 22 Not Reported China CNOOC '"CNOOC shuts in Lufeng fields. Diver lost life in initial effort to repair leak on Nanhai Shengkai FSO that has affected four fields in the Pearl River Mouth basin caused by a sea valve during repair work on the FSO". "Initial efforts to stop the leak claimed the life of one diver. However, no oil spill was reported and CNOOC is now studying the impact of the incident and is looking at ways to resume production". Upstreamonline (This is rumoured to have been another Differential Pressure fatality, IMCA SF under preparation)
  13. 2018 6 23 Firdaus Mohamed Singapore Marine Diving & Engineering Vopak Terminals SCUBA A 27-year-old commercial diver died after he was struck by a concrete pile while working in the waters off Pulau Sebarok on Saturday afternoon (Jun 23). Mohamed Firdaus was working as a commercial diver for Marine Diving & Engineering (MDE), which specialises in underwater services including marine and underwater construction. On the day of the accident, Firdaus was working on a project developed by Vopak Terminals Singapore on Pulau Sebarok’s Jetty 2. The project's occupier is HSL Constructor, which had engaged MDE for the project. "Two divers were in the water, installing brackets onto a concrete pile, when one of the workers was struck by a concrete pile," said the Ministry of Manpower. Firdaus was unconscious when taken to National University Hospital, where he died from his injuries, added the police, who received a call for assistance at 5.13pm. The police are investigating the unnatural death. Advertisement MOM has stopped all works at the worksite and is currently investigating the incident. In an email to Channel NewsAsia, Vopak Terminals confirmed that a fatal accident happened at its terminal in the port. "We are deeply saddened by this accident. We, jointly with our main contractor and his employer, are providing his family with all possible aid and assistance they need during this difficult time," said Vopak Terminals. Vopak Terminals also said it has started "a thorough investigation to find the root cause" of the accident. On Sunday afternoon, representatives from MDE, HSL and Vopak attended Firdaus' funeral, MDE and HSL said in a joint statement. "No words nor gesture can replace the loss of Firdaus, and we will certainly be here for his loved ones. We truly share the grief of his family, friends and colleagues," said Mr Masahiro Aoyagi, managing director of MDE. "This is the first fatal accident ever experienced by MDE since our incorporation 38 years ago and we are doing our utmost to understand what happened," he added. All related parties are currently working closely with the authorities, the companies said in the statement. Pulau Sebarok is an oil storage and refueling port at one of the southern islands of Singapore. Source: https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/mohamed-firdaus-diver-27-dies-waters-pulau-sebarok-concrete-10464340
  14. 2019 12 27 Galletti Wolfrang Angola Rana Diving S.p.a. / Aquatic Deepwater Sonangol P&P 82m Sat Commercial Diver 42 years old born in Trieste . Italy on December 28th 1976. Working for RANA Diving S.p.a.onboard of the SBM Installer at Block 3 in Angola , blowdown on December 23rd 2019. When bell run 011 on December 27th 2019 working at seabed around 82 m.s.w. like Diver2 was smashed between a pipe (long ~10 meters/ weight ~ 1 tone) and one DMA in a fatal accident not yet clarified . 24 days to repatriate the corpse that arrive Italy on January 20th 2020. From the autopsy made in Angola and performed in Portuguese First: Wolfrang died of a shock resulting from a thoracic trauma that compromised the aorta. On the body there are also wounds and bruises on the head, in particular on the cheekbones and on the occipital part. Second: the Angolan coroner who performed the autopsy classifies the death as "accident at work". On Tuesday 11th February 2020 forty five days after his death was buried in Trieste his Italian city. No Company or IMCA information about this fatality yet.
  15. 1997 5 0 Lewis Brent R GOM American, jetting under a Casino barge (Isle of Capri) in Shreveport, no bailout, hose severed (pulled into pump inlet) ditched hat, drowned
  16. 1979 11 10 Wodeco V lost bell Incident Ghana or Ivory Coast Comex 130 Saturation Entire dive team, including the supervisor, - dived in rotation, bell bounce diving. Single bell lift wire plus two guide wires tied up to the wellhead. About a month prior to the incident, the main wire had been ovalised above the socket but judged fit for purpose. On this day, during bell recovery, when the bell had reached the top of the "A" frame, the wire parted.. The bell ballast hit the water, the bell hit the ballast which had been slowed down entering the water and sank. Communications were lost with the bell. The surface team expected the divers in the bell to shed its ballast, but that did not happen. The team was without supervisor (he was in the bell) and there was no lead diver. On advice from company HQ, they mixed some 10 % Heliox and built a surface umbilical by connecting three lengths of flexible hose. The first diver started breathing the 10 % prior to entering the water and passed out. The rest of the team assumed that this was due to the fact that the components had not "mixed up properly". They equipped the next diver with a bail out cylinder filled with Air, he breathed the Air from the surface and switched to Heliox at 10 metres. On the way down, this diver pulled himself with his arms, head down along one of the bell guide wires instead of "hanging out" in the current on the way down. As a result, him and his umbilical rotated around the bell guide wire several times to the point were he could not progress any more and he exhausted himself in the process. It is possible that he had passed out underwater. The surface crew retrieved him, it needed several men to haul on the umbilical. He was suffering from pulmonary barotrauma. However, he was conscious when he reached the surface, he cleared the several turns the umbilical had made around the guide wire himself. He went in the chamber still conscious and standing with a doctor and male nurse. Short of Helium, so they only pressurized the main lock. The nurse was claustrophobic and started panicking and they had to decompress him. In order to do so, they pressurised the entrance lock with the only gas they had left, air. When the nurse left the chamber he was told that if he was not feeling well to return to the chamber to be treated. Instead he went into hiding, laid down and was found later, dead (Isobaric counter diffusion). The diver died in the chamber (Pulmonary Barotrauma),.
  17. 2009 12 13 Kumar Mukesh India Grafftech Marine and Engineering 37 S/S Air Paraphrased from press reports: Purulia, India .An Indian diver who had is right foot stuck in a pipe for more than two days has died. Rescuers were forced to amputate his leg in order to recover the body after 72 hours. He was attempting to fix a leak inside an underwater chamber of the Purulia Power Project reservoir first noticed in March (The leak was reducing efficiency). The Mumbai-based engineering Company assigned the job to a diving team from Visakhapatnam The job was to locate the leak in the inundated reservoir chamber, find out what had caused it and carry out repairs. The repair work was to have been recorded on camera but there is no footage of Mukesh's dive. During the dive his right foot was sucked into a pipe. A specially trained diving team from Barrackpore called in to assist in the rescue got stuck in a road blockade and took more than 33 hours to reach the accident site. The diver was underwater well over 48 hours before he died. The project manager said amputation was the last resort and a move not without complications. "We had to eliminate all other options and proceed step by step", he said. According to reports Kumar was an experienced diver with 10 years of diving behind him. Purulia, Dec. 16: "Diver Mukesh Kumar's right leg was sawed off and his lifeless body pulled out, 72 hours after his foot got sucked into a drainage pipe in an underwater chamber. The suction at the mouth of the drainage pipe was so great that it had drawn in the leg till almost the thigh, though it was only till the ankle that his had foot got stuck initially. Officials of the Purulia Pumped Storage Project said "The task of locating and repairing the leak has been shelved for the time being". Reported by AHN
  18. 2012 4 12 Bogs Arsinas UAE Target Engineering 18 SS/Air Reported that a Philippino diver (Not IMCA certified, alledgedly refused certification by WCCD) was brought to the surface from depth without completing decompression (dive possibly aborted by supervisor because "diver was not performing adequately in the water"). After 10 minutes on deck, collapsed. Put in a DDC and treated (Table? Depth?) but did not respond. Transferred to hospital but died the day after. No investigation, reported to his family by the contractor that he 'died in his room of a heart attack' Possibly no medical, possibly not fit to dive. Reported by The Divers Association
  19. 2017 6 27 Gorgonio-Ixba Luis Alberto USA SCUBA Aged 34, working on a 164' luxury yacht 'Honey' docked at the Old Port Cove Marina (North Palm beach, Florida), was underwater cleaning the hull 'when someone or something inexplicably turned on the ship’s bow thrusters'. He was drawn in head first and died instantly. two daughters, one aged 6 months. http://www.wpbf.com/article/diver-cleaning-yacht-bottom-killed-when-propeller-turned-on/10231016
  20. 1993 6 4 Bengloan Stephane France Military Rebreather Aged 26, double fatality with Eric Lechauve, night training exercise (Simulated attack) in Brest harbour. Both found entangled under a pontoon with empty cylinders. In 1996, 5 men (2 admirals, a Captain, the course lecturer and course director) were charged. Outcome unclear. Reported by www.liberation.fr: https://goo.gl/vGWrML
  21. 2011 1 8 Smock Mathew 'Matt' Alexander USA T & T Bisso S/S Air Aged 28, Married with 4 children. The U.S. Coast Guard is investigating the death of a diver who was found unresponsive after cleaning a ship's hull, authorities said Monday. The diver, from Houston, was working offshore from a service boat. Crews performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation on him until the boat docked at Pier 9 in Galveston. Galveston firefighters took over the lifesaving maneuver and an ambulance took the diver to the University of Texas Medical Branch. The incident stemmed from what was believed to be a mechanical malfunction with diving equipment, a fire official said. The diver was pronounced dead at 1:37 p.m, by the Galveston County Medical Examiner's Office. He was diving about 10 miles out from the jetties in an area where ships anchor, cleaning the hull of a ship with a scrubbing machine. He was working on the King Arthur, a commercial diving vessel. Galveston Daily News. Other sources indicate he lost his helmet (PC) 2012 USCG/ADCI Safety Partnership Casualty Statistics Paper also reported the incident adding he requested 'Up and out' but surfaced the opposite side of the ship, the supervisor reported that the diver wanted to ditch his hat. Rescue diver found him on the bottom without helmet, unresponsive.
  22. 1993 7 6 Fassnacht James USA Police 6m SCUBA American police officer aged 42, East Orange, New Jersey. With two other divers clearing intake grill in Weequahic park lake, drowned. Another report states "James Fassnacht, a 42 year old police officer was killed in 15-18 feet of water on 07/06/93. The officer was asked to assist another officer in checking a screen on an intake pipe used for irrigating of a municipal golf course. Officer Fassnacht advised his dive partner that he was "uncomfortable". Officer Fassnacht stayed at the surface while his partner submerged to check the screen intake. After a short period of time, Officer Fassnacht indicated to an officer on the shore that he needed assistance. Officer Fassnacht grabbed a buoy that was on the surface, but the buoy did not support the officer. About fifteen seconds after the officer and buoy sank, the buoy popped to the surface but Officer Fassnacht did not. A search was begun and Officer Fassnacht was quickly recovered. CPR was initiated, but was pronounced dead a Beth Israel Hospital after efforts failed. The cause of death was ruled accidental drowning.". PSDiver.com
  23. 2016 12 19 Castiglione Leticia Nerina Argentina Raul A. Negro S.R.L Salvage and Diving Company SS/Air Approx. 18:10 hs. Monday 19-Dec Commercial diver Leticia Castiglione, an Argentine. 37 years of age Diving for the Company Raul Negro. Operating in reflotamiebro on a sunken barge TAF 317. Km 1204,5 MI RP. Leaving bottom and arriving on the surface assisted by the two surface divers who with personal from the PNA used CPR. Unconscious she was transferred to land and taken to the School Hospital where they performed life saving tasks of reanimacion.amplia CORR Hs. At 20:20 The Head of Intensive Therapy reported the death of the Commercial Diver Leticia Castiglione, cause of death to be determined by the coroner. Federal Court Judgment No. 1 was given to Dr. Carlos Soto Dávila - Facebook
  24. 2017 6 14 Sango Mervin UAE Atlantis Marine SCUBA Ex-Navy diver, hull cleaning the vessel 'Oil Runner' (Panama flagged crude oil tanker, 270m x 46 m) off Fujairah, evening dive (20:00 - 21:00), heavy swell, current running, apparently had a problem and disappeared from colleagues view. Later found floating on the surface, 'lips exploded and tongue bitten'. PC
  25. 2017 4 18 Hall Daniel USA Fisherman 75m? SCUBA Aged 36, Puget Sound, near Fox Island, commercial Geoduck diver, pulled unresponsive back onto the Squaxin island tribal vessel 100 yards offshore around 14:00 and taken to the nearby US Navy Warfare Center dock and transferred to the St. Joseph Medical Centre in Tacoma where he was confirmed as deceased. Reported in The News Tribune
  26. 1998 5 18 Skeate Martin China Oceaneering 40 Saturation Australian, "Ocean Winsertor", on contract to Hyundai Heavy Industries, Poisoned by seabed toxins (H2S, arsenic, Mercury) then circa 12 Chinese divers subsequently medivac'd. All Oceaneering divers survived, but have suffered ever since.
  27. 1998 5 18 Shord Mike China Oceaneering 40 Saturation Australian, "Ocean Winsertor", on contract to Hyundai Heavy Industries, Poisoned by seabed toxins (H2S, arsenic, Mercury) then circa 12 Chinese divers subsequently medivac'd. All Oceaneering divers survived, but have suffered ever since.
  28. 1998 5 18 MacPhail Alister China Oceaneering 40 Saturation Australian, "Ocean Winsertor", on contract to Hyundai Heavy Industries, Poisoned by seabed toxins (H2S, arsenic, Mercury) then circa 12 Chinese divers subsequently medivac'd. All Oceaneering divers survived, but have suffered ever since.
  29. 1998 5 18 Johnson Grey China Oceaneering 40 Saturation Australian, "Ocean Winsertor", on contract to Hyundai Heavy Industries, Poisoned by seabed toxins (H2S, arsenic, Mercury) then circa 12 Chinese divers subsequently medivac'd. All Oceaneering divers survived, but have suffered ever since.
  30. 2017 1 5 Vazquez Tojeiro Jesus Ramon La Alcaidesa. San Roque. Cadiz. Spain 80m SCUBA Commercial diver 50 years old born in El Ferrol. La Coruna. Spain. Father of two with more of 26 years of diving experience. On Thursday 5th January 2017 at 11:20 a.m. emergency service number 112 received a call informing that the diver had not emerged from a solo red coral collecting dive after descending around 09:50 a.m. Actuation of Guardia Civil, Salvamento Maritimo and private companies with two ROV without success with poor weather conditions hindering the recovery operation . After several days SAR, on Saturday 14th January at 12:30pm the body was found in 80 m.s.w. and recovered by ROV at 14:30 then transported to the port of Sotogrande. Diver was using SCUBA on air.
  31. 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
  32. 2015 8 19 Koratko Mathew USA Harkand/Swiber 110m Saturation American, married, two children diving off the Swiber Quetzal, Bay of Campeche, riser installation operation. Accident in the water at 14:30 local, body taken ashore to Cuidad del Carrmen, no other details, Reported in the El Sur de Campeche. Complete news blackout imposed by Harkand and Swiber, Two conflicting and unsubstantiated reports - one indicated the fatality was due to stored energy in a member being cut was the cause - it sprang and crushed the diver's chest. A second report indicated that the one piece riser being installed crushed the diver against the structure - ie a lifting incident. If the lawyers keep this incident gagged it is unlikely that any lessons will be learnt. Later rumours indicate riser swung due to topsides crew moving/changing hang-off without the knowledge of the dive crew but without confirmation that is still just speculation. No further information has been released by Swiber, or the defunct Harkand.
  33. 2014 3 17 Khater Youssef Saudi Arabia Subtech 29m S/S Air Egyptian, aged 26, diving off the Zamil 403 (57 metres long, 4 metre draught, Bahrain flag, built 2012, China), four point moored, in the Persian Gulf, north of Al Jubail , lost communications, stand-by diver found him on the seabed with his helmet off, did not respond to treatment. Longstreath. Leak investigation on a live 12" water injection pipeline at between 800 and 900 psi. "The diver successfully attached the marker buoy to the pipeline but it became fouled under the vessel. In order to free the buoy the diver was asked to move it to the far side of the leak. At the time of the dive, visibility was reduced as it was approaching sunset; the diver used his hat-mounted light to navigate. In addition, the tremendous noise of the leak on the live pipeline severely hampered voice communications between the diver and diving supervisor. Once the diver had detached the marker buoy he started to move along the seabed beside the pipeline. He was on the same side as the leak. The diver appeared to look down at some debris and, as he stepped over this material, he was struck by a jet of the high pressure water coming from the damaged pipeline. All communication with the diver was instantly lost. The standby diver was deployed immediately using the second diving basket. Within 5 minutes he had located the stricken diver who was lying on the seabed. The dive helmet (KM37) was no longer on the diver's head but was lying beside him with the neck dam still attached. Both divers were recovered to surface. All attempts to resuscitate the injured diver failed; he was later pronounced dead by a doctor who had been helicoptered offshore. IMCA SF 6/14
  34. 1859 3 17 Not Recorded UK S/S Air "Diver drowned whilst a boat's crew were engaged about the wreck of the barque Saxon King off Stranraer" "Diver Drowned. ...the diver, when they found him quite dead. The air pipe had got entangled among the steps of the ladder and air supply had..." (The Saxon King left Samarand with a cargo of sugar for the Clyde but ran aground on rocks off the South Rock Lighthouse (Off Ireland) on the 10th of January. She was refloated after three hours and made for the Clyde where she anchored off the Corsewall Lighthouse (Near Stranraer) where she foundered and sank). No other details (Pay for access archive). Reported in the Cambridge Chronicle and Herald/The British Newspaper Archive
  35. 1875 10 4 Grelee Harry W USA 4 S/S Air Town of Lowell, swept under a projecting timber by fast current, air hose kinked, signalled surface that he was in trouble but they were unable to pull him out. 'His lifeless body was extricated and brought to the surface by his brother'. Reported in the New York Times.
