Dar-Wednesday

An experienced 47-year-old rescue diver was filming an underwater video of a wreck 44 meters below sea level, 9 meters deeper than the recreational diving maximum. Deep diving warrants special training and extra safety considerations. There he was, filming a video in deep water. To keep the audio track clear, he turned off the alarms on his dive computer. His buddy, working on the other side of the wreck, did the same.


Defeating the safety... harbinger of so many Darwin Awards.


Sixteen minutes into the dive, he was out of air, a situation that should never sneak up on a diver. But he had turned off the safety alarms, and he was out of sight of his buddy. The diver made a rapid ascent up the anchor line. At 18 meters, the divemaster tried to assist him. But the panicked diver refused to take an alternate air source, and appeared confused. The diver continued his inexorable flight to the surface, where he lost consciousness and could not be revived.


The cause of death: "Air embolism (nitrogen bubbles) due to rapid ascent."


Was it an accident? This experienced diver deliberately disregarded two basic safety rules: pay close attention to your gauges, and stay within reach of your buddy. If he had attended to his gauges (and not turned off the alarms) he could have made a controlled ascent, including a decompression stop for safety. If he was near his buddy, they could have shared air as they both made a controlled ascent. Either precaution would have saved his life.