Report on Decompression Illness, Diving Fatalities and Project Dive
Report on Decompression Illness, Diving Fatalities and Project Dive
Report on Decompression Illness, Diving Fatalities and Project Dive
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Appendix C: Breath-Holding Incident Case <str<strong>on</strong>g>Report</str<strong>on</strong>g>swere struck by a boat passing at high speed.The 74-year-old, struck by the hull, was mildlyinjured. The 79-year-old, struck by the propeller,was killed. A passenger <strong>on</strong> the boatindicated that she did not see the snorkelersuntil the last moment when they surfaceddirectly in fr<strong>on</strong>t of the boat. The snorkelerswere not using a divers down flag.Case Study #6Two experienced male divers, <strong>on</strong>e 33 years old<strong>and</strong> the other 77 years old, went abal<strong>on</strong>e divingin rough c<strong>on</strong>diti<strong>on</strong>s. The 77-year-old hadbeen working all day <strong>and</strong> was tired from theoutset. The men began in a partially protectedcove, but byst<strong>and</strong>ers observed a current carryingthe older diver offshore. The youngerdiver swam out to assist him but was <strong>on</strong>lyable to bring him part of the way to shoreb e f o re letting go. The younger diver thenswam toward a rock <strong>and</strong> disappeared fromview behind it. He was later seen floating.<strong>Dive</strong>rs later retrieved both bodies.Case Study #7A 44-year-old male, <strong>on</strong> vacati<strong>on</strong> in the SouthPacific, was snorkeling when stung by a memberof the rare species of Iruk<strong>and</strong>ji jellyfish.The venom causes a rapid rise in blood pressure<strong>and</strong> a cerebral hemorrhage. There is currentlyno anti-venom available for the sting.The victim died after more than two weeks inthe hospital.Case Study #8This 48-year-old male, snorkeling late <strong>on</strong>eevening from the beach, separated from thosewho traveled with him to the beach. About anhour later, friends <strong>on</strong> shore saw the diver’slight underwater. Rescue services recoveredhis body. An autopsy determined the death tobe the result of a blocked cor<strong>on</strong>ary artery.Marked enlargement of the heart <strong>and</strong> narrowingof multiple cor<strong>on</strong>ary vessels wasobserved.Case Study #9Two males entered the water at approximately4:45 p.m. from an anchored boat to freedivefor abal<strong>on</strong>e off the coast. Shortly after entering,<strong>on</strong>e of the men felt a pressure wavebeneath him <strong>and</strong>, looking down, saw a largedorsal fin. After dropping his weight belt <strong>and</strong>swimming rapidly back to the boat, he turnedto see <strong>on</strong>ly a large pool of blood in the water.His partner’s body was re c o v e red shortlythereafter at 15 fsw / 3 msw. An autopsy c<strong>on</strong>firmedthat a great white shark had caused theinjuries.Case Study #10A 1 6 - y e a r-o ld male, spearfishing from ananchored boat at approximately 90 fsw / 27msw with a friend, became entangled in boththe spearfishing line <strong>and</strong> the anchor line.Because of the depth, his partner could notassist him. After about 45 minutes underwater,he was brought to the surface by a diverfrom a passing boat. Resuscitati<strong>on</strong> attemptswere unsuccessful.Case Study #11A 21-year-old male spent the day with friendsoffshore <strong>on</strong> a boat, enhjoying in a variety ofwater sports. To do some late afterno<strong>on</strong>spearfishing, he tied a speargun to a float <strong>and</strong>entered the water. He surfaced with a fish <strong>and</strong>said he was going down for another he hadjust seen. His friends became c<strong>on</strong>cerned whenthey noticed that his float was no l<strong>on</strong>ger moving.When they pulled the float up, they foundthe still-loaded speargun. The victim’s bodywas recovered two days later at 80 fsw / 24msw close to the dive site.Case Study #12 – N<strong>on</strong>-fatalA 3 3 - y e a r-o ld male <strong>and</strong> a partner wereabal<strong>on</strong>e diving when the c<strong>on</strong>diti<strong>on</strong> of thewind <strong>and</strong> seas unexpectedly intensified. Thepair decided to swim to shore. Once <strong>on</strong> the130DAN’s <str<strong>on</strong>g>Report</str<strong>on</strong>g> <strong>on</strong> Decompressi<strong>on</strong> <strong>Illness</strong>, <strong>Diving</strong> <strong>Fatalities</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>Project</strong> <strong>Dive</strong> Explorati<strong>on</strong>: 2004 Editi<strong>on</strong>