  36. 1862 12 19 Barrett Lucas Jamaica S/S Air English, Aged 25, The first director of Geological Survey of Jamaica. He used mollusc shells for fossil dating, Started collecting living shells underwater from the Port Royal Cays, south of Kingston Harbour. On his second dive collecting shells on a reef, closed air valve and inflated suit to surface, floated to surface some distance from his boat, dead before brought ashore. J B S Haldane suggested that this rapid ascent was the cause of death due to a pulmonary air embolism ('the bends'). A shell, now in the natural history museum in London, found on his body is one of only two known specimens of a smooth shelled micromorphic brachiopod 'Argyrotheca woodardiana'.
  37. 1872 3 29 Seaman George USA S/S Air 40 years old, living on Staten Island, working off the wrecking schooner 'Thomas Kivlin' at work at the foot of 65th Street, North River, was suffocated by the bursting of the air pipe. Seaman had been underwater for some time, and, as soon as it was discovered that the pipe used for conducting air to the diver had burst, he was hauled up, but when he reached the surface and was relieved of his diving suit, all efforts made to resuscitate him proved futile. The remains were removed to the morgue. New York Times.
  38. 1872 12 10 Collins USA S/S Air American, formally a member of the 99th Regiment of New York Volunteers, searching for a propeller lost off a Navy steam launch at Norfolk, Virginia. About 1 o'clock a diver by the name of Collins met his death by suffocation while engaged in diving. Pulled to the surface and found to be dead. New York Times
  39. 1869 0 0 Jurgens or Ingen Louis USA Neptune Submarine Telegraph Company Topsides Working on demolishing the wreck of the steamer 'Scotland' which sank off New York in about 30' of water. Set charges but the submarine detonation apparently set off a sympathetic explosion of a second charge on the diving boat. Four killed including the diver who had previously set the charge. One of the survivors was a man by the name of Sterne who had been a gunner on the 'Monitor' during the battle with the 'Merrimac'. New York Times.
  40. 1853 0 0 MacDonald USA S/S Air Reported as having died in an incident similar to that of John Tope who died a year later in 1854. The accident at the wreck of the 'Erie' last year, when MacDonald lost his life, was similar to this (Tope), though the victim in that case had but little experience as a diver. Too much care cannot be observed by those who follow this hazardous business. No details, but presumably another squeeze. New York Times
  41. 0 0 0 Hansen Charles 'Big Charlie' USA Article in Time Magazine dated October 1934 referring to an attempted gold salvage operation HMS 'Hussar', sank 23rd November 1780 off New York in the East River near treacherous Hell Gate, rumoured to be carrying gold. Robert Roy Hansen dived from the Tug 'Terminal' using an armoured diving suit - "Eleanor" - invented by salvage company president, Thomas P. Connolly, & Weighing 675 Ib. on deck, the suit has a head and body of steel, with grotesque protuberances for eyes and something that looks like a nose. Of rubber reinforced by interwoven copper strips, the arms and legs become flexible when subjected to high underwater pressure. The two parts of the suit join at the waist instead of around the neck. The diver goes down without an airhose, carries an oxygen bottle, a respirator, caustic soda to absorb carbon dioxide. The tall, gangling, muscular man who went down encased in ''Eleanor" is a crack deep-sea diver named Roy Robert Hansen. He worked on the S-51 and S-4 jobs when those U. S. submarines went to the bottom (TIME, Oct. 5, 1925; Dec. 26, 1927). His father, a diver called "Big Charley," was killed working in the Great Lakes, and "Big Charley's" father also lost his life diving. The Terminal's procedure was to pay out 2,000 ft. of cable with Hansen in "Eleanor" at the end, then drag him along against the swirling tide. Though the depth was never more than 112 ft., Hansen thought it the nastiest job of his career, said he was bumped against rocks and whirled around until he was groggy. By week's end he had encountered six drowned hulks, identified none as the Hussar. But Diver Hansen appraised as practically nil the chances of the rival salvage vessel 'Josephine'. Wearing ordinary diving-suits, the Josephine's divers worked only during slack tide, 20 min. twice a day. Reported in Time Magazine
  42. 1979 0 0 Sedco 1 Spain Ocean Systems International 91 Saturation 9 miles off Tarragona, Ocean Systems twin DDC and ADS IV Bell system as a surface supplied mix gas bell bounce (saturation abort) 2 man dive system, the bell was locked onto the DDC and the tube turn [trunk] clamps closed via a control panel on the Trunk and then a set [two] of locking bolts set in slots on top of the two halves of the clamps, there was a concise lock off/on procedure. Team management was less than satisfactory. Lack of team co-ordination and the attitude of “I thought that was done” was in essence the main cause of the accident by explosive decompression, dual fatality. Bell seal was broken from TUP, system came to surface in seconds. Note, another, conflicting, report indicates there were 4 divers in the system and it was being used as a saturation spread rather than gas bounce drill support with three dead on arrival at surface and one died later, (He may have partially managed to close a door. All this has come from personal e-mail communications, we need details, confirmation, names and dates, TC. Update: Date given as September 1979, but may not be accurate. Sedco drilling rig, 9 miles off Tarragona, Ocean Systems twin DDC and ADS IV Bell system as a surface supplied mix gas bell bounce (saturation abort) 2 man dive system, the bell was locked onto the DDC and the tube turn [trunk] clamps closed via a control panel on the Trunk and then a set [two] of locking bolts set in slots on top of the two halves of the clamps, there was a concise lock off/on procedure. Dive to release an AX ring. Freddie and Jimmy commenced a dive, Jimmy freaked, bell recovered and a third diver, Norman, was blown in. Jimmy calmed down and it was decided to send Jimmy and Norman down as (small) Freddie's suit was too big and he got very cold. Divers went through into the TUP and the O-ring blew and they went from 400' to surface in a few seconds. Freddie was injured (Cerebral and vestibular damage, many years treatment at Haslar and Newcastle University, still has life altering effects), but saved when hatch blew shut. Supervisor was also called Norman, may have committed suicide. No known reports - does anybody have information on this incident?
  43. 2016 2 12 Rodriguez Marquex Joshua Spain Piscifactoria del Atlantico Aged 42, diving at the Playa Quemada, Yaiza, Lanzarote (Canary Islands) fish farm since 2004, children aged 9 and 13, dived to cut a rope off a propellor and was fatally injured when the propeller was engaged. Reported in La Provincia
  44. 2014 6 10 Rodriguez Ernesto USA Ric-Man Construction Aged 45, construction diver working on a pipe underwater in a roadside drainage ditch near Indian Trace and Bonaventure Boulevard in Weston, Florida, 'became entagled in cables and trapped underwater'. he was rescued at third attempt and taken to Cleveland clinic aound 13:00 hours but pronounced dead. Reported in the Sun Sentinel. An ISHN report dated mid December 2014 stated:- "A 45-year-old untrained diver died June 10, 2014 while completing surface-supplied air diving during underwater activities for the City of Weston, Florida. OSHA’s investigation into the fatality resulted in Ric-Man International Inc. being cited for 19 safety violations, including one willful, for failure to provide cave-in protection for employees working inside an excavation approximately 12-feet deep. From the company's website:- "At Ric-Man, we have cultivated a philosophy that promotes an environment free of accidents and injuries. We are dedicated to provide a high level of safety in the construction industry which includes partnering with the insurance industry through training, education and guidance. In our Industry, safety is measured by an “Experience Modification Rate” (EMR), it is the industry standard the calculation of workers compensation rates. This standard measures a particular company's occurrence and gravity of accidents and injuries. The industry average is 1.0. Ric-Man’s modifier has consistently been below this average. We are dedicated to providing a safe working environment for our employees, our clients and the general public, with our weekly tool box safety meetings, quarterly supervisors continuing safety classes, and our company wide safety classes three times a year. We are prepared to provide our employees with the tools, expertise, and means to reduce risks throughout or worksites." OSHA went on to say that threir standards require that all trenches and excavation sites 5 feet or deeper be protected against sidewall collapses. Protection may be provided through shoring of trench walls, sloping of the soil at a shallow angle or by using a protective trench box. OSHA has created a National Emphasis Program on Trenching and Excavation. OSHA cited the company four times previously for lack of cave-in protection and excavation hazards.Thirteen serious violations were issued to Ric-Man International for failure to ensure workers who performed diving operations were experienced and trained to perform underwater tasks safely; provide divers with a backup air supply, safety harness and two-way voice communication for emergencies; and to plan and assess risks associated with diving, including underwater conditions, obstructions and visibility. The company also failed to provide dive team members with CPR training. Proposed penalties total $161,000
  45. 2014 9 14 Not Recorded Kuwait Diver killed: An Egyptian diver in his 40s died while doing maintenance work on a huge gate in Al-Zour, reports Alam Alyawm daily. However, the Al-Seyassah daily said the diver fell off a boat and drowned. The corpse was fished out of the waters by divers from the Coast Guard. Reported in the Arab Times online
  46. 2014 10 11 Not Recorded Saudi Arabia INW 31m SCUBA Seabed survey and marking of subsea assets prior to a jack-up workover rig being mobilised in the KJO Oilfield (Al-Khafji Joint Operations). Failed to surface, body recovered 24 hours later. Longstreath/Emirates 24/7, A report in the Saudi gazzette read:- "DAMMAM – Search and rescue teams from the Eastern Province Border Guards recovered the body of an expatriate diver who drowned in the Al-Khafji area while performing routine work laying down electrical cable signs. Spokesman of the guards, Capt. Omar Al-Aklabi, said the victim was working with a fellow worker who returned to the shore after completing his work, only to find his colleague had not returned with him. He added that search and rescue operations lasted two days and the body was finally located 22 miles from the shore. The case has been referred to investigation bodies"
  47. 2014 10 21 Lopez Cruz Jose Joaquin E.ON Power Generation Plant. Los Barrios, Cadiz, Spain Satemar Compania De Trabajos Submarinos When diving to perform a photographic underwater inspection in a siphon inlet on the E.ON coal-fired power plant refrigeration system the diver was sucked into the inlet.
  48. 2015 2 28 Vella Patrick Malta SalpaSub SCUBA Married, three children. "A 36-year-old diver from Zejtun, died in an accident at Palumbo Shipyards this morning. A spokesman for Palumbo said the company called SalpaSub for assistance when it noticed that a drydock was taking much longer than usual to be emptied. When Mr Vella, a director of SalpaSub, arrived, he dived to see what was wrong but did not return to the surface. This was around 11.45am. Palumbo called for assistance and a search was launched by members of the Civil Protection Department and the Armed Forces. Mr Vella, a marine biologist, was eventually brought up by the AFM and taken to Mater Dei Hospital, where he died soon after. An inquiry is being held. Five divers conducted the search for the missing worker and eventually found him stuck in a gate valve. It has not yet been confirmed how he ended up there, but sources have suggested that somebody who wasn't aware of the diver's presence opened a valve, consequently pulling him into the hole with a great force. A Palumbo spokesman on Saturday denied reports that the diver had been sucked in by the water pressure, saying there was no such mechanism. Sources told this newspaper the diver was called in to measure the diameter of a defective valve whose diameter was about that of a bucket". Reported by the Times of Malta
  49. 2014 2 1 Moreno Franco Israel Costa Concordia, Gigio Island, Italy Underwater Contractor Spain 3m Air News report from Canadian Business: ROME: A diver died Saturday while working on the shipwrecked Costa Concordia, apparently gashing his leg on an underwater metal sheet while preparing the wreck for removal, officials and news reports said. Italy's civil protection agency, which is overseeing the removal of the Concordia from Tuscany's coast, said the diver hailed from Spain. Tuscany's La Nazione newspaper said the diver had been working on preparations to affix huge tanks onto sides of the Concordia to float the ship off its false seabed and tow it to a port for eventual dismantling. It said he apparently gashed his leg on an underwater metal sheet and was then unable to get free, bleeding profusely before a diver colleague was able to bring him to the surface. The report said he was conscious upon surfacing but later died. The diver, who wasn't identified by authorities, is the first to die in the line of work on salvaging the Concordia ever since it slammed into a reef off Giglio island on Jan. 13, 2012, killing 32 passengers and crew. A diver died last year, but the causes were reportedly unrelated to the work. The Concordia was righted in preparation for removal during a remarkable, 19-hour engineering feat last fall in which a system of pulleys wrenched the 300-meter-long (1,000-foot-long), 115,000-ton cruise ship from its side to vertical. A dozen giant tanks were affixed to its exposed port side and filled with water to help pull the ship upright.<br />The current project that the diver was working on was to prepare the starboard side, which had been underwater until the ship was righted, to hold a similar number of tanks. The tanks will be emptied of water and used to literally float the wreck off the seabed, so it can be towed away from Giglio, brought to a port and taken apart for scrap. Officials say they hope to have it removed by June. The 600 million euro ($810 million) removal project, which has already run nearly twice its original cost estimates, is the most ambitious ever attempted for a ship the size of the Concordia. In a statement, the head of the civil protection agency, Franco Gabrielli, expressed condolences for the death and recalled the dedication of people working on the wreckage, saying they had worked for two years without a break, in difficult conditions not without risks, to achieve the common goal of removing the Concordia from Giglio. The ship's captain is currently on trial for manslaughter, causing a shipwreck and leaving the ship before all passengers were evacuated. Prosecutors have accused him of taking the ship off course in a stunt to bring it closer to Giglio. Capt. Francesco Schettino has said he saved lives by steering the ship to shallow waters after it ran aground on a reef that wasn't on his nautical charts. On Friday, Italy's highest court let stand plea bargains reached by five other Costa employees. Costa is a unit of Miami-based Carnival Corp., the world's largest cruise line.
