Annual Diving Report - Divers Alert Network

APPENDIX B. DIVE FATALITY CASE REPORTS
04-58 Solo diver with advanced experience level, medical problems on multiple
medications, made shore dive into river with strong current, tried unsuccessfully to abort
dive, found close to shore
Cause of Death: Drowning
This 48-year-old male had open-water certification and had made approximately 50 lifetime dives.
His medical problems included bipolar disorder and he was reportedly taking more than ten
medications. The diver made a solo dive using a shore entry into a river, but the current was so
strong that he quickly decided to abort the dive. He was found only seven feet from shore and the
cause of death was reported to be drowning. The autopsy report was not made available but the
coroner stated that he had removed some of his equipment including his fins. It is also very
possible that he simply lost them while struggling in a rough current.
04-62 Experienced solo diver, diving for fossils in low visibility river with strong current,
weighted down with heavy equipment, body found four days later
Cause of Death: Drowning
This 47-year-old male was an experienced, certified diver who was diving for fossils in a river.
The current was strong and visibility was nearly zero. The diver was making a solo dive and was
weighted down by the heavy equipment he used for his task. Another diver was also searching
for fossils in the vicinity and he noticed that the decedent had failed to surface. His body was
found in 30 ft (9 m) of water four days later. Entrapment on the bottom may have been a factor in
this drowning but it could not be proven.
04-66 Recently certified diver made shore dive into strong current with poor visibility,
struggled on surface with buddy who was rescued, body found later
Cause of Death: Drowning
This 32-year-old male was a recently certified diver with nine lifetime dives. He made a shore
entry dive in a strong current and with poor visibility. The dive occurred 20 feet from shore and in
a depth of 10 fsw (3 msw). The diver and his buddy ran into some sort of problem and were noted
to be struggling on the surface. The decedent’s buddy was rescued, but the diver’s buddy was
not recovered for another 30 minutes. While the cause of death was drowning, the contributing
circumstances remain unknown.
04-68 Inexperienced diver made solo dive with homemade weight harness, surfaced and
dropped weight belt, possible weight belt and harness tangled, drowned
Cause of Death: Drowning
This 48-year-old male was a certified diver with minimal dive experience. He made a solo, shore
entry dive using a homemade harness to distribute the weights he wore. The diver surfaced and
was heard to comment about his regulator. He dropped his weight belt but did not inflate his
buoyancy compensator. After several excursions below the surface he finally submerged and did
not come back up. The coroner declined to have an autopsy performed and signed the case out
as a drowning death. It appears that his regulator became caught in the homemade harness,
which led to his death by drowning.
Annual Diving Report: 2006 Edition 83