Annual Diving Report - Divers Alert Network

APPENDIX B. DIVE FATALITY CASE REPORTS
The diver did not return to the beach and fishermen recovered his body two days later. An
autopsy was performed but the report was not made available. The cause of death was reported
to be drowning.
04-36 Student in AOW course made shore dive in cold, strong current, became tangled in
line and freed, separated from buddy, body recovered three months later
Cause of Death: Drowning due to Entanglement (rope)
This 21-year-old male had recently received initial open-water certification and had completed 9
lifetime dives. He was a student in an advanced open-water course and was making a dive with
the instructor, another student, and two other divers. The group made a shore entry into a river, in
cold water and with a strong current. Visibility was poor. The divers used a buddy line to stay
together, with the goal being to tie the line off on a submerged automobile. Approximately eight
minutes into the dive the decedent became entangled in the line, and his buddy cut him loose.
The student became separated from the group and could not be located. Fisherman recovered
the body 3 months later, with a portion of line still entangled around him.
04-50 Experienced but infrequent diver made night dive with buddy, separated and
entangled in line, found unconscious later
Cause of Death: Drowning due to Entanglement (rope)
This 46-year-old male was an experienced diver with hundreds of lifetime dives but none in the
past 2-years. He and a buddy made a night dive to 60 fsw (18 msw) from a boat. The diver
became separated from his buddy and surfaced at one point, entangled in his own line. The diver
descended again and was later found unconscious, with his regulator out of his mouth. An
autopsy was performed and the death was ruled a drowning.
04-53 Experienced technical and rescue diver performing dives to try out new drysuits in
ice covered lake, found one day later
Cause of Death: Drowning due to Entrapment (ice)
This 43-year-old male was an experienced diver with technical and rescue certifications. He and
another diver were performing search and rescue drills and trying out new drysuits in a lake that
was mostly covered with ice. They did not plan on going under the ice so a buddy line was not
employed. After spending an unknown amount of time at 20 to 30 ffw (6 to 9 mfw) the diver
signaled to his buddy to ascend. The buddy reached the surface but the decedent did not. His
body was recovered from depth, under the ice, one day later. The equipment was tested, and it
was determined that the drysuit was trimmed in such a manner that it would have fit too tight
around the neck and wrists. It is unclear exactly how this may have contributed to the fatal diving
accident, but the coroner thought pressure on the carotid arteries from the suit may have played a
factor. The death was due to drowning secondary to entrapment below the ice.
04-59 Infrequent military diver, made series of dives to clear drainage pipe, extremity
sucked into pipe and could not free himself, body recovered two hours later
Cause of Death: Drowning due to Entrapment (drainage pipe)
This 37-year-old male was reportedly a military trained diver. There was no documentation of his
dive certification or experience, and he had not made a dive in at least four years. The diver
made a series of shore entry dives into a pond to clear a drainage pipe. On the third excursion to
depth, which was only seven feet, one of the diver’s upper extremities was sucked into the
drainage pipe, and he could not remove it. His body was recovered two hours later. In addition to
changes consistent with drowning and some blunt force injuries, the autopsy demonstrated mild
to moderate coronary artery disease.
Annual Diving Report: 2006 Edition 85