  50. 1996 7 0 Not Recorded Indonesia Comex/PT Komaritim 20 SCUBA Indonesian diver, vessel sent out to confirm location of a pipeline leak, passed leak and dropped a marker buoy. As the vessel made a second pass, two divers in SCUBA jumped in with a marker buoy on a line to attach to the pipeline near the leak. (Possibly a 10"or 12" pipeline, hole was in the 6 o/c position.). While they were underwater attaching the rope, the leak stopped. It is reported – not confirmed – that the client representative was for some reason not happy that he could no longer see bubbles and radio'd the platform asking them to inject more gas. Whether true or not, the leak did restart, violently. The product was gas plus condensate. One diver was found dead tangled in the marker rope, his face virtually stripped of flesh from where the high pressure gas/condensate had blown off his SCUBA mask, the other diver did not surface, missing, his body was not located at the time (Not reported whether it was found later). PC
  51. 1986 1 10 Boyle Timothy W USA DiveTech SCUBA Crystal River nuclear power plant run by the Florida Power Corporation, his team mate, Scott Wiker, was sucked 600' up inlet to grid, Boyle died trying to rescue him with the pumps still running at 28.000 gallons per minute. Drowned. Double fatality. OSHA cited the contractor with six violations and 'they were fined nearly $5,000'. Florida Power officials admitted the divers were not warned that the pumps were operating but were not cited because they were not involved in the dive. OSHA stated that had the divers equipment met federal standards they would not have been sucked through the underwater pipe “Should have been attached to lifelines, received their air from the surface rather than SCUBA tanks and been attached to a voice communications line� Also cited for failure to have a standby diver, failure to wear inflatable buoyancy, no person in charge at site, safe practices manual not including a copy of OSHAs diving requirements and no plan to recover an injured diver from the water. Reported in the Gainesville Sun<br />OSHA Report:- Accident: 14346597 -- Report ID: 0420600 -- Event Date: 01/10/1986. TWO COMMERCIAL DIVERS WERE KILLED WHEN THEY WERE DRAWN INTO AN INTAKE PIPE WHICH CARRIED COOLING WATER TO A NUCLEAR REACTOR IN AN ELECTRIC GENERATING PLANT. THE PUMPING SYSTEM HAD BEEN MISTAKENLY LEFT RUNNING WHILE THE DIVERS WERE ENGAGED IN CLEANING AND INSPECTING ACTIVIES. DESPITE THE POOR VISIBILITY AND THE RESTRICTED CONFIGURATION OF THE WORK AREA, THE DIVERS WERE USING SCUBA GEAR WITH NO SURFACE LINE TENDING. SINCE ACCESS INTO THE DIVE AREA WAS THROUGH A MANHOLE, NO ONE TOPSIDE COULD MONITOR THE LOCATION OF THE INWATER DIVER. WHEN THE FIRST DIVER FAILED TO REAPPEAR IN A TIMELY FASHION, THE SECOND DIVER ENTERED THE WATER TO BEGIN A SEARCH FOR HIM. THE RESCUE DIVER ALSO BECAME TRAPPED IN THE MECHANICALLY INDUCED CURRENTS. ONLY AFTER THE PUMPS WERE SHUT DOWN WERE THE BODIES RECOVERED
  52. 1986 1 10 Wiker Scott W USA DiveTech SCUBA Aged 26, cleaning inlets of Crystal River nuclear power plant run by the Florida Power Corporation, cleaning filters on the cooling water inlets, pumps running at 28,000 gallons per minute sucked him 600' up inlet to grid, drowned. His team mate, Timothy Boyle, drowned trying to rescue him with the pumps still running. Double fatality. OSHA cited the contractor with six violations and 'they were fined nearly $5,000'. Florida Power officials admitted the divers were not warned that the pumps were operating but were not cited because they were not involved in the dive. OSHA stated that had the divers equipment met federal standards they would not have been sucked through the underwater pipe “Should have been attached to lifelines, received their air from the surface rather than SCUBA tanks and been attached to a voice communications line� Also cited for failure to have a standby diver, failure to wear inflatable buoyancy, no person in charge at site, safe practices manual not including a copy of OSHAs diving requirements and no plan to recover an injured diver from the water. Reported in the Gainesville Sun<br />OSHA Report:- Accident: 14346597 -- Report ID: 0420600 -- Event Date: 01/10/1986. TWO COMMERCIAL DIVERS WERE KILLED WHEN THEY WERE DRAWN INTO AN INTAKE PIPE WHICH CARRIED COOLING WATER TO A NUCLEAR REACTOR IN AN ELECTRIC GENERATING PLANT. THE PUMPING SYSTEM HAD BEEN MISTAKENLY LEFT RUNNING WHILE THE DIVERS WERE ENGAGED IN CLEANING AND INSPECTING ACTIVIES. DESPITE THE POOR VISIBILITY AND THE RESTRICTED CONFIGURATION OF THE WORK AREA, THE DIVERS WERE USING SCUBA GEAR WITH NO SURFACE LINE TENDING. SINCE ACCESS INTO THE DIVE AREA WAS THROUGH A MANHOLE, NO ONE TOPSIDE COULD MONITOR THE LOCATION OF THE INWATER DIVER. WHEN THE FIRST DIVER FAILED TO REAPPEAR IN A TIMELY FASHION, THE SECOND DIVER ENTERED THE WATER TO BEGIN A SEARCH FOR HIM. THE RESCUE DIVER ALSO BECAME TRAPPED IN THE MECHANICALLY INDUCED CURRENTS. ONLY AFTER THE PUMPS WERE SHUT DOWN WERE THE BODIES RECOVERED
  53. 1993 10 16 Roussy Eduardo Canada Oceantech (Quebec) 5 S/S Air Aged 26. Air diving quals from Fort William in 1992, also CSWIP 3.1. Accident occurred 15th October, Inspection dive at the Scott Paper plant on Crabtree dam, uncontrolled ascent and then swept over outfall, helmet still on and lifeline intact but umbilical severed, recued (It took between 5 and 10 minutes to pull him back to the dive site) but died in Montreal General hospital the next day (Life support removed as he was brain dead). Coroner criticised lack of planning, method of work, lack of co-ordination, inadequate risk assessment, lack of emergency response procedures. Cause of death recorded as asphyxiation/acute anoxic encephalopathy following severed umbilical, no physical injuries. No stand-by dressed in. Nobody realised umbilical severed and helmet was left on (disorganised rescue resonse, rest of team not familiar with the helmet locking system and couldn't unclamp it). Coroner noted that "everybody acted in good faith even though they did not know what to do (Factory workers helping out) which unfortunately resulted in a death that could have been avoided if the helmet had been removed quickly". Also home modified Dive Dynamics helmet - had a cross connector added so baliout gas would flow out into the umbilical as well as the hat (No check valve). Quebec Coroner's Report
  54. 1993 10 13 Locke Stewart UK J Allan Diving Services 3 S/S Air Hired by Customs and Excise to recover £20 million worth of drugs (Cannabis) from the yatch 'Ambrosia' beached on Scotstown beah (Peterhead, Scotland). Diving contractor was fined £1,200 after some kind of legal deal. Allegations during the inquiry that he committede suicide by cutting his umbilical, Sherriff determined it was accidental death with the most probable cause being that he got into difficulties and was forced to cut his umbilical and ditch his helmet. Diving conditions in the rough shallow water were described as 'hazardous'. Criticism by the Sherriff for it only a 3 man team (the diver, a supervisor who doubled as stand-by diver and an unqualified tender), lack of involvement/supervision by Customs and Excise, lack of communication with a police diving team on site. Widow intended to sue (defunct) diving contractor and Customs and Excise. No further details. Reported in the Herald Scotland
  55. 2014 11 14 Thiago Matheus Brazil Sistac 12m Accident happened on the Petrobras production platform P-31 (Albacore field, Campos Basin, 180 km East of Macae) . Sistac are licensed air diving contactor (not IMCA), possibly working on a conductor slot, recovered to surface but did not respond to treatment, investigation ongoing by union. Reported sindipetronf.org.br
  56. 2014 12 22 Bermudez Morfy Alex Nicaragua Alberto Woo 25m SCUBA Honduran, lobster diving from the "Lady Di III" (Licensed to sail with 25, sailed with 24 but because several 'registered' divers did not turn up, sailed with additional unlisted crew including the deceased) out of Bilwi. Navy base personnel reported that he died of DCI as "like most lobstermen, the diver was working without the necessary stops" and there was no time to transfer him ashore to the recompression chamber at the New Dawn Bilwi Hospital.Reported to be the sixth lobster diver to die in the northern caribbean in the second half of this year. elnuevodiario.com.ni
  57. 2014 11 11 Harris Kevin USA Aqua Vac Inc 3m SCUBA Aged 23, from Jenison, Michigan, dredging a retention pond in New Albany (Opposite the Discovery Financial services complex) "His co-worker called 911 at 15:47 after he failed to surface, "We're dredging the pond," he told the dispatcher. "I had a SCUBA diver in the water and I noticed his bubbles stopped coming up. I went into the water to find him and he's not anywhere where his equipment was. ... He's still underwater. I don't know where he is...." Body recovered at 16:47 some 50 feet from shore in 12' of water, air cylinder empty. (Aqua Vac were fined $4,500 after the death of Michael Johnson in November 2009). Reported in the Columbus Dispatch.
  58. 2015 2 18 Castro de Melo Airton Brazil S/S Air Aged 39, From Amazonas province, working at Porto Cai N´água (On the Madeira river in Rondonia), pulled to the surface with a head wound. Reported as either struck by a submerged tree trunk or more likely an injury from the cross river ferry cable he was working on. Reported by Alerta Rondonia
  59. 1975 8 2 Boulay Serge Italy Comex Topsides Oilfield diving. Oxygen transfer inside a container on deck of the Glomar V, O2 leakage, possibly exacerbated by dust, flash fire. Hot weather, three crew were only wearing shorts. Died in hospital. Triple fatality (with Philipe Salvatori and Noel Shneider ). PC
  60. 2014 4 30 Rupping Luke Kuwait Mammoet Joined SA Navy 2003, went to diving school in Simonstown in 2004, joined the Operational Diving Team (ODT), went back to the Diving School as an Assistant Facilitator in 2004, qualified as supervisor 2007. Left the Navy in 2008 and started commercial diving. Reported as killed in a broco/underwater cutting incident, possibly a salvage job. No other details.
  61. 2013 10 23 Guidry Earl USA J & J Diving 5m S/S Air Aged 40, Port Sulphur, Louisisana, airlifting 10 feet below the mud line, he was found with his helmet off, not wearing a bailout, Facebook/Longstreath. Contractor fined $7,000 by US dept. of Labor "Employer did not ensure that an adequate safety assessment was made of underwater conditions prior to a diving operation". No real details.
  62. 2013 11 14 UAE Scamp / Gubunco SCUBA One of two divers employed by Scamp Middle East (The other was Alex Argoncillo who died 1st December) reported as having died in November/December 2013. Initially reported as 'not diving related' but no details, waiting on clarification from Scamp. PC. A later report states that the incident occurred on 14th Novemver, three divers in the water on SCUBA, weather came up, divers sought refuge in the prop area, one diver ran out of gas, removed his cylinders and gave them to the other divers before surfacing, but was swept away. No lifelines.
  63. 2013 12 1 Argoncillo Alex UAE Scamp / Gubunco 60m S/S Air One of two divers employed by Scamp Middle East reported as having died in November/December 2013 (The second was not named but was initially reported 'not diving related' but no details, waiting on clarification from Scamp. Later reported that the other death occurred on November 14th and was diving related). Philippino, Vessel husbandry job off Fujairah, unclear whether he got entangled in a brush cart umbilical or his diving umbilical was caught in the vessel propellor. No details, his best friend, Alex Tejedar, died in Italy in April 2013 (Costa Concordia salvage works, but death was not diving related). PC. Another report states that the incident occurred on surface supply when the divers umbilical caught in cleaning chariot brush, diver surfaced and removed band mask, chariot started to pull diver under water, standby diver launched ( in SCUBA) and gives second stage to diver in distress, diver bites off 2nd stage, rescue abandoned, diver pulled under water and drowned. PC
  64. 2014 5 30 Lee Min-seop South Korea S/S Air Aged 44 or 46 (Conflicting reports), killed in an underwater explosion whilst cutting an access hole into the hull of the capsised ferrty 'Sewol' that sank off southwest Korea on the 16th April during the search for bodies. Second diver to die on this operation (Lee Kwank-wook, 6th May), "A boom and a moan were heard, the diver was pulled to the surface, he was bleeding and unconscious, given CPR and transferred to hospital but declared dead there". Lee entered the water at around 1:50 pm to cut open the stern of the hull from the fourth deck, but as the operations drew to a close at around 2:20 p.m., a problem arose with the sound of crashing. At the crashing sound, two other divers at the scene pulled Lee out of the water but he was found to be unconscious with blood running from his nose and eyes, officials said. The chief neurosurgeon at Mokpo Hankook Hospital, said an X-ray and CT scan of Lee showed that both of the diver's lungs had been damaged by external injuries. "We suspect that he died from tension pneumothorax," the doctor said, referring to a condition in which the amount of air in the chest increases markedly. At the time of his death 288 people known to have died, 16 still missing. Reported by the BBC et al.
  65. 2014 6 4 Kwok Khee Khoon (Edmund) Singapore Underwater Contractors PTY SCUBA Aged 36,one of a three man team taking photos of weld repairs (Replacement anodes inside a sea chest, external grill removed for access into the seachest) under a comtainer ship near the Marina South Pier (Eastern holding anchorage) at around 18:00 hours when cooling pumps were started up and he was sucked into a pipe inlet inside the sea chest. Had been diving one month. ministry of Manpower (MOM) undertaking an investigation. Straits Times
  66. 2014 8 14 Relique Jesus Spain Aged 43, from Cadiz, married with 2 children, commercial diver for over 10 years, working at the port of Motril in Granada (Extending and deepening), appears to have been a three man team, the incident ocurred just after 8 in the evening, he was seen on the surface, unconcious, treated but was declared deceased at 10:30pm. No details. The Seaside Gazette
  67. 2014 1 16 Michaud Luigi Antarctica University of Messina SCUBA Aged 40, member of the XXIX Italian Expedition to Antarctica, diving at the Marion Zucchelli Scientific Station to collect bacteriological samples (working on developing new anti-biotics for the treatment of cystic fribrosis). Wife and two children. 'fatal accident while diving'. No details. Reported by Redazione Research Italy
  68. 2013 8 12 Huamaní Lloclla Daniel Franklin Peru Fenix Power Unknown Huamaní Lloclla, Daniel Franklin, aged 29, Peruvian Navy Diver with 12 years diving experience, sub-contracted to work for Fenix power in Chilca (520MW power plant being built about 65 kilometres south of Lima), appears to have either suffered a head injury (early reports) or to have been sucked into a seawater cooling inlet pipe and drowned at 14:00 (Later reports indicate differential pressure, pumps not turned off)<br />There have been other military divers killed in South America when serving but apparently 'sub-contracted/hired out/moonlighting/training/'? to government sponsored civil engineering projects by private corporations, seems to be common practice.
  69. 2013 8 6 Quiroga Sergio Daniel Uruguay Belfi-Techint or Stora Enso 7m Unknown Tuesday August 6th 2013 - Uruguay. Quiroga, Sergio Daniel, 2nd Corporal, aged 40, married, three children, Uruguayan Navy Diver with 21 years in the military, 16 as a diver, subcontracted to work for Belfi-Techint (working for main contractor Montes del Plata or for a Swedish company Stora Enso - conflicting reports or maybe just one of those multi-national organisations), on construction of a new dock in Puerto de Conchilllas (region of Colonia, 240 kilometres NW of Montevideo) , depth 7 metres, lifting/shackle operation, lines entangled, trapped underwater, drowned (not clear if S/S air or SCUBA plus communication line).
  70. 2010 7 24 Costello Patrick Germany Nordic Dive Enterprise 41 S/S Air 27 year old Swedish air diver working for a Danish contractor on a windfarm project in German waters. Reported as drowned in the last week of a six week diving job, had been airlifting from the DP II 'Maersk Tender', umbilical entangled one of the valves on the airlift. Did not activate his bailout, recovered to surface by the stand-by diver. Translated from German
Press reports dated Monday 26 07 2010:- “Diver dies when working in the offshore windfarm near Borkum. (Bard Offshore). The accident happened on Saturday at 40 meters in depth work. 'Aged 27, a professional diver from Sweden' said a police spokesman, confirming corresponding media reports�. Source: n-tv.de Other press reports indicate a possible lifting incident (TC)<br />UPDATE: The Danish Maritime Authority have released a Casualty Report regards this incident available from: http://www.dma.dk/news/Sider/Casualtyreportaboutdivingaccident.aspx<br />Also see topic in Incidents Diving Forum.
  71. 2013 1 18 DSV "Hallin Penrith" Myanmar The DSV “Hallin Penrith� sank on the 18th of January after being holed on the evening of the 17th. Hallin stated that they were convening an internal enquiry with the assistance of 3rd party experts to establish exactly what happened. Notwithstanding the fact that the inquiry is still in progress to determine the full facts, it initially appears that Penrith hit an unchartered rock while going at 10Kts offshore Myanmar. At the time of the incident Penrith was contracted to support survey work connected with pipelay work offshore Myanmar. All 42 crew and client personnel abandoned ship to the life rafts initially, and were evacuated thereafter to the clients pipelay barge. There were no injuries to personnel other than 2 minor first aid cases suffered in the initial impact. The crew are in the process of being repatriated. Penrith is fully insured and whilst extremely regrettable, this incident will not unduly impact the company financially or put anyone’s job at risk. Longstreath<br />Update: It is understood that Hallin received a full insurance settlement after the incident.
  72. 1896 9 30 Storey William - entry 1 of 3 UK John Gibney and Co. Master Divers, Chapel Street, Liverpool 4 S/S Air Aged 53, experienced diver, initially reported as 'Met his death whilst at wotk'. Hornby dock, Liverpool, working on the vessel 'Gulf of Taranto'. He was placing a sealing pad over a valve inlet diffuser on a vessel hull, differential pressure incident (arm pulled into hull when the valve was removed because the diffuser was mounted on the valve not the hull). They managed to pull him free but he was unconscious when recovered to deck, taken to Bootle hospital, but failed to respond to treatment. Coroner’s verdict:- Suffocated. Reported in the Liverpool Mercury. See following two entries below for more detail.<br />http://www.old-merseytimes.co.uk/deathsandinquests1896.html
  73. 2013 7 29 Valenzuela Valderrama José Luis Chile Chilean Navy Military One of three Chilean Special Forces divers killed during underwater explosive demolition exercises. The Commander in Chief of the First Naval Zone regrets to inform the public that at 12:45 pm today, Monday 29th July , while an underwater demolition with explosives practice was done at Caleta Hornillos, in Laguna Verde, Valparaiso, there was an accident resulting in death. Should be noted that this exercise is one of the planned activities in the Annual Training Plan. A result of this unfortunate situation were deceased 2nd Lt. Miguel Casas-Cordero Menéndez and 1st. Sgt. Marcos Llancavil Arce, both from the Special Forces Command of the Armada Chilena. Additionally is currently missing Cpl. José Luis Valenzuela Valderrama. Cpl. José Luis Valenzuela Valderrama was later found also deceased.<br />Source: Emol.com
  74. 2013 7 29 Llancavil Arce Marcos Chile Chilean Navy Military One of three Chilean Special Forces divers killed during underwater explosive demolition exercises. The Commander in Chief of the First Naval Zone regrets to inform the public that at 12:45 pm today, Monday 29th July , while an underwater demolition with explosives practice was done at Caleta Hornillos, in Laguna Verde, Valparaiso, there was an accident resulting in death. Should be noted that this exercise is one of the planned activities in the Annual Training Plan. A result of this unfortunate situation were deceased 2nd Lt. Miguel Casas-Cordero Menéndez and 1st. Sgt. Marcos Llancavil Arce, both from the Special Forces Command of the Armada Chilena. Additionally is currently missing Cpl. José Luis Valenzuela Valderrama. Cpl. José Luis Valenzuela Valderrama was later found also deceased.<br />Source: Emol.com
  75. 2013 7 29 Casas-Cordero Menéndez Miguel Chile Chilean Navy Military One of three Chilean Special Forces divers killed during underwater explosive demolition exercises. The Commander in Chief of the First Naval Zone regrets to inform the public that at 12:45 pm today, Monday 29th July , while an underwater demolition with explosives practice was done at Caleta Hornillos, in Laguna Verde, Valparaiso, there was an accident resulting in death. Should be noted that this exercise is one of the planned activities in the Annual Training Plan. A result of this unfortunate situation were deceased 2nd Lt. Miguel Casas-Cordero Menéndez and 1st. Sgt. Marcos Llancavil Arce, both from the Special Forces Command of the Armada Chilena. Additionally is currently missing Cpl. José Luis Valenzuela Valderrama. Cpl. José Luis Valenzuela Valderrama was later found also deceased.<br />Source: Emol.com
  76. 2013 6 14 Gabon Sigma Diving Systems 3-6m S/S Air French National, aged 28. Working on an old unused jetty to remove sheet piling with exothermic rods in the harbour of Port Gentil. Diver trapped in sand, buried up to chest. Had to be lifted out with crane using chain brothers around his chest. Not breathing on recovery to surface, revived and medivaced to Johannesburg, then later, on to France. No details known of his current condition. Various emails.
