Annual Diving Report - Divers Alert Network

APPENDIX B. DIVE FATALITY CASE REPORTS
removed his buoyancy compensator and weight belt in an attempt to either enter the tight
passage or extricate himself from it. In addition to changes associated with drowning, the autopsy
disclosed mild atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease and minor blunt force injuries.
04-17 Very experienced technical and cave diver completed one dive with group, made
second cave dive solo without light or line, became entrapped and ran out of air, found
outside of cave entrance without equipment
Cause of Death: Drowning due to Insufficient Air due to Entrapment (cave)
This 45-year-old male was a very experienced diver with technical and cave diving certifications.
He completed the first dive of the day with a group of other divers without incident. The diver
decided to return to depth alone while the other divers went off to get tanks filled. He apparently
entered a cave system without a light or line and was using a single tank. The diver became
entrapped and ran out of air. When the other divers realized that he had been at depth far too
long they went down to look for him. The diver’s body was found outside of the cave entrance,
without his tank and regulator. The regulator and empty tank were recovered from inside the cave
two days later. The autopsy findings were consistent with drowning.
04-34 Double Fatality. Experienced technical and cave diver diving with group in cave
system, poor visibility, buddy and victim made wrong turn and both became trapped and
ran out of gas, bodies recovered later
Cause of Death: Drowning due to Insufficient Air due to Entrapment (cave)
This 37-year-old male was an experienced cave and technical diver. He was in a group of four
divers, two buddy sets, who entered a cave system. Visibility was poor and this diver and his
buddy apparently made a wrong turn. The other two divers made it out of the cave system but
this pair ended up sharing air and eventually died in the cave with their breathing gas exhausted.
The bodies were recovered 250 ft (76 m) from the exit. The autopsy report lists drowning as the
cause of death.
04-35 Double Fatality. Experienced instructor and technical and cave diver diving with
group in cave system, poor visibility, buddy and victim made wrong turn and both became
trapped and ran out of gas, bodies recovered later
Cause of Death: Drowning due to Insufficient Air due to Entrapment (cave)
This 53-year-old male was the dive buddy of the previously reported buddy pair who became
entrapped in a cave system. He was also an experienced cave and technical diver, as well as an
instructor. He was in a group of four divers, two buddy sets, who entered a cave system. Visibility
was poor and this diver and his buddy apparently made a wrong turn. The other two divers made
it out of the cave system but this pair ended up sharing air and eventually died in the cave with
their breathing gas exhausted. The bodies were recovered 250 ft (76 m) from the exit. An autopsy
was performed but the report was not available. The divers obviously drowned due to entrapment
in a cave.
04-37 Double Fatality. Experienced technical and cave diver, cocaine abuse, made a dive
with buddy into a complex cave system using mixed gas, body found 3 days later
entangled in his line at 286 feet
Cause of Death: Drowning due to Insufficient Air due to Entrapment (cave and rope)
This 44-year-old male was a very experienced technical diver with cave diving certification. He
and another experienced diver entered a complex cave system using mixed gas. When they did
not exit the water at the expected time, a person on shore summoned assistance and a search
was undertaken. The diver’s body was located 3 days later, at a depth of 286 ft (87 m). He was
80 Annual Diving Report: 2006 Edition