Jan and Alex were relatively inexperienced
divers who had recently earned their advanced open-water certifications.
While vacationing in a popular dive destination, they signed up
for a morning charter to a wreck dive located a few miles offshore
in deep water. The wreck rests in 120 feet of warm, tropical water
and visibility is usually high, thanks to the swift currents that
wash over the site. Depth and currents combine to make this a sometimes
challenging dive that is recommended for advanced divers only. The Dive When they arrived at the site, Jan
and Alex's dive group found calm seas, 80-plus feet of visibility
and an uncharacteristically mild current. The captain planned to
place the divers on a moored line running to the bow of the wreck,
allow them to swim the length of the wreck on the main deck at
around 100 feet and ascend on a separate moored line at the stern
of the wreck. Upon surfacing, the divers would find the dive boat
tied up to the stern line mooring. Because the majority of divers
in the group had little experience with this type of diving, they
were cautioned to watch their air supply carefully, not to descend
below 100 feet and not to venture inside the shipwreck under any
circumstances. The dive began without difficulty and seemed to
end in the same manner. After performing a post-dive roll call,
however, the crew discovered that Jan and Alex were missing. A crew member immediately descended
to the wreck and started searching for the missing buddy pair.
Swimming below the weather deck of the ship on the port side, he
heard someone frantically banging on the hull. He moved to a porthole
and peered inside the wreck where he found the two divers disoriented,
hopelessly lost and extremely low on air. The rescuing diver was
equipped with a pony bottle, which he removed and pushed inside
to the lost dive team. He then quickly ascended to the surface
to report the status of the divers and obtain more air. As quickly
as possible, he descended back to the wreck with a partially filled
tank. Because the larger tank would not fit through the porthole,
he passed the second stage regulator and octopus through the opening
for the divers to use. A crew member on a nearby charter vessel
who was experienced in penetration diving was summoned by radio
to assist with the rescue. The Rescue While waiting for the penetration
diver, the first rescuer lost contact with Jan. His best attempts
at communicating with Alex yielded no information about Jan's whereabouts
or condition. He remained outside the wreck, securing the air supply
and rotating it with new bottles shuttled from the surface as required. The second rescuer soon arrived. He
used a navigation line and carried staged gas for the lost divers
as he penetrated below the weather deck, where he quickly located
both divers in a small companionway. Jan was lying on the compartment's
deck, unconscious, not breathing and completely out of air. The
pony bottle found nearby was also completely out of air. A tank
was passed to Alex, and he was directed to follow the navigation
line out of the wreck while the rescuer retrieved Jan. Jan was taken immediately to the surface
where resuscitation efforts were started, while the rescuing crewman
and Alex began extended decompression. Both rescuer and diver were
inadequately equipped with exposure protection for this type of
decompression and both of them soon began demonstrating severe
symptoms of hypothermia. A decision was made to bring the divers
to the surface and transport them to the nearest recompression
chamber while administering oxygen. By the time the divers arrived at
the chamber, the rescuer was experiencing symptoms of Type II decompression
sickness, and Alex was experiencing minor symptoms of Type I decompression
sickness. Jan was pronounced dead upon arrival. Alex's symptoms completely resolved
after treatment in the chamber. The rescuer, however, left the
medical facility days later with lifelong residual paralysis that
could not be resolved. What Happened What actually happened in the initial
phase of this dive will probably never be clear. But it appears
that Alex coaxed his girlfriend into the wreck to satisfy his curiosity
about what was inside. Neither diver had any experience or training
in this type of diving. Silt and rust inside the wreck soon
reduced visibility to only a few feet, and the divers became disoriented
and panicked. Frantic swimming in an attempt to locate an opening
further decreased the visibility and depleted their air supply.
Fortunately, the rescuer swam by a porthole while Alex was peering
out, allowing him to signal to the diver. The rescuer, a full-time diving professional,
placed his safety at dire risk in order to rescue the irresponsible
pair of divers. His actions exceeded any expectation of his duty
and saved Alex's life. By all accounts, they should have also saved
Jan's life; no determination was ever made as to why Jan drowned
while air was available for her to breathe.
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