  77. 1968 0 0 Mathieson Edward (Ted) Australia International Oilfield Divers 230ft S/S Mixed Gas? Incident probably mid 1968, Bass Strait, Australia. Diving heavy gear air dive off Coring Vessel Neuhavns Rose recovering riser from seabed ,water depth 230 ft. Divers Umbilical parted when fouled in riser, Standby diver unable to reach diver. Body recovered next day. The dive team comprised trainee divers from the Dive school in Bairnsdale, Victoria with the exception of Ted<br />who was hired from the States.<br />longstreath.com
  78. 1967 0 0 Maclean Edward (Ted) Australia Divcon 130ft S/S Air Ashmore Reef, NW Australia, Water depth 130ft Died in Deco Chamber , Combination of Missed Deco and heat exhaustion. Incident happened late 1967. Drill Barge Investigator owned and operated by Zapata. <br />longstreath.com
  79. 1971 3 26 Pasquier Jean Pierre Italy Comex SCUBA Oilfield dive. Breathing 50/50 during decompression stops, hyperoxia, drowned. PC
  80. 1972 10 10 Ney Jean Pierre Gabon Comex Oilfield dive. Switched to breathing pure oxygen with full face mask/comms on decompression stops, no basket, strong current. Shouted and pulled off mask, taken under barge by current. PC
  81. 1973 10 10 Coelo Dominique Congo Comex 70 SCUBA Oilfield dive. Drowned. PC
  82. 1975 3 20 Cluseau Giry du Gabon Comex SCUBA Oilfield dive. Two divers, both on SCUBA, both unwell at depth and returned to the surface, one diver survived. Possible contaminated air. PC
  83. 1975 5 24 Babin Jean Claude Dubai Comex SCUBA Oilfield Dive, extended bottom time but no provision for in-water decompression stops, zodiac outboard engine failed leading to delayed recompression/surface decompression. Doctor refused to enter DDC. PC
  84. 1975 8 2 Schneider Noel Italy Comex Topsides Oilfield diving. Oxygen transfer inside a container on deck, O2 leakage, possibly exacerbated by dust, flash fire. Hot weather, three crew were only wearing shorts. Died in hospital. Triple fatality (with Philipe Salvatori and Serge Boulay). PC
  85. 1975 8 2 Salvatori Philipe Italy Comex Topsides Oilfield diving. Oxygen transfer inside a container on deck, O2 leakage, possibly exacerbated by dust, flash fire. Hot weather, three crew were only wearing shorts. Died in hospital. Triple fatality (with Noel Shneider and Serge Boulay). PC
  86. 1976 8 10 Gohon Gerard North Sea Comex Topsides Caught his head between the bell and DDC during TUP, permanent paralysis. PC
  87. 1976 12 4 Nabusset Norbert France Comex SCUBA Off Brittany coast. Dived from one moonpool to the other in high current, tide took him away, dragged back by lifeline but lost head gear, drowned. PC
  88. 1977 1 2 Dubois Norbert France Comex Topsides Off Brittany Coast. Caught between the bell and chamber during TUP, crushed chest. Delayed medivac as the French Navy helicopter did not fly at night. PC
  89. 1978 5 8 Godey Gerard Congo Comex Topsides Opened a regeneration tower that had not been purged, crushed chest. (No interlock mechanism). PC
  90. 1981 7 1 Espindola Julio Brazil Comex S/S Mixed Gas Gas bell bounce dive. Divers carried out their own decompression from inside the bell. Divers opened the decompression without regulating their decompression and literally decompresed themselvs to death. Possible lack of training, possible language problem (French Supervisor/Brazilian divers). A surface to bell umbilical would have allowed the supervisor to control the rate of decompression. Double fatality (Dominique Chanfays). PC
  91. 1981 7 1 Chanfays Dominique Brazil Comex S/S Mixed Gas Gas bell bounce dive. Divers carried out their own decompression from inside the bell. Divers opened the decompression without regulating their decompression and literally decompressed themselvs to death. Possible lack of training, possible language problem (French Supervisor/Brazilian divers). A surface to bell umbilical would have allowed the supervisor to control the rate of decompression. Double fatality (Julio Espindola). PC
  92. 1982 4 27 Rivera Anibal Argentina Comex S/S Air Got into difficulty while underwater, vomited and subsequently drowned. No other details. PC
  93. 1991 2 8 Wells Sub-Lt Corey Portugal Canadian Navy SCUBA Aged 27, diving off the Canadian destroyer 'Margaree', visiting the Madeira Islands. It was stated that the propeller being started had nothing to do with the death of the two divers who were inspecting the hull who both drowned after being trapped in the engine room cooling water intake pipe. Double fatality (Master Seaman William Hynes). Reported in the Toronto Star
  94. 1985 1 23 Washington Luis Brazil Comex Saturation Incorrect oil (selected only for oxygen compatibility, management of change process not followed) used in regeneration system coupled with a series of circumstances that allowed the oil to come into direct contact with a heater element. The oil broke down producing by-products that included phosgene and fluoridic acid gases that were released into the chamber atmoshere. Cause of death recorded as lung oedema. Double fatality (Ruben Cavalcanti). PC
  95. 1985 1 23 Cavalcanti Ruben Brazil Comex Saturation Incorrect oil (selected only for oxygen compatibility, management of change process not followed) used in regeneration system coupled with a series of circumstances that allowed the oil to come into direct contact with a heater element. The oil broke down producing by-products that included phosgene and fluoridic acid gases that were released into the chamber atmoshere. Cause of death recorded as lung oedema. Double fatality (Luis Washington). PC
  96. 1988 5 24 Olsen Alan Nigeria Comex SCUBA First dive on an SBM. Competition between the divers ("The best diver is the first in the water"), pillar valve not fully opened and flow restricted, became short of air, made a rapid ascent in the well of a crude oil filled buoy but swam into a cross beam and lost his mouthpiece. Drowned. PC
  97. 1990 12 13 Julien Thiery France Comex Topsides Opened a regen pot that was still under pressure, massive chest injuries. An interlock would have prevented this accident. PC
  98. 1985 0 0 Scott Steve "Joe 90" India Stena Topsides DSV Nand Shamik, Bombay High, launching zodiac, crane came up on load, no sensor, head-ache ball pulled into sheave, wire parted, head-ache ball dropped onto zodiac/divers legs, boat folded pushing divers head into head-ache ball, died instantly
  99. 2013 7 10 Millecan Joel USA 20 S/S Air Aged 56, diving solo on hookah about a mile off Loma Point for sea urchin. Deck hand on the 35 foot boat called 911 when he failed to surface, lifeguards brought him to the surfaceunconscious and not breathing and performed CPR before he was transported to a local hospital where he later died. Reported in the San Diego Times
  100. 2013 7 16 Robles Aller Fernando Spain Trabajos Especiales Maritimos 20m S/S Air Information received points to him cleaning rubbish/silt from outside dry dock gates at Armon Shipyard, Gijon, with a pump so they could open them to launch a couple of new boats, possibly a differential pressure incident. Spanish newspapers report that when his topside tender noticed a lack of bubbles and comms response he jumped in the water, in addition, there was also an Engineer supervisor and two labourers who helped in the rescue. Witnesses say that during CPR he bled from mouth and ears. An ambulance was called and attempted to resuscitate him. After an hour of attention by the EMTs, he was declared dead.
  101. 2013 7 13 Wilkinson-Lowe Richard James Boris Germany RS Diving 20m S/S Air British, Aged 26, Riffgat Windfarm (15 km NorthWest of Borkum Island), diving from the 4 point moored vessel 'Union Beaver' (Built 1991 as the 'Salvage Chief' by Fulton Marine, Ruisbroek, Belgium, 56m long, Belgian Flag, IMO No 8918564, Owned and operated by URS Salvage and Contracting (Smit Transport, Belgium), installing 6 ton mattresses over cables, appears to have had a concrete mat dropped on him. Reported by Radio Bremen
  102. 2013 6 21 Sujan Singh Chauhan UAE Mutawa Marine 17 S/S Air Indian. Aged 53. SRP/zodiac dive at dive at Das Island. During dive stopped responding to communications, floated to the surface just as the stand-by was going in, given CPR but failed to respond to treatment. Initial hospital reports indicate a heart attack.
  103. 2013 6 19 Dotzler Robert N USA Military Surface Swimmer Navy Diver 3rd Class, aged 22, assigned to the submarine tender "Frank Cable" (AS-40, Launched 1978, designed to support Los Angeles class submarines, based in Guam from 1997 as 7th fleets mobile repair and support pltform). Initial report stated "undertaking pier side diving training at the Alpha Pier of Guam Naval Base" (Most likely actually at 'Apra' pier - the vessel's home port is Apra Harbour, Guam, TC). Described as "not diving, but observing other divers from the surface in snorkeling like role", not clear if he had diving gear on. "When the other divers surfaced, they noticed Dotzler was missing and located him at the bottom of the harbor, he was pulled from the water unconscious and later pronounced dead at Guam's Naval hospital. Reported in the Military Times
  104. 2013 6 16 Hass Doctor Hans Austria Topsides Legendery early undersea explorer and filmaker with his wife Lotte, died at the age of 94 at home in Vienna.
  105. 2013 5 26 Harrison Okene Nigeria West African Ventures (Subsidiary of Sea Trucks) 30 Topsides The Jacson 4 sank in heavy weather off Escravos during a tanker towing operation. The cook was found alive in an air pocket in the upside down wreck on the seabed in 30 or 35 msw by divers 82 hourds later. He was rescued by DCN divers and recovered to the saturation diving system, successfully decompressed (32 hours), bend watch and then flown ashore by helicopter to his family. Longstreath
  106. 2013 5 26 Jacson 4 AHT Nigeria West African Ventures (Subsidiary of Sea Trucks) Topsides Tug, sank in heavy weather while towing a Chevron tanker off Escravos, Nigeria with the loss of 11 lives. One man, Okene Harrison, the cook, was found alive in an air pocket inside the hull 82 hours later and was rescued by divers. Longstreath
  107. 2013 5 13 Houston Andrew Australia SCUBA Aged 51, alleged to have received infringement notices for poaching abalone in 1989 and 1992, went missing on Sunday afternoon, his body was found by police divers the day after 50 metres from the beach attached to a 30kg bag of abalone. He had no abalone licence, the daily limit for abalone was 5kg and it was out of season. Abalone poaching in Victoria carries a jail sentence of up to 10 years and a $150,000 fine. Herald Sun
  108. 2013 4 26 Tejedar Felix Italy Titan Topsides Philipino diver aged 54, one of the team working on salving the liner 'Costa Concordia' (Ran aground off the Italian island of Giglio in January 2012, found dead in his shower. Apparently had not dived in the previous three days and police were not linking his death with his work. Gazzetta del Sud
  109. 2013 4 3 IMCA SF 5/13 UK IMCA On Deck Safety Flash regarding danger of explosion due to build up of internal Hydrogen/Oxygen atmosphere inside battery operated metocean buoys (Relates to death of Stig Erik Lyng in Malaysia in October 2012)
  110. 2013 3 31 MacLeod Iain UK SCUBA Aged 44, diving on the anchor of a creel boat in Bosta Beach, Great Bernera (Isle of Lewis), not a sports dive, but unclear if it was a paid/working dive. No other details. BBC
  111. 2013 3 13 Pahit Glenn Philippines Omega Steel & Marine Services SCUBA Aged 27, Double fatality (with Glenn Pahit, also aged 27). Salvage operation on the vessel 'B and E Uno' (en route from Iligan City to Pier 4 in Cebu city carrying 23,000 bags of cement) which ran aground before capsising on July 1st 2012 less than a mile from the coast off Canjulao (Lapu-Lapu city). After 5 months of salvage operations the vessel was refloated in early December but then sank again two days later. The owner of the salvage company said that they had suspended ongoing salvage operations the previous week (waiting on a salvage vessel to lift some components prior to bringing the vessel ashore) and left the two divers guarding the wreck. They were reported missing on Wednesday the 13th, Alger Sumaylo's body was located inside the wreck at low rtide (partially submerged but trapped under the hull) by other salvage contractor divers on the morning of the 14th, they called the coastguard who sent a team who recovered both bodies later that day. Initial reports said that when recovered, both divers "were in complete diving gear" and it was reported that the bodies were already decomposing. The owner surmised that the two divers "had decided to dive to retrieve scrap meta whilst everybody was away". Foul play was ruled out as the divers belongings were intact. Later reports said that the coastguard had asked Soco (Scene Of Crime Operations) to check where the bodies were located as they were not discounting foul play. It was then alleged that the divers did not have permission to dive and might not have been in diving gear, though it appears that both bodies showed significantly decomposition and it is not clear when they died. Reported in the Sun Star
  112. 2013 3 13 Sumaylo Alger Philippines Omega Steel & Marine Services 1 SCUBA Aged 27, Double fatality (with Glenn Pahit, also aged 27). Salvage operation on the vessel 'B and E Uno' (en route from Iligan City to Pier 4 in Cebu city carrying 23,000 bags of cement) which ran aground before capsising on July 1st 2012 less than a mile from the coast off Canjulao (Lapu-Lapu city). After 5 months of salvage operations the vessel was refloated in early December but then sank again two days later. The owner of the salvage company said that they had suspended ongoing salvage operations the previous week (waiting on a salvage vessel to lift some components prior to bringing the vessel ashore) and left the two divers guarding the wreck. They were reported missing on Wednesday the 13th, his body was located inside the wreck at low tide (partially submerged but trapped under the hull) by other salvage contractor divers on the morning of the 14th, they called the coastguard who sent a team who recovered both bodies later that day. Initial reports said that when recovered, both divers "were in complete diving gear" and it was reported that the bodies were already decomposing. The owner surmised that the two divers "had decided to dive to retrieve scrap meta whilst everybody was away". Foul play was ruled out as the divers belongings were intact. Later reports said that the coastguard had asked Soco (Scene Of Crime Operations) to check where the bodies were located as they were not discounting foul play. It was then alleged that the divers did not have permission to dive and might not have been in diving gear, though it appears that both bodies showed significantly decomposition and it is not clear when they died. Reported in the Sun Star
  113. 2013 3 0 Adams Challenger USA Adams/Epic Divers Saturation Vessel reported (industry rumour in March 2013) to have had two DP run offs, one with bell down and diver deployed (diver recovered to bell and bell to surface safely), one with bell on surface. Initially reported by DPO as computer problem, later confirmed as operator error/cover up. Waiting on official reports. PC
  114. 2013 2 28 Kulal Bhaskar India Policeman 15 SCUBA Aged 34 or 35, from Kundapur, described as a 'commando', working with the Coastal Security Police in Malpe (Udupi District), one of 10 attendees at a 5 day SCUBA course (Anti-terrorism SCUBA diving taining event) at a training camp near Nethrani Island, Murdeshwar, Bhatkal. Details unclear but appears that it was run by a PADI company, Planet SCUBA India, with the lead trainer 'Andy' (Andrew Stonebridge, resort manager and SCUBA instructor in Murdeshwar, from Nottingham, UK) who allegedly insisted that the policeman continue his training even though he was 'ill'. Went into the water mid afternoon on the last day of the course, found underwater, unconscious, had lost his mouthpiece, 'brought to the surface by rescuers still breathing but died shortly later'. A fellow trainee said that the training was extremely arduous and that "Andy' told them they should learn SCUBA diving within 5 days and 'it's difficult for those who don't know swimming' insisting that the sea was rough, Kulal was ill and the trainer's negligence and apathy led to the fatality. As a result of complaints from the policemen on the course and Kula's brother-in-law Taghu Kulal, the trainer was arrested by Kawar police (It was also reported that the deceased diver was from a very poor family, wife a wife and two sons lived in police quarters who would now be supported by the Police department, infirm parents also supported by sole income from the policeman). Reported by Mangolorean.com/Bellevision Media etc
  115. 2013 2 26 Harris, USN Navy Diver Second Class Ryan USA USN From Gladstone, Missouri,Married, two daughters aged 3 and 1 year old, assigned to Mobile Diving and Salvage Unit 2 at the Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek-Fort Story in Virginia Beach, Virginia, Died in a double fatality incident (with James Reyher) at at the US Army UNDEX Test Facility (UTF) 'super pond' at the Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland. The UTF is 1070 feet long, 150 feet deep. One of the divers was pronounced dead at the scene while the second was taken to an area hospital where he was also pronounced dead. A spokesman for the Aberdeen Proving Ground said Tuesday's deaths are not believed to be connected to the earlier incident (George Lazaro killed 30th January 2013 during maitenance activities). But officials said that the test facility has been closed for all diving operations until investigations into the recent deaths are done. No details but autopsy results confirmed 'drowning'. Reported as the only deaths since the facility opened in 1995. Associated Press
  116. 2013 2 26 Reyher, USN Navt Diver First Class James USA USN Aged 28 from Caldwell, Ohio, assigned to Mobile Diving and Salvage Unit 2 at the Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek-Fort Story in Virginia Beach, Virginia, Died in a double fatality incident (with Ryan Harris) at at the US Army UNDEX Test Facility (UTF) 'super pond' at the Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland. The UTF is 1070 feet long, 150 feet deep. One of the divers was pronounced dead at the scene while the second was taken to an area hospital where he was also pronounced dead. A spokesman for the Aberdeen Proving Ground said Tuesday's deaths are not believed to be connected to the earlier incident (George Lazaro killed 30th January 2013 during maitenance activities). But officials said that the test facility has been closed for all diving operations until investigations into the recent deaths are done. No details but autopsy results confirmed 'drowning'. Reported as the only deaths since the facility opened in 1995. Associated Press
  117. 2013 2 17 McQuade Michael R USA Hydro Marine Construction 0 Topsides Aged 34, former marine corporal, wife and two sons, working as a diver but killed on deck in a crush accident on a barge on the Sayreville side of the morgan Bridge north of Laurence Harbour. Appears to have been a back hoe, "The Operator of the equipment could not see Mike. Mike was brushed once and not hurt. When the Operator was informed, he reacted and moved the wrong way and crushed Mike to death" Press reports in legacy.com, nj.com etc
  118. 2013 1 30 Lazzaro George H USA Aged 41, married with four children, described as an engineering technician, killed in an incident around 14:30 while conducting 'routine underwater test infrastructure maintenance' at the US Army UNDEX Test Facility (UTF) 'super pond' at the Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland. The UTF is 1070 feet long, 150 feet deep. First death since the facilty ewas opened in 1995. NB, this fatality was followed by a double fatality less than a month later (James Reyher/Ryan Harris, 26th February 2013). No details. www.exploreharford.com
  119. 2013 1 28 South Pars, Phase 13 Iran SADRA 80 40 million USD platform wieghing 1,850 tons being installed in the South Pars field (Phase 13) sank on site in 80 metres water depth leaving people in the water (video clip), no reported casualties. Reuters
  120. 2013 1 23 HSE Safety Alert UK HSE Saturation Paraphrased and adapted from HSE safety alert: “A serious incident occurred where a diving support vessel's dynamic positioning (DP) system, designated as IMO class 2, failed resulting in the vessel drifting off position while divers were deployed subsea (Refers to Bibby Topaz incident on 18th September 2012 which left saturation diver Chris Lemons isolated on the seabed for 40+ minutes). Investigations have shown that a probable cause of the DP failure was a single fault which caused blocking of the DP system's internal data communications. Many DP systems rely on bus-oriented communications networks. Investigation of the incident referenced above found that communications dependent on a dual bus network can be totally lost because of a single fault. IMO MSC Circular 645 includes the requirement:- "For equipment class 2, the DP-control system should consist of at least two independent computer systems. Common facilities such as self-checking routines, data transfer arrangements, and plant interfaces should not be capable of causing the failure of both / all systems". If the dynamic positioning functions are dependent on a shared communication medium such as a dual data bus network, then the duty holder should ensure that appropriate measures are in place to prevent a single fault causing failure of the DP system. Manufacturers and suppliers of dynamic positioning systems who claim their products satisfy IMO Class 2 or better should investigate the communications architecture for the relevant dynamic positioning systems. If the dynamic positioning functions are dependent on a shared communication medium such as a dual data bus network, then the manufacturer / supplier should check that appropriate measures are in place to prevent a single fault causing failure of the DP system. If such measures are not in place, then the relevant manufacturer or supplier should ensure that the users of the dynamic positioning system are provided with adequate information regarding the vulnerability of the dynamic positioning system to single faults.� Essentially the HSE, regardless of the published data, are warning the industry that there is the potential for a single point failure in any dual bus system utilising any unit connected to both buses (In the case of the Bibby Topaz that referred to each of the three DP consoles on the bridge). In other words, unless addressed, the DP system is actually not DP II but DP I because it has apotential single point failure.
  121. 2013 1 0 IMCA Safety Flash 02/13 UK Saturation Safety Flash regarding a "Serious DP Diving Incident" (Refers to the Bibby Topaz incident on 18th September 2012 that left Chris Lemons isolated on the seabed for 40+ minutes), describes incident, actions taken, ivestigation and reccommendations. One result not mentioned elsewhere was that the DP system manufacturer had developed a CD/software update that would prevent a further or similar incident on a DP similar system.
  122. 2012 12 7 Kolo Samiu Tonga S/S Air Aged 30, fishing (illegally using hookah gear) for sea cucumber in Ha'afeva (Ha'apai island) from decompression illness. Noted as the third fatality using illegal diving equipment in the last year (The other fatalities ocuured on the 30th October 2012 and 9th December 2010) but the victims were not named). Reported by Matangi, Tonga online
  123. 2012 11 13 Lucyk Corpoal Lionel France Fireman SCUBA Aged 38, professional diver/firefighter, diving with a partner as part of a 4 man team from the St Nazaire fire and rescue centre in heavy seas to cut nets off the propellor of a disabled trawler in the bay between Le Pouliguen and Pornichet, details unclear, but failed to surface, found unconscious near the fishing boat but failed to respond to treatment. Married with a daughter. Reported by Letelegramme.com
  124. 2012 11 3 Montozzi Maximilian Argentina Police Aged 37, Buenos Aries Province police diver, one of a team searching the Roggero Dam in Moreno on Monday for the bodies of two young men who disappeared the previous Saurday 3rd (presumed drowned, both bodies were subsequently recovered). Went missing during the morning, his lifeless body was recovered from a few metres away from where he disappeared in the afternoon. Reported swept away by strong current and trapped on a grill, drowned. His brother Marcos, also a policeman, had also died in the line of duty. Noticas Argentinas
  125. 2012 10 30 Not Recorded Tonga SCUBA Diving illegally for sea cucumber on Tungua in the outlying Ha'apai islands, 'symptoms were consistent with decompression sickness'. SCUBA diving for sea cucumbers is illegal under the Tonga Fisheries Act. Two other free-diving sea cucumber fishrermen died in the previous seven days, one off the Northern coast of 'Atata island - leg caught in nylon line - the other from Patangata was found dead on the reef by other fishermen returning from Pangaimotu island. Reported by Matangi Tonga Online
  126. 2012 10 29 de Waal Paul A Curacao Miami Divers S/S Air Aged 27, Accident at the Mega Pier at Baden Powellwegin the Port of Willemstad (Capital of Curacao, Dutch Caribbean island) Dutch diver working with three others divers on repairs to the 92,000 tonne cruise liner 'Norwegian Star' (Damaged her bow in port in Bermuda in September when she broke mooring lines in strong winds and collided with the RCCL 'Explorer of the Seas'). Reported as 'gave signal to his colleagues and was found unconscious on the harbour bed'. CPR was unsuccessful. No other details. Reported by Scheepvaartnieuws.The following details have been paraphrased from OGP safety Alert 248. “Routine surface supplied diving operation to clean marine growth from a vessel hull using a hull cleaning device with rotating brushes (a brush cart that required a diver to guide and operate it). The brush cart contained diver operated tooling actuated by an air driven piston. Standard company practice was to use the suit inflation take off from the diving mask for this purpose. Prior to this dive the diving mask was changed to a model that did not have a suit inflation take off capability. A decision was made to connect the diver's emergency gas supply line (Bailout) directly to the brush cart tooling. This resulted in the diver having no personal emergency gas supply. During the dive the diver's umbilical was caught in the wheels of the brush cart and the diver experienced a reduction in breathing gas. The diver, having no emergency gas supply, removed his mask, immediately losing communication to the surface team and was observed in distress at the surface. The surface team was composed of a radio operator (a diver) and a tender for the diver (a non diver) and a diving supervisor - who was not on the site at this time. An attempt was made to pull the diver back using the diver's umbilical, this was ineffective. The radio operator, who was also the standby diver, jumped into the water without diving equipment and attempted to rescue the diver. The brush cart was negatively buoyant and the rescue diver was unable to prevent it sinking with the diver attached. The standby diver returned to the vessel and dressed into the standby diver's equipment (SCUBA) and recovered the body of the diver from the seabed. What Went Wrong? i) Risks with the work equipment were not identified and addressed, ii) Critical Safety equipment was misused to achieve the work task, iii) Personnel levels were inadequate, iv) No onsite supervision, v) Inadequate Emergency recovery equipment. Corrective Actions and Recommendations: i) Utilise the OGP RP 411, Diving Recommended Practice as the baseline standard for diving, ii) Verify contractors are in compliance, iii) Establish that adequate risk assessments have been carried out, iv) Ensure minimum personnel levels for diving are 5 (One supervisor who cannot leave the dive site, a diver, a diver's tender, a standby diver and standby diver's tender), all personnel should be diver qualified and competent, v) Verify emergency breathing supply equipment is of suitable volume and immediately available, vi) Confirm that any use of the divers breathing gas supply for tooling power is unacceptable, vii) Ensure the standby diver's equipment is the same as the divers, viii) Verify that while any diver is in the water, the standby diver is dressed and in immediate readiness to carry out a rescue, ix) Ensure emergency recovery equipment and procedures are adequate to achieve recovery, x) Verify emergency drills have been carried out to test the emergency recovery procedures with the diving team. Later reported as having qualified from diving school in September, one month earlier.
  127. 2012 10 23 HSE Alert UK Divers and supervisors are being warned that they could be putting lives at risk if they forge documents, and could also face criminal charges. It comes after a diving supervisor received a Police Caution under the Fraud Act 2006 for signing blank pages of a diver's log book. The diver had subsequently falsified details of dives to make it look like he had the necessary experience needed for a Closed Bell course in Scotland. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) alerted the police when initial checks by course leaders indicated that some of the dives were not possible without a very high risk of decompression illness. Chris Sherman, HSE's chief inspector of diving said: "Divers and supervisors need to be reminded that log books are legal documents which must be completed accurately. Had the man succeeded in completing the course, which is for experienced divers only, he could have led dives which he was not properly qualified for, putting others at risk. HSE diving teams will investigate all cases where divers are found to hold forged documents or qualifications and will work with police where necessary."
  128. 2012 10 20 Antifave Robert Wayne Canada SCUBA Aged 51, from Lantzville on Vancouver Island, harvesting Geoducks in Rendell Sound (Off the West coast of Haida Gwaii) Emergency services called between 11:00 and 12:00 with reports of a diver in medical distress, helicopter (en route from Comox to Smithers) diverted and coastguard vessel "Sandspit" responded, crews recovered the diver from the water, administered CPR, taken to hospital in Queen Charlotte, pronounced dead. 'Coroner investigating'. Reported in the Vancouver Sun
  129. 2012 10 18 Lyng Stig Erik Malaysia Fugro Topsides Norwegian, aged 53, servicing a tsunami warning metocean (Fugro Oceanor Wavescan) buoy off Sipadan from the MV Pendamar. Buoy lifted onto deck for maintenance after two years in the water. The last of 16 bolts holding an access lid was rusted so IP used an angle grinder. The internal atmoshere had been contaminated by gases from the batteries, resulting in an explosion which caused the lid to hit him causing fatal injuries. Reported by the Sun (Malaysia). IMCA SF 5/13 issued April 4th 2013. with detailed eport. NB Buoy manuals did highlight danger and required purging prior to access (Not done on this occassion). Procedures modified and explosion potential warning signs now used on the buoys (Similar to those already used by NOAA on their buoys)
  130. 2012 10 15 Krishnan Chief Articifer Harish India Navy Topsides Aged 32, from Alappuzha, Indian Navy diver onboard a four seater Chetak helicopter on a routine transit flight from Mumbai to Bangalore, landing to refuel at Dabolim airport (INS 'Hansa' naval air base) in Goa. Witnesses said a rotor came off as it was landing at 09:51, the helicopter crashed bursting into flames killing all three (Navy pilot, co-pilot and diver). "The wreckage was cleared before 1 pm avoiding inconvenience to flights" OneIndia News
  131. 2012 10 8 Duran Hector "Chapin" Belize Amigos Del Mar Dive Shop SCUBA Dive tour guide working in the dive shop in San Pedro town on Ambergris Caye where he had been employed for 20 years, filling SCUBA Cylinders, fatally injured when a tank he was filling ruptured, the explosion "caused injuries to his midsection resulting in instant death". At the time of his death, his wife was pregnant with their sixth child. Sanpedrosun.com
  132. 2012 10 2 Selvamani M India Topsides Aged 45, resident in Anna Nagar area of Kasimedu, described as a diver cum assistant crane operator, Fishing department project at the Kasimedu fishing harbour, recovering a beam with projecting iron rods out of the harbour (It was preventing boats coming alongside the wharf). He ran under the crane to move the divers compressor (mounted on a tricycle) but was crushed under the crane when it overturned, report not clear) due to the weight of the beam. Another worker was taken to the Government Stanley hospital with minor injuries, the crane driver fled the site as relatives and other fisher folk rushed to the harbour demanding action be taken against the contractor. Survived by wife (Arasi) and daughter. Reported by About Chennai.
  133. 2012 9 23 Al-Qethami Naif Saudi Arabia Civil Defence Corporal with 9 years diving experience in the civil defence, had been called to recover a cild who had fallen down a well in Rehat, 115 km from Al-Jamoom in the Makkah region. He climbed out of the well carrying the body of the 3 year old and was knocked backwards by a surge of some 400 onlookers, hit his head as he fell into the 25' deep well. Colleagues dived in to pull him out but he failed to respond to treatment. Saudi Gazette
  134. 2012 9 22 Collins Danny USA Fireman 18 SCUBA Captain in the Conway Fire depatment, training dive (grid search) in Hot Springs. Apparently got entangled, brought to the surface by his partner but had breathing difficulties. Flown to Shreveport hospital (Louisiana) for treatment for an embolism. Firefighterclosecalls.com
  135. 2012 9 21 Bridger Michael USA Walt Disney / Silver Bullet Productions SCUBA Aged 48, cleaning inside a tank on a ranch near Palmdale in the desert north of Los Angeles prior to filming on the set of the new "Lone Ranger" movie, reported that co-workers realised something was wrong and pulled him from the water at which stage he went into cardiac arrest. Initially being treated as natural causes (Heart attack). Reuters UK. Update March 2013:- Silver Bullet Productions was fined $61,445 after the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA) determined that the company allowed a hazardous situation that resulted in the drowning death of a diver who was cleaning a water tank. According to Cal/OSHA's records, the 48-year-old diver was using SCUBA equipment to enhance water clarity for filming while cleaning the 100-foot-by-80-foot-by-25-foot tank with a vacuum. The regulatory agency states that the diver's "dive buddy" was absent for 10 minutes and, when he returned, he noticed that no bubbles were coming to the surface of the water. OSHA determined the accident was primarily caused by the diver working alone and not being given a prior medical examination to determine his fitness to dive. For not having a designated "person in charge" at the dive location, failing to ensure that all divers were properly trained in CPR and other life-saving measures, not keeping up with the divers' required regular medical examinations and violating basic operational procedures—all deemed "serious" violations, Silver Bullet was fined $45,000. The company was fined another $16,445 for six general violations: not providing documentation of safety and health training for all employees, not keeping records of each dive in the tank, not keeping proper records of all equipment maintenance, not maintaining a required Illness Prevention Program for hazard training, not developing a manual for diver safety and not properly maintaining the compressor for supplying air. Cause of death recorded as drowned after having a heart attack underwater. LA Times
  136. 2012 9 18 Lemons Chris UK Bibby 91 Saturation DPII DSV Bibby Topaz, built 2008, Kongsberg DP system, diving on the Huntington Field template, at 22:09 RBUS DP alarm activated, 22:11 loss of DP control, divers relocated to top of template, vessel starts to drift off, 22:12 Diver 1 pulled off template by tight umbilical, diver 2 umbilical snagged and parted, 22:17 vessel 240 metres East of template, manual control established, diver 2 beacon at template, 22:34, vessel back on auto DP, 22:40 vessel back at template, diver 1 left stage, bell 18 metres from template, 22:46 diver 2 recovered to bell, unconscious, 23:04 diver 2 conscious, 22:13, BLB, 23:39 BLO. Diver 2 on bailout with planned duration of 10 minutes for between 28 and 34 minutes. Survival believed to have been due to rebreather type bailout, high ppO2 in bailout mix, probably rapid onset of hypothermia/reduced breathing rate. Diver made a full recovery. DP fault not identified/publicised, investigation ongoing. Reported in the Press and Journal, Times etc
  137. 2012 9 12 Not Recorded USA Ocean Corps, Houston Two trainees, one aged 18 or 28, the other 34, reported as 'hospitalised in a critical condition'. The accident occurred at around 10:00 or 11:00 hours, commercial diver training (Inspection/NDT training) in a tank, recovered from the tank, one unconscious, the other conscious, transferred by 'LifeFlight' helicopter to hospital. Apparently "Diving in the indoor tank on SCUBA on their first day of unsupervised diving. The instructor was helping another student when other students noticed something was wrong". No other details. KHOU news
  138. 2012 8 23 Echevarria Pardo Columbia Aged 48, married with three chidren, ex-navy diver, working with 7 other divers on the Luxembourg flagged Jan de Nul dredger "Charles Darwin" (Launched 2010, 180 metres long, 40 metre beam, twin trailer suction dredges each with 3,400 KW of power) off the Port of Santa Marta. Described as 'human error' - they started the turbines with divers in the water. Two divers caught, Echavarria recovered to the surface 20 minutes later, apparently still alive but died, his dive partner Duva Hernandez suffered broken legs, taken to hospital. No other details. Reported by El Informador
  139. 2012 8 23 Hernandez Duva Columbia Working with 7 other divers on the Luxembourg flagged Jan de Nul dredger "Charles Darwin" (Launched 2010, 180 metres long, 40 metre beam, twin trailer suction dredges each with 3,400 KW of power) off the Port of Santa Marta. Described as 'human error' - they started the turbines with divers in the water. Two divers caught, his partner, Pardo Echavarria recovered to the surface 20 minutes later, apparently still alive but died, Duva Hernandez suffered broken legs, taken to hospital. No other details. Reported by El Informador
  140. 2012 8 18 Olurunwa Nigeria Storm surge hit shanty cabins at the Kuramo Beach, Victoria Island early hours of Saturday morning, "So far, only the body of the local diver earlier found on Saturday has been identified. The local diver identified simply as Olurunwa lost his life in his attempt to save the drowning victims. Reported in the Vanguard
  141. 2012 8 16 Knaps Marko Estonia Navy 23 SCUBA Aged 22, conscript at the Talinn Naval Base from 2010-2011 after which he joined the mine hunter 'Sakala' as a diver in August 2011. On August 7th 2012, the Esonian Navy launched an operation to dispose of WWII era munition (Reported as having cleared over 700 devices since 1994). Diving 1.5 miles off the Kakumae penninsula in the process of moving an aircraft bomb to a safe area when he stopped responding to routine signals. Another diver located him unconscious at 23 metres and brought him to the surface, lacked vital signs but colleagues began resucitation which was taken over by ambulance crews when they reached the shore. Failed to respond. No other details. Rep[orted ERR News (Estonia Public Broadcasting)
  142. 2012 8 12 Udoh Godwin Nigeria OMAK / Eidesvik 35 S/S Air Working off the "Atlantis Dweller". Diving contractor was OMAK (Not IMCA) a "Local content' initiative Nigerian subsidiary of Eidesvik AS (IMCA member) set up in Port Harcourt, (subcontracted to Fugro), the diver was locally qualified (PTI in Rivers State) and had a local medical (No evidence to say either had an effect on the incident), his first dive after arriving on board, dive was to 35 msw, Dive time line seems to have been:- 16:16 left surface, 16:31 to 16:36 "about 15-20 minutes into dive displayed signs of distress/panic", 16:39 stand-by left surface and freed umbilical of unconscious but breathing diver, 16:50 Divers left bottom, 16:58 Unconscious diver appears to stop breathing, 17:01 Divers on surface, 17:03 In DDC with DMT, 17:08 Second DMT locked in, 17:53 CPR discontinued 'after 45 minutes'. When helmet was removed on surface, interior was dry and it was reported he had white froth around his mouth. The Police autopsy states death due to drowning, the hospital death certificate says asphyxia leading to cerebral hypoxia and myocardial infarction). Oil Company Incient Report.
  143. 2012 8 10 Burgan Michael USA Fireman 19 SCUBA Aged 46, Captain in the Sugarcreek Fire department (also dived for the Holmes County dive team) participating in an advanced diving class at the White Star Quarry in Gibsonburg, reported as showing signs of distress after 15 minutes into his second dive of the day, surfaced and called for help before he lost consciousness, recovered from about 61' water depth by fellow divers but pronounced dead at the scene. Firehouse.com news
  144. 2012 8 10 Martin Christopher USA SCUBA Aged 24, hired by Eagle Creek Golf Club in Orlando to retrieve golf balls. Two divers, but working solo in different locations. The other diver saw the diving tank floating on the surface but neither he or the Orange County Dive Team could locate the body. Body recovered late evening the day after. Presumbed drowned but no other details. Orlando Sentinel
  145. 2012 8 5 Reardon Jim USA Fireman SCUBA Aged 51 from Pierz, videoptaping in Lake Seven near Frazee undertaking a pre-drill survey for a future dive exercise for firefighters who were due to train there. Reported as having separated from his dive partner, he was found near the dock 20 minutes later but could not be revived. "No drugs or alcohol was involved, all his diving gear was intact and operational". Autopsy concluded that he "Died of natural causes". Bismark Tribune
  146. 2012 8 1 Yusuke Miura Russia EMAS Saturation Japanese diver working in saturation onboard the "Lewek Crusader" at the Arkutun Dagi platform Gravity Base off Sakhalin. Reported as heart attack whilst in the water installing a flange catcher. NB IMCA member, therefore should see a report in due course. Longstreath/PDA
  147. 2012 7 31 Van D Truong Vietnam Pearl or clam diver Aged 25, diver at a fish farm (pearls or clams) in Phu Yen Province. Resident in Ho Chi Minh City, returned to his home povince in July and went diving for clams. Developed high fever and headache on July 29th, the following day was hospitalised at the Nhan Dan Gia Dinh hospital in Ho Chi Minh city then transferred to the Tropical diseases hospital, treatment ineffectual as infection had spread from his nasal passages to the brain leading to Meningitis, fell into a coma, suffered three cardiac and respiratory arrests, was asked to be released on the 31st by his family, died in transit to his home. Subsequent tests confirmed he was infected with Naegleria fowleri. Amoeba was known to be endemic in Vietnam since in 1965, known as the 'brain eating amoeba', typically found in warm fresh water. Can invade humans and attackthe nervous sytem (rare) but when it occurs, typically has a 98% fatality rate. Of 121 cases reported in the USA since 1937, only one survivor. Reported in VietNamNet Bridge
  148. 2012 7 24 Sheinost 1 David D USA Dept. of Natural Resources SCUBA Aged 24, from Puyallup, two man dive working with a four man diving tean for the Department of Natural Resources conducting geoduck surveys (sampling for paralytic shellfish poisoning) near Restoration Point on Bainbridge island. Reported as 'went missing during the dive' (surfaced in distress, called out he could not breath, slipped below the surface before the other divers reaced him), body recovered three days later. Death certificate indicates cause of death as 'salt water drowning' with a contributing factor 'acute cocaine intoxication'. Apparently did not hold a commercial diving license. Bainbridge Island Review. In January 2013, Washington’s Department of Labor & Industries (L & I) cited the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) for 15 worker-safety violations including two “willful� violations (committed with intentional disregard or plain indifference to worker safety and health regulations). (1) 370 occurrences over a 6-month period in which divers were deployed without carrying a reserve breathing-gas supply (2) DNR did not ensure a designated person was in charge at the dive location to supervise all aspects of the diving operation affecting the health and safety of the divers and proposed penalties of $172,900.
In addition to the two willful violations, L&I cited DNR for eight serious and five general violations for not complying with standard safe-diving practices and procedures, including failure to:- have an effective safety and health accident prevention program and training program; ensure that divers maintained continual visual contact with each other; inspect and maintain equipment; have a stand-by diver available while divers are in the water. DNR says it will appeal the fines saying that the department has corrected most of the violations that were found during the investigation by the state Department of Labor & Industries. Bainbridge Island Review
  149. 2012 7 24 Sheinost 2 David D USA Dept. of Natural Resources SCUBA In January 2013, Washington’s Department of Labor & Industries (L & I) cited the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) for 15 worker-safety violations including two “willful� violations (committed with intentional disregard or plain indifference to worker safety and health regulations). (1) 370 occurrences over a 6-month period in which divers were deployed without carrying a reserve breathing-gas supply (2) DNR did not ensure a designated person was in charge at the dive location to supervise all aspects of the diving operation affecting the health and safety of the divers and proposed penalties of $172,900.
In addition to the two willful violations, L&I cited DNR for eight serious and five general violations for not complying with standard safe-diving practices and procedures, including failure to:- have an effective safety and health accident prevention program and training program; ensure that divers maintained continual visual contact with each other; inspect and maintain equipment; have a stand-by diver available while divers are in the water. DNR says it will appeal the fines saying that the department has corrected most of the violations that were found during the investigation by the state Department of Labor & Industries
  150. 2012 7 13 Knight Michael Louis USA Seaward Marine Aged 49, civilian diver with 24 years experience working on the USS Wasp (Amphibious Assault Ship) at Pier 10 at the Norfolk Navy Base. Pronounced dead at the scene, cause of death not yet determined, no other details. Daily Press.
  151. 2012 7 3 Antonov Rosen Bulgaria SCUBA Training to dive (Described as a professional SCUBA duver) with the institute of oceanology of the Bulgarian Academy of Science near Varna on the Black Sea Coast (Programme specifically for the Kozloduy nuclear power plant). Second fatality in two months associated with this power plant (Radoslav Stoyanov or Dimitrov, 5th May 2012). No details. Reported by Publics.bg
  152. 2012 6 26 Not Recorded Nigeria S/S Air Diver from Ijar described as 'senior' with 25 years of experience working for a contractor out of Port Harcourt (Rivers State). Disappeared during salvage of a sunken dredger on the Ughelli River (Delta State). Reported as having reached the position of the sunken dredger then disappeared. Appears from photos to have been a surface supplied mobile/portable set up, but no details. The dredger was run by a contractor (Owned by the Hon Friday Onodjai, former chairman of of the Ughelli North Local Government council and one time member representinf Ughelli North in the Delta State house of Assembly) working for NDDC (Niger Delta Development Company) and sank on Monday 25th near the Amekpa junction 'while executing a project to open up the river'. Search for the diver continued Thursday 28th admist confrontation with the local Otor-iwhreko community trying to stop the search operation until after ceremonies to appease their Gods for defilement of the river by the dead diver. Riot controlled by the military. It was alleged that prior to the commencement of the dredging, some employees of the owner of the dredger had made some spiritual consultations and disclosed to Hon. Onodjai that there is the need to appease the gods of the river before the commencement of the project, a suggestion Onodjai allegedly refused with a wave of the hand saying that he is a Christian and that such insinuations are mere superstitious beliefs. However, a week after the commencement of the project, the dredger sank and in an attempt to recover it, divers were brought in from Port Harcourt. It was during the rescue of the dredger that one of the divers was discovered missing after he had gone into the water but failed to come out. Another report commented that prior to this incident, there have been a series of profitable excavating activities due to the high demand of white sand for construction activities in the area (So was this a publicly funded river widening operation or commercial sand extraction?) Reported by Urhobo Times/Vanguard.
  153. 2012 6 9 Kurida Pjero UK Topsides Croatian, aged 29, Bosun on the PSV E R Athina. The Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) report highlighted failure by senior crew to follow formal risk assessments, inappropriate emergency response and improper planning of the use of a Fast Rescue Craft (FRC) as a painting platform. The bosun suffered severe internal chest injuries after becoming trapped between the hull and the lifting frame of the FRC whilst repairing a small area of damaged paintwork on the hull whilst at anchor two miles off Aberdeen (“possibly trying to push the FRC away from the supply ship’s hull,� as the vessels collided against each other, caused by the prevailing swell and tidal stream). With no external signs of bleeding (After the incident, he was coughing and breathing heavily, but the second officer did not see any external signs of bleeding. When he was asked about his injuries he replied that his right arm was sore and that he thought his ribs were broken), the crew underestimated the extent of his injuries and a fishing vessel was employed to take him to hospital at a speed of 8.5 knots. They also alerted the ship’s agent, rather than the coastguard, losing “valuable time,� found the report. MAIB Report
  154. 2012 6 2 Pool Joshua Lee Eugene USA 2 S/S Air Aged 28, Commercial diver with Seattle based Global and Salvage, working the weekend on a pivate gold claim 70 miles north of Anchorage on Willow Creek, using a compressor and diving gear, dry suit (No life jacket) with 50lbs of weight (25lb chest weight with quick release, 25lbs on a non-quick release waist belt) to work a 'neck-deep eddy' behind a boulder (using a suction lift) upstream of Shirley Town Bridge. Working with one other guy (onshore) and in quickly rising water level when apparently he went short of air, stood up and lifted off his helmet, slipped on a rock, lost his helmet and 'went downstream', Incident occurred at around 16:00, body located at 18:00, possible head injury, recorded as drowned. Lived in Anchoorage, expecting his second daughter to be born in July. Alaska Dispatch
  155. 2012 5 22 Deep Sat Dive USA USN Saturation Naval Experimental Diving Unit (NEDU), Panama city, Florida, training dive during testing of the 26 million dollar US Navy Saturation Fly-away Diving System. 4 day sat, 11 day decompression with a 6 man team to 1000' (Reported as "the first USN dive to 1,000 feet since 1974" though USN divers are reported as having dived to 1,148' using the Mk I Deep Dive System in 1975, NEDU to 1,800' in the Ocean Simulator Facility in 1979 and the Duke Medical centre ran a chamber dive to 2,250 in 1981, TC). wjhg.com
  156. 2012 5 17 Cancino Manuel Gomez Gonzalo Mexico SCUBA Aged 28, poaching for sea cucumber 22 miles off Progreso (Yucatan) with two companions off a 25' boat. Inexperienced, probably did not use decompression stops, died before he got to hospital. Autopsy stated death due to decompression illness. Progresohoy.com
  157. 2012 5 12 Thakur Ramesh Singapore Cutech Marine Services Pty SCUBA Aged 35, ex Indian Navy diving instructor (Left the Navy August 2011, had been working for Cutech for several months) from Kanyakumari (Kerala, South India). Hull cleaning on the VLCC "Kokkari" 4 km Southeast of the South Marine Pier. Singapore Maritime and Port Authority received a report that a diver had gone missing at 14:55, a search failed to locate the diver. Married, two children aged 5 and 7, Reported by AsiaOne
  158. 2012 5 5 Stoyanov (or Dimitrov) Radoslav Bulgaria Hydroremont 7 Commercial diver with 3 years expeience, from Varna, aged 29, Kozloduy nuclear power plant. inspecting a shaft between units 5 and 6, lost audio at 09:40, body recovered one and a half hours later, reported to have both audio and lifeline, no explanation for protracted recovery, death certificate states cause of death as 'myocardial infarcation' and that death was not due to an accident but due to heart disease. Rumours of a cover up, running pumps, diver being trapped by differential pressure and injuries to diver denied by authorities, circumstances unclear. Focus News Agency
  159. 2012 5 4 Dzul Felix Jesus Canul Mexico Fisherman SCUBA Commercial sea Cucumber fishing out of Puerto Chicxulub (Yucatan Penninsula), reported chest pains, taken ashore died in hospital (CMA - Centro Medico de las Americas in Merida). Reported as death due to decompression illness. Progresohoy.com
  160. 2012 5 3 O'Malley Steven Germany SubC Partner 2 British, Aged 48. Diving on the Alpha Ventus windfarm (28 miles north of Borkum in about 30 metres water depth) from a Danish DSV, body taken ashore in Esbjerg. Reported as becoming unresponsive/ill in the water, recovered to deck but failed to respond to treatment. Initial reports indicated a possible heart attack. Reported in the Scotsman plus German Press
  161. 2012 4 27 Rhodes Randy R USA 4 SCUBA Aged 55, from Indiana, clearing zebra mussels from a water intake at a private residence on Keuka Lake, reported as surfacing and calling for help before sinking under the water about 18:15 hours, body recovered from 13' of water, 80' from the shore by rescuers who were on site within 5 minutes of receiving an emergency call at 18:20. Alive when pulled from the water but declared dead in hspital two hours later. Not counted in the 'working diver' fatality count as this appears to be a local resident clearing his own or a neighbour's water pipe on a Friday evening. Appears to have been a solo SCUBA diver. Sadly this death will not be remembered for the circumstances of the death but a very public argument between the New York State SCUBA team who claim to have rescued the unconscious diver and Wayne Fire Department Cold Water Response team who say they located the diver and Steuben County Dive Team volunteer members who say they then brought the diver to the surface. Steuben Courier
  162. 2012 4 22 Abu Khalil Hussein Ahmad Lebanon 50 SCUBA Aged 42, head of the Environment and Development department and the Marine Exploration Department, diving off the village of Qleileh, Tyre, inspecting a seafloor project designed to increase fish numbers. His body was located by a Navy SAR team the day after. Reported as having died of a heart attack. Dailystar.com.lb
  163. 2012 4 22 Sprout Brad Robert Mexico Global Diving and Salvage American, aged 29, Working a DP DSV ('Captain Tale'?off Cuidad del Carmen, may have been an umbilical in thruste/lost gas incident, no other details
  164. 2012 4 19 Simonini Lt. Vincent Italy Italian Navy Aged 37, Italian Navy diver working at the helicopter base at Luni (La Spezia), assisting in pool based helicopter ditching/evacuation training. Unconscious in the water, treated by medics on site but failed to respond to treatment. Reported as 'cardiac arrest'. Italian Press reports.
  165. 2012 4 18 Stovall Richard USA Stovall's SCUBA and Travel 12 SCUBA Aged 77, owner of PADI diving business in Midland, collecting underwater soil samples from the bed of the O H Ivie Resevoir on behalf of the Colorado River Municipal Water District prior to a dredging company removing silt from the pipe to the pumping station. Entered the water through a concrete tower on a pumping station in the resevoir, should have been a 10 minute dive, failed to surface. Body found two days later at the inshore end of a 350' long, 8' diameter pipe in a chamber below a pump station onshore. Appears to have been a solo dive, no stand-by or back up. San Angelo Standard Times
  166. 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.
  167. 2012 4 13 Neve Nigel Gabon Topsides Acting as Company Site Representative on a DSV offshore Gabon, reported as possible stomach heamorrhage, no other etails. Longstreath blog
  168. 2012 4 5 Craig Ryan USA Triangle Diving, Bermuda 3 Rebreather Aged 25, Canadian, described as an experienced commercial and technical diver, working as a diving instructor in Bermuda, died whilst using a closed circuit rebreather in 9' of water off Grotto Bay. The owner of triangle Diving Bermuda - his employer - is quoted as saying "Technical divers are used to losing people. We're on the cutting edge, exploring new frontiers and with any type of new frontier you will always have losses. We are experts in technical diving and have all the certifications, but accidents can happen". Bermuda Sun.
  169. 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).
  170. 2012 3 24 Not Recorded Russia Navy Diver 60 Diving off the Rescue vessel "Alagez" with the Pacific Fleet in Pyotr Veliky Bay of Primorye conducting a submarine salvage drill with a "damaged" submarine on the seabed in 60 metres of water. Reports unclear, though may have been 'equipment failure'. Contradictory reports regarding his diving partner say he is 'undergoing intensive decompression therapy' or 'did not suffer and needs no treatment'. No details. Reported by Navaltoday.com
  171. 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
  172. 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
  173. 2012 3 18 Kelley Daniel USA Sunset Beach Oyster Company 4 Aged 48, commercial geoduck harvesting off Ayock point in the Hood Canal, ill in the water and stopped responding to signals, pulled out of the water and began CPR, transported ashore and taken to Mason General hospital where he was pronounced dead. Reported as having drowned after having a heart attack. Autopsy revealed the diver 'had pre-existing conditions that may have led to the heart attack'. Toxicology testing ruled out carbon monoxide poisoning. KMAS News Radio
  174. 2012 3 17 Roussow Pierre India CCC 28 S/S Air South African, experienced sat diver working an air job off the NPCC barge HLS 2000, crane incident, found in the water with helmet off, broken neck. Longstreath
  175. 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
  176. 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
  177. 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
  178. 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.
  179. 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
  180. 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
  181. 2012 2 28 Ellebode Jean-Michel France Le Schaphandre 25 44 years old, French, Diving at around 25 metres, working off a barge on the Antioch sluice (Between Ile de Re and Ile d'Oleron), ill in the water, recovered unconscious, helicopter to hospital in La Rochelle, declared dead. Sudouest.fr
  182. 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
  183. 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
  184. 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
  185. 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.
  186. 2012 2 19 Diaz Arturo Alejandro Rivas Chile Aquachile SA Aged 33, Beticoi salmon farm, diving accident on site, medivac to Puerta Melinka where it was reported that he died of cardiac arrest due to crush injuries sustained from a large cage of fish. Reported by rin.cl/noticas
  187. 2012 2 14 Delauze Henri Germain France COMEX Died aged 83, Henri DeLauze founded COMEX in 1961. He was awarded a degree in engineering from the Ecole Superieure des Arts et Metiers in Aix-en-Provence (1946/49) and a Master of Science in Marine Geology at the University of California (Berkeley) in 1960. From 1952 to 1955, he cooperated on a voluntary basis with Captain Cousteau's team as an engineer and as a diver in Marseilles (OFRS). From 1956 to 1961 with the big international contractor, Grands Travaux de Marseille, he was responsible for several major large construction sites, including the motorway tunnel under Havana's bay in Cuba (1956/57). At the end of 1961, back in France, he joined the CNRS (National Centre for Scientific Research) as head of the "ARCHIMEDE" Bathyscaph Submersible Laboratory in which he carried out a dive to a depth of - 9,650 metres, off the coast of Japan in 1961. He thus became the "Deepest Frenchman in the world" (the deepest human dive was sponsored by the US Navy with Ct Don WALSH and Jacques PICCARD in the Bathyscaph "TRIESTE" to 10.700 m. in 1960). He married in1953 and has three children, Michele, Marc and Beatrice.
  188. 2012 2 10 Marshall Erica USA KESMARC Chamber Aged 28, died in an explosion at the KESMARC (Kentucky Equine Sports Medicine And Rehabilitation Centre) Farm in Ocla. 12' diameter hyperbaric chamber built in 2009 by New Phase Construction used for treating horses with high ppO2. The horse from Virginia (Landmark's Legendary Affair, a 6 year old thoroughbred gelding), which was being being treated for tissue damage, was killed instantly. Two employees monitoring the horse said that about 22 minutes into the treatment, he became agitated and started to kick (conflicting statements as to whether the horse was sedated on this occasion, though it had received 4 or 5 treatments before without incident), they tried to activate an emergency decompression sequence but the horse had already kicked off a quarter inch thick protective coating. They saw a "massive spark inside the chamber and then flames", Ms Moneley left the panel to call the fire department, Ms Marshall began the decompression sequence. There was then an initial explosion followed by a much larger blast that blew debris 1,200 feet, ripped off part of the roof and the side walls. The horse's steel shoes were not taped or covered "As the chamber had an irremovable protective coating that makes it unecessary". Star Banner, Florida
  189. 2012 2 10 Moneley Sorcha USA KESMARC Chamber Aged 33, from Ireland, at the facility as an observor with an interest in taking the hyperbariv treatment technology to Europe, seriously injured in the same explosion that killed Erica Marshall, airlifted to Shands (University of Florida) for treatment (head trauma). KESMARC (Kentucky Equine Sports Medicine And Rehabilitation Centre) Farm in Ocla. 12' diameter hyperbaric chamber built in 2009 by New Phase Construction used for treating horses with high ppO2. The horse from Virginia (Landmark's Legendary Affair, a 6 year old thoroughbred gelding), which was being being treated for tissue damage, was killed instantly. Two employees monitoring the horse said that about 22 minutes into the treatment, he became agitated and started to kick (conflicting statements as to whether the horse was sedated on this occasion, though it had received 4 or 5 treatments before without incident), they tried to activate an emergency decompression sequence but the horse had already kicked off a quarter inch thick protective coating. They saw a "massive spark inside the chamber and then flames", Ms Moneley left the panel to call the fire department, Ms Marshall began the decompression sequence. There was an initial explosion followed by a much larger blast that blew debris 1,200 feet, ripped off part of the roof and the side walls. The horse's steel shoes were not taped or covered "As the chamber had a irremovable protective coating that makes it unecessary". Star Banner, Florida
  190. 2012 2 10 Sindad I or II Egypt Sinbad Submarine 3 German tourists, (parents and a child) drowned when a sight seeing tourist submarine working out of Hurgada (Tourist resort on the Red Sea Coast) struck a coral reef breaking a porthole leading to water ingress. 13 other tourists were rescued. Reported in the Gulf times and others. The submarine was either the Sinbad I or Sinbad II, built by Mobimar (Turku, Finland) to ABS standards, (No other details that I can find in the public domain, TC)
  191. 2012 2 4 Rodriguez Miguel Angelo Spain Diveships 6 Aged 41, grout injection operation ('Emergency repairs') at the Queen Sofia pier in the port of Cadiz, call to the emergency services at 13:50 of a 'diver problem'. Initial reports indicated that he failed to surface, was recovered but did not respond to treatment, possible heart attack (pending autopsy). Passed a medical in December, had been working with the contractor for one month. EFE Cadiz
  192. 2012 2 2 Amaro Canche Victor Mexico Aged 43, sea cucumber harvesting out of Puerto Chicxulub 'out of season' (Fishing season opens on the 22nd February), no permit, boat 'Dumbos' not registered, reported as the first fisherman/diver to die in 2012, came ashore, felt unwell, taken to the American medical centre, but declared dead, apparently died of DCI related injuries, may have cut short decompression stops to shorten dive/avoid detection by Naval patrol boat. SIPSE.COM Yucatan
  193. 2012 1 26 Gallant Petty Officer 2nd Class Taylor USA US Navy 34 Aged 22 from Winchester, Ky, Explosive Ordnance Disposal Navy diver based at Little Creek-Fort Story with the Mobile EOD unit 12 died during a training dive 40 kilometres off the North Carolina coast from the Canadian Maritime Coastal Defence Vessel 'HMCS Smmerside' during preparations for 'Bold Alligator 2012', an international amphibious training exercise due to start the following week. Reported as failing to respond to signals at which stage a stand-by diver was deployed who found him unresponsive and brought him to the surface. Flown ashore to the Naval Hospital at Camp Lejeune but declared dead on arrival. No other details but investigation reported as ongoing. Reported in Navy News.
  194. 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
  195. 2012 1 11 Not Recorded Malaysia Rumoured that two divers were killed on a job in Malaysia but no details, not confirmed (Longstreath)
  196. 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?)
  197. 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
  198. 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
  199. 2011 12 22 Diaz Jose Mexico Fisherman Aged 33, from the town of Timucuy, diving off the vessel "Golfo II" (Gulf II), lobster fising operation out of Yucalpeten, 15:00 hours, Captain of the boat radiod ashore to tell the port authorities that the diver had drowned. No details. Progresohoy.com
  200. 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
  201. 2011 12 9 Not Recorded Tonga S/S Air Aged 43, illegal sea cucumber fishing (season closed in mid October), diving with two other fishermen using a basic hookah equipment near Luanamo island (Ha'apai), experienced severe abdominal pains but died before the health officer from Ha'afeva arrived on the island. Inquest concluded that he died from decompression illness. Police arrested two Asian men (reputed to have bought the sea cucumbers and then left the island and charged them with illegal havesting off-season and use of using illegal equipment) and three Tongan men the day after on the island of Nuku'alofa. Second illegal sea cucumber harvester to die on the island this year in virtually identical circumstances (the previous fatality was on the 1st of September). Vava'a Press
  202. 2011 11 14 Compresor shutdown Canada S/S Air Paraphrased from CDAC report:- �MONTREAL —Quebec’s labour minister said it’s “unimaginable� that wildcat strikers would cut off the air supply to two construction divers on a worksite north of Montreal on Monday. The divers in Trois-Rivieres, about 140 km north of Montreal, were shaken but unharmed when a roving group of union delegates forcibly shut down the waterfront worksite. The revelations were made Thursday in Quebec City during legislative hearings for proposed union reform legislation (Bill-33). The president of the union representing the divers told the Labour Minister that delegates from a larger union demanded the waterfront site be shut down the moment they arrived. When workers refused, one of the delegates shut down a generator which supplied electricity to radios, lights and the air compressor that fed air to the underwater divers. The two divers in the water used their emergency air supplies to resurface safely. A member of the diving team who was on shore when the generator was shut off said that the union reps threatened him. “I told them that there could have been an incident, or something serious, like a death� he said. “They told me that I could also be involved in an accident.� The company running the worksite has not pressed charges. Two larger unions represent 70% of construction workers in the province. They are fighting Bill-33 which strips them of their power to decide which and how many workers are assigned to construction sites. The government argues the two larger unions use this right to intimidate workers who are part of smaller unions by banning them from certain construction sites. The smaller unions, which collectively represent 30% of Quebec construction workers, favour the bill. Meanwhile, the union said Monday’s situation was a misunderstanding. “The version of the incident that I heard, is that one of the workers, in a moment of confusion, stopped the generator,� a spokesperson for the QFL said. “If they shut down the generator on purpose, then that is unacceptable.� CDAC
  203. 2011 11 1 Not Recorded Iraq Leighton S/S Air Diver off the 'Leighton Eclipse' recovered to deck after suffering a leg injury (required knee surgery) from a crushing incident with a DMA whilst working in black water, transferred to hospital ashore for treatment. In a separate incident, dive team DMTs were called in to assist with a deck hand on a tug who suffered a near full leg amputation working wires in rough weather (Reported that the DMT reached into the wound, pulled out the artery and tied a knot in it, an action the Kuwait hospital confirmed as having saved his life). Longstreath.
  204. 2011 10 30 Robinson Russell UKCS ISS Saturation Aged 33, Working at the Balmoral Field. Reported as returned to the bell at the end of his lock out saying he felt unwell, passed out, did not respond to treatment. Waiting on reports. Times UK, PC
  205. 2011 10 20 Chandra Iran Adsun Offshore Diving Contractors 70 Saturation Dive team ET onboard the DSV Koosha that sank during sat diving operations in the South Pars gas field, killed during the evacuation
  206. 2011 10 20 Dabbas Rajesh Iran Adsun Offshore Diving Contractors 70 Saturation DSV Koosha I, built 1982 in Australia (By Carrington Slipays as the 'Lady Sonia') owned by Darya Koosh, Iranian marine contractor, POB 73, 60 survivors, 6 divers in sat plus 7 others lost when ship sank off Lavan Island in the South Pars field 15 miles off the Iranian coast during pipeline installation operations around 17:30 hours on Thursday 20th October in bad weather. Rumoured to be a 4 man portable sat system with additional chamber to make it 6 man but only a 4 man HRC. Ship was loaded with two cement silos for grouting operations. One silo broke loose in rough weather and slid across deck causing list, this caused a gas rack to follow, increasing list. Sat control van broke off and fell overboard followed by second silo, holds flooded (hatches open) including all below decks compartments. Sank in mnutes. Believed storage depth was 64 metres, sank in 70 metres water depth. DSV 'Providence' on site the morning after, they recovered the bodies from the wreck three days after the sinking. Sat system flooded. Details to be added following investigation. UK Telegraph, Iranian press, PC
  207. 2011 10 20 DSV Koosha I Iran Adsun Offshore Diving Contractors 70 DSV Koosha I, built 1982 in Australia (By Carrington Slipways as the 'Lady Sonia') owned by Darya Koosh, Iranian marine contractor, POB 73, 60 survivors, 6 divers in sat died plus 7 others lost when ship sank off Lavan Island in the South Pars field 15 miles off the Iranian coast during pipeline installation operations around 17:30 hours on Thursday 20th October in bad weather. Rumoured to be a 4 man portable sat system with additional chamber to make it 6 man but only a 4 man HRC. Ship was loaded with two cement silos for grouting operations. One silo broke loose in rough weather and slid across deck causing list, this caused a gas rack to follow, increasing list. Sat control van broke off and fell overboard followed by second silo breaking loose, holds flooded (hatches open) including all below decks compartments. Sank in mnutes. Believed storage depth was 64 metres, sank in 70 metres water depth. DSV 'Providence' on site the morning after, they recovered the bodies from the wreck three days after the sinking. Sat system flooded. Dive Supt., 2 supervisors, two LSTs and two ALSTs survived when the vesse sank. There were four brothers on board, the two brothers working as LSTs survived, the two brothers in saturation died with the other four divers in sat and the ET killed during the evacuation. Details to be added following investigation. UK Telegraph, Times, Iranian press, PC
  208. 2011 10 20 Gaur Ajesh Iran Adsun Offshore Diving Contractors 70 Saturation DSV Koosha I, built 1982 in Australia (By Carrington Slipays as the 'Lady Sonia') owned by Darya Koosh, Iranian marine contractor, POB 73, 60 survivors, 6 divers in sat plus 7 others lost when ship sank off Lavan Island in the South Pars field 15 miles off the Iranian coast during pipeline installation operations around 17:30 hours on Thursday 20th October in bad weather. Rumoured to be a 4 man portable sat system with additional chamber to make it 6 man but only a 4 man HRC. Ship was loaded with two cement silos for grouting operations. One silo broke loose in rough weather and slid across deck causing list, this caused a gas rack to follow, increasing list. Sat control van broke off and fell overboard followed by second silo, holds flooded (hatches open) including all below decks compartments. Sank in mnutes. Believed storage depth was 64 metres, sank in 70 metres water depth. DSV 'Providence' on site the morning after, they recovered the bodies from the wreck three days after the sinking. Sat system flooded. Details to be added following investigation. UK Telegraph, Iranian press, PC
  209. 2011 10 20 Kadian Dhirendra Iran Adsun Offshore Diving Contractors 70 Saturation One brother (Parminder) also died in this accident, two other brothers (LSTs onboard) survived.DSV Koosha I, built 1982 in Australia (By Carrington Slipays as the 'Lady Sonia') owned by Darya Koosh, Iranian marine contractor, POB 73, 60 survivors, 6 divers in sat plus 7 others lost when ship sank off Lavan Island in the South Pars field 15 miles off the Iranian coast during pipeline installation operations around 17:30 hours on Thursday 20th October in bad weather. Rumoured to be a 4 man portable sat system with additional chamber to make it 6 man but only a 4 man HRC. Ship was loaded with two cement silos for grouting operations. One silo broke loose in rough weather and slid across deck causing list, this caused a gas rack to follow, increasing list. Sat control van broke off and fell overboard followed by second silo, holds flooded (hatches open) including all below decks compartments. Sank in mnutes. Believed storage depth was 64 metres, sank in 70 metres water depth. Dulam DSV 'Providence' on site the morning after, they recovered the bodies from the wreck three days after the sinking. Sat system flooded. Details to be added following investigation. UK Telegraph, Iranian press, PC
  210. 2011 10 20 Kadian Parminder Iran Adsun Offshore Diving Contractors 70 Saturation One brother (Dhirendra) also died in this accident, two other brothers (LSTs onboard) survived. DSV Koosha I, built 1982 in Australia (By Carrington Slipays as the 'Lady Sonia') owned by Darya Koosh, Iranian marine contractor, POB 73, 60 survivors, 6 divers in sat plus 7 others lost when ship sank off Lavan Island in the South Pars field 15 miles off the Iranian coast during pipeline installation operations around 17:30 hours on Thursday 20th October in bad weather. Rumoured to be a 4 man portable sat system with additional chamber to make it 6 man but only a 4 man HRC. Ship was loaded with two cement silos for grouting operations. One silo broke loose in rough weather and slid across deck causing list, this caused a gas rack to follow, increasing list. Sat control van broke off and fell overboard followed by second silo, holds flooded (hatches open) including all below decks compartments. Sank in mnutes. Believed storage depth was 64 metres, sank in 70 metres water depth. Dulam DSV 'Providence' on site the morning after, they recovered the bodies from the wreck three days after the sinking. Sat system flooded. Details to be added following investigation. UK Telegraph, Iranian press, PC
  211. 2011 10 20 Padda JS Iran Adsun Offshore Diving Contractors 70 Saturation DSV Koosha I, built 1982 in Australia (By Carrington Slipays as the 'Lady Sonia') owned by Darya Koosh, Iranian marine contractor, POB 73, 60 survivors, 6 divers in sat plus 7 others lost when ship sank off Lavan Island in the South Pars field 15 miles off the Iranian coast during pipeline installation operations around 17:30 hours on Thursday 20th October in bad weather. Rumoured to be a 4 man portable sat system with additional chamber to make it 6 man but only a 4 man HRC. Ship was loaded with two cement silos for grouting operations. One silo broke loose in rough weather and slid across deck causing list, this caused a gas rack to follow, increasing list. Sat control van broke off and fell overboard followed by second silo, holds flooded (hatches open) including all below decks compartments. Sank in mnutes. Believed storage depth was 64 metres, sank in 70 metres water depth. DSV 'Providence' on site the morning after, they recovered the bodies from the wreck three days after the sinking. Sat system flooded. Details to be added following investigation. UK Telegraph, Iranian press, PC
  212. 2011 10 20 Sharma NK Iran Adsun Offshore Diving Contractors 70 Saturation DSV Koosha I, built 1982 in Australia (By Carrington Slipays as the 'Lady Sonia') owned by Darya Koosh, Iranian marine contractor, POB 73, 60 survivors, 6 divers in sat plus 7 others lost when ship sank off Lavan Island in the South Pars field 15 miles off the Iranian coast during pipeline installation operations around 17:30 hours on Thursday 20th October in bad weather. Rumoured to be a 4 man portable sat system with additional chamber to make it 6 man but only a 4 man HRC. Ship was loaded with two cement silos for grouting operations. One silo broke loose in rough weather and slid across deck causing list, this caused a gas rack to follow, increasing list. Sat control van broke off and fell overboard followed by second silo, holds flooded (hatches open) including all below decks compartments. Sank in mnutes. Believed storage depth was 64 metres, sank in 70 metres water depth. DSV 'Providence' on site the morning after, they recovered the bodies from the wreck three days after the sinking. Sat system flooded. Details to be added following investigation. UK Telegraph, Iranian press, PC
  213. 2011 10 19 Gould Joseph Patrick Gordon USA Midco Diving 38 Aged 32, From Minnesota, working on lake Sakakawea, diving on the intake of the water intake to the city of Parshall. Installing pipe/welding, reports not clear. "It appears his diving equipment became entangled", communications failed, tugged on his lines to alert surface, the stand-by diver "was unable to untangle him". The body was retrieved and taken to the North Dakota Medical Examiner's office for autopsy. No other details. Bismark Tribune, Rapid city journal etc
  214. 2011 10 18 Castellano Nerio Enrique Vielma Venezuela Cooperativa Buzos Industriales Aged 33 or 34, married, three children. Lake Maracaibo, working on a gas line station repair (Flow station BA-12, Lake Bachaquero Production Unit). Seems to have been an entanglement/dropped object/ umbilical incident, but no coherent details. "Accident under investigation", body recovered 20 minutes after the initial incident and evacuated to Zulima Pier, Lagunillas. Diver had 12 years diving experience with an established diving contractor, became unemployed and joined CBI two weeks before the accident. Diario La Region/Noticia al Dia
  215. 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.
  216. 2011 10 17 Safety notice (Differential Pressure) Canada CDAC CDAC (Canadian Association of Diving Contractors) issued "Guidelines for Diving Operations on Dams and Other Worksites where Delta-P Hazards may Exist". 32 pages of detailed guidance on the subject. Available from - and freely distributed electronically by - the CDAC at http://www.CADC.ca
  217. 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
  218. 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
  219. 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
  220. 2011 9 26 HSE Prosecution UK The supervisor of a diving project at Ramsgate Royal Harbour Marina was fined £5,000 and ordered to pay £2,000 in costs after pleading guilty to a single breach of the Diving at Work Regulations for failing to ensure a standby diver was ready to enter the water in the event of an emergency. Concerns were raised about the standard of his operation by a fellow diving supervisor on a neighbouring quayside. The Health and Safety Executive investigated and found that the standby diver was not in a state of immediate readiness to provide assistance to the diver in the water (The standby diver should have been fully dressed and kitted up to enter the water with his diving helmet in hand or close by. However, he was only in his dry suit, which put the diver in the water at serious risk had he required urgent assistance). DG had previously been served with a Prohibition Notice by HSE in October 2010 for a similar failing as a diving supervisor. His employer had spent time retraining and mentoring him before allowing him to continue in his role, but he ignored the guidance given. After the hearing, the HSE Inspector said: "The diving supervisor has a critical role to play in ensuring that a dive is conducted in such a way that the safety of the divers in the water is protected at all times. It is reasonably foreseeable that a diver may require urgent assistance from a standby diver should an emergency unfold, and therefore, the standby diver should be ready and able to enter the water in seconds. Yet that did not happen on Mr Gill's watch, and this clearly compromised safety. He should have known better having previously been warned about his conduct as a supervisor, but he ignored the trust, training and guidance of his employer to repeat the same failings." HSE Press Release in January 2013
  221. 2011 9 25 Hussin Hazri Miri or Malaysia Allied Marine (AME) Surface Swimmer Aged 43, riser installation job from the vessel 'Mas Mulia' (Pipelay barge owned by Target Engineering). Diver acting as a surface swimmer, 11:12 PM (Night operation) installing a pneumo hose and cutting mooring lines in the splashzone. Was hit and submerged several times by 1 metre swell. On returning towards the dive basket was seen floating facedown on the surface, stand-by diver recovered him onboard, CPR was administered, flown to Miri hospital by helicopter but pronounced dead on arrival at 02:30. Borneo Post/PC Later (Longstreath website, April 2013!) reported as 'drowned' but no details or report.
  222. 2011 9 9 Not Recorded UK Sheringham Shoal Offshore Windfarm off Norfolk, diver medivac by helicopter to Norwich Hospital with 'broken ribs, broken arm, traumatised". No other details. Norfolk News
  223. 2011 9 7 Juarez Luis Alberto Peru Asociacion La Bocana Aged 48, working at a scallop hatchery, Pichayo, Parachique, found trapped underwater, no other details. This report also referred to a second fatality in the area on the same day, that of 39 year old Eli Perez Becerra "who died of decompression illness, apparently as a result of mechanical failure of his diving equipment". No other details so cannot confirm if the second death was a commercial fatality. Reported by RPP Noticias.
  224. 2011 9 5 Acergy Discovery Canada Acergy Saturation 05:45, DSV on DP with saturation divers deployed, collided with the Deep Panuke gas platform hitting a leg and the riser caisson
  225. 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
  226. 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.
  227. 2011 9 1 Not Recorded Tonga Aged 54, reported as having died from decompression after diving for sea cucumbers near the island of Leleka in Ha'apai on the late afternoon of Thursday, September 1. Police confirmed that the deceased from Ngele'ia in Tongatapu died shortly after surfacing from diving. Tonga News
  228. 2011 8 22 Soto Luis Enriques Cabrales Mexico SCUBA Aged 30 from Guaymas, living in El Desemboque (Caborca), clam diver 'decompression illness'. La Policiaca
  229. 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
  230. 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
  231. 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
  232. 2011 8 2 Marzouk Ismail Egypt Blue O2 60 Rebreather Aged 33, IANTD technical diving instructor working out of Hurgada died on a deep wreck dive (90 metres?) dive off Marsa Alam with three British tourists, apparently stopped breathing at 60 metres (suspected oxygen toxicity) and dropped into the depths, the three tourists surfaced without incident, instructor's body not recovered. Family raising questions about about lack of any SCUBA/Sports/Tourist/Technical diving standards or enforcement in Egypt. Wife and baby daughter. A second fatality - that of a Russian diving instructor - was reported on the same day but no detailed reports located to date. NB, Tourist diving instructors - esppecially technical diving - appear to have a very high fatality rate but are not generally reported. Reported by ahramonline
  233. 2011 8 0 ?? Shafiq Qatar El Safwa Topsides Egyptian diver working on the Pearl Island residential development, working in a confined space, gas leak. Triple fatality with two killed on site, the third died in hospital. Initially not reported in the public domain but Qatari authorities now investigating. PC
  234. 2011 8 0 Himden Ashraf Qatar El Safwa Topsides Egyptian diver working on the Pearl Island residential development, working in a confined space, gas leak. Triple fatality with two killed on site, the third died in hospital. Initially not reported in the public domain but Qatari authorities now investigating. PC
  235. 2011 8 0 William Sabri Qatar El Safwa Topsides Egyptian diver working on the Pearl Island residential development, working in a confined space, gas leak. Triple fatality with two killed on site, the third died in hospital. Initially not reported in the public domain but Qatari authorities now investigating. PC
  236. 2011 7 19 Banaga Carlos Lucero Mexico Baja Acuafarm Aged 42, decompression incident onboard the vessel Buenaventura II 25 miles off the island of Coronado, evacuated by helicopter to the Ensenada Naval hyperbaric centre, successfully treated and discharged. Mexican Press
  237. 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
  238. 2011 7 9 Alvarez 'Dani' Daniel Spain 2 S/S Air Aged 35, married, 11 month old twins, Seaweed extraction (Agar "Ocle") operation, diving from the Biempica III two miles off Gijon (North Coast of Spain), vessel reported the diver was unconscious, transferred ashore but did not respond to treatment. Recorded as 'death by drowning'. Basic kit (SCUBA style second stage/mask, air hose and rope, Full face mask or helmet, no comms, no bail out, no harness,no surface stand-by no medical O2 onboard. Probably kinked hose but no details. GPS Buzeo/Spanish Press
  239. 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
  240. 2011 6 25 Abdeen Massoud Egypt Seapro 30 S/S Air Diving off the Cosmos 1 for GPC, two man dive. LS 09:25, AB 09:27, LB 09:35, AS 09:40, divers in distress at depth. Reported as having switched air supply mid dive (HP bank to diesel compressor?). Appear not to have had medical oxygen or working DDC on vessel, nor access to onshore medical suppport so used mobile phone to call the supervisor of another diving contractor at approx 10:30, vessel with full IMCA compliant dive system and personnek in transit to July field (mid point) at 10:45. Arrived in field renezvous 11:40, Cosmos tied up alongside 11:55. 12:00 injured diver transferred and receiving oxygen (transferred ashore and on to hospital, suspected pneumothorax), Second diver declared dead on site (by doctor flown out by helicopter). Possible contaminated air but no reports or information from the contractor. Not reported in the public domain. PC
  241. 2011 6 25 Said Egypt Seapro 30 S/S Air Diving off the Cosmos 1 for GPC, two man dive. LS 09:25, AB 09:27, LB 09:35, AS 09:40, divers in distress at depth. Reported as having switched air supply mid dive (HP bank to diesel compressor?). Appear not to have had medical oxygen or working DDC on vessel, nor access to onshore medical suppport so used mobile phone to call the supervisor of another diving contractor at approx 10:30, vessel with full IMCA compliant dive system and personnek in transit to July field (mid point) at 10:45. Arrived in field renezvous 11:40, Cosmos tied up alongside 11:55. 12:00 injured diver transferred and receiving oxygen (transferred ashore and on to hospital, suspected pneumothorax), Second diver declared dead on site (by doctor flown out by helicopter). Possible contaminated air but no reports or information from the contractor. Not reported in the public domain. PC
  242. 2011 6 22 HSE Safety Alert UK UK HSE Health and Safety Executive (HSE) issued a safety alert to remind the industry of the essential aspects of safe diving operations after two shellfish divers died in separate incidents (at Methil -Graham Mackie, 11th June 2011 - and Largo Bay in the Forth estuary - James Irvine, 24th March 2011, both fatalities still under investigation, facts surrounding the deaths have yet to be established) in inshore waters in Scotland. Its guidance makes clear that:- “The minimum team size normally required when diving for shellfish is three – a supervisor, a working diver, and a standby diver, and that additional people may be required to operate the boat and to assist in an emergency. The standby diver should be in immediate readiness to provide any assistance to the diver in the water. Those not employed by the diving contractor but who are included in the dive team must also be competent for the work they are going to do. They should be familiar with the diving contractor’s procedures, rules and the diving equipment being used�
  243. 2011 6 21 Surasin Indonesia S/S Air Aged 54, Port of Tanjung Perak, Surabaya, scrap metal diving off Jamrud pier from a small boat with two of his children, compressor may have failed, body floated to the surface, recovered and brought ashore by the children. Surabaya News
  244. 2011 6 19 Kruckenberg Kenny Netherlands Titan Topsides American aged 29, salvage diver. Killed on deck by a chain that parted under load during salvage operations on the wreck of the MV Vincs Gorthon. The Ministry of Waterways North Sea Division, part of the Dutch, Ministry of Waterways, awarded Titan the wreck removal project. The Vinca Gorthon lies approximately 29 kilometers off the Netherland coast at a depth of 24.5 meters in a shipping traffic lane. The vessel protruded 10 meters from the seabed and had become a danger to modern ships with a draft of 15 meters or more. The Vinca Gorthon weighed approximately 19,000 tonnes with cargo, and measured 166 meters long and 23 meters wide. The ship, which was laden with rolls of paper and tank trailers with paper pulp, was enroute from the Swedish port of Oskarshamn to Antwerp, Belgium when she sank. Sources:- Crowley and Dutch press
  245. 2011 6 13 Herrera Victorio Argentina Almiron Y Cia SRL Aged 32, Wife and 6 year old daughter. Pipeline (sewer) blockage work for Aguas Argentinsa (Argentinian public water utility), caught in strong current which pulled him 25 metres up a 50 cm diameter pipe, current prevented rescue. Pulled out alive but died some hours later, no real details but most likely was not in full gear, no life line. Reported by Diario Cronica
  246. 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)
  247. 2011 6 10 Quiroz Edixon Venezuela Topsides Aged 48, Diving supervisor, Flow station 57 on the Rosa Mediano production system near the town of Simon Bolivar on lake Maracaibo. Reported that he was at the bow giving directions to secure a 2" riser to the wellhead platform when the PDVSA diving vessel went out of control (Went full ahead when the clutch control wire broke) trapping him between the vessel and a barge anchor wire. Broken ribs, internal bleeding, crush injuries. The diver was taken to the PDSVA clinic at Tia Juana but was declared dead on arrival. Reported by GPS Buceo, Longstreath.
  248. 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
  249. 2011 6 4 Andres J. A. Spain 6 Zamakona Shipyards, Port of Santurce, Bilbao, cleaning the propellers of a Tug. Julio Da Costa was in the nozzle with his colleague, J A Andres outside, when the propellers were started. Andres was injured but blown away, Da Costa was killed when sucked into the blades. Reportd by GPS Buceo
  250. 2011 6 4 Gallo Julio Da Costa Spain Jerez e Hijos 6 Aged 52, Zamakona Shipyard, Port of Santurce, Bilbao, cleaning the propellers of a Tug. He was in the nozzle with his colleague (J A Andres) was outside when the propellers were started. Andres was injured but blown away, da Costa was killed when sucked into the blades. Reportd by GPS Buceo
  251. 2011 5 25 Chavez Angel Lopez Mexico Construcciones Mare Aged 29, diving at the Ensada Marine Terminal. Reports indicate that the Federal Department of Labour laumched an investigation following an accident that was hidden from the authorities and that at that time the construction company had not allowed inspectors from the Ministry to enter the site (Companies are required to notify the authorities within 72 hours, the accident happened on the 25th May and apparently as of 4th August - the date of the report - authorities had neither been informed nor allowed access to the site). Autopsy listed causes of death as due to rib and spine injuries, lacerations to the chest, Accident occurred during cutting operations, injuries caused by a falling metal bar hitting the diver in the chest. No other details. AFN/Ensenada.net etc
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