Ontario Underwater Council 2006 Report on Scuba-Diving Related Incidents in Ontario

Transcription

1 Ontario Underwater Council 2006 Report on Scuba-Diving Related Incidents in Ontario Compiled by Ron Irvine, Director, Sport Safety, Ontario Underwater Council Foreword: This report has been created to document what has been brought to the attention of the OUC about scuba-diving fatalities in the province of Ontario in order that these incidents can be analyzed and recommendations made. Any recommendations made by the OUC are not intended to be a comment or conclusion on the cause or causes of the specific incident. These recommendations will then be communicated to the extended Ontario Diving Community as a measure to prevent such incidents in the future. Disclaimer: No claim is made by the OUC or by the Director of Sport Safety, Ron Irvine as to the completeness or accuracy of information contained within this report. Every effort has been taken to include only respected sources in the public domain, however it must be stated that none of these have been independently verified or investigated. Document Structure: Section A, Fatalities Summaries Section B, Near Misses Section C, OUC Recommendations Section D, Appendix (Public-Domain Information)

2 SECTION A: Fatalities Summaries Steven McAuliss, a 39 year old male drowned while diving in the St. Lawrence River at Rockport, Ontario. Mr. McAuliss, a native of Hull Quebec was diving with Vaughn Brennan at the time of the accident. His body was discovered on the bottom approximately 40 feet off the line leading to the Kinghorn and approximately 70 feet from the wreck. His regulator was out of his mouth, his mask was missing and his PSG was reading zero. Efforts to raise Mr. McAuliss by manually inflating his BCD were unsuccessful, although he was successfully surfaced after dropping both his integrated weights and his weight belt. He was then brought to shore and taken to hospital where he was pronounced dead Alex Padulo, a 24 year old male drowned while diving in the Petawawa River at a dive site known as Dick s Place. He was a member of the Canadian Military stationed at CFB Petawawa. He was on his 3 rd open water certification dive when he surfaced and appeared to be in distress. Mr. Padulo disappeared below the surface and a search and emergency plan were executed, including notifying authorities. O.P.P. divers took over the search and Mr. Padulo s body was recovered 3 days later, on April 9, SECTION B: Near Misses No reports of near misses have been brought to the OUC s attention at this time. To report a near miss and submit it for consideration for publication in this report, please send an to ouc.safety@underwatercouncil.com with all relevant details.

3 SECTION C: OUC Recommendations Recommendations re: Fatalities All certified divers are responsible for ensuring they have adequate training for a planned dive. Divers should receive a proper dive site orientation anytime they are diving a site for the first time, regardless of training level. Divers should ensure they have an adequate dive plan for the site, the conditions and the training and experience level of the divers participating in the dive. That dive plan should include appropriate gas supply and type for the dive. All divers should determine their Respiratory Minute Volume (RMV) in advance of planning dives to ensure their gas planning is based on their current consumption rate. This is a simple exercise of diving to a fixed depth (e.g. 10 metres/33 feet) for a fixed period of time (e.g. 20 minutes) exerting a consistent amount of effort equal to the exertion level on a typical dive. Track the amount of gas used from the start of the time period to the end, and then convert that to cubic feet and dividing by the absolute pressure under during the exercise and the total number of minutes the exercise took to come up with the volume of gas, in cubic feet, consumed per minute on the surface. This is then used to determine the volume of gas that will be used on any dive by simply multiplying by the RMV by the planned depth of the dive (in atmospheres absolute) and the planned duration of the dive. ALL dives should be planned based on the rule of thirds. One third of the air supply for heading out, one third of the air supply for heading back, and one third of the air supply in reserve. All divers need to ensure they have the proper and properly maintained equipment for the dive. This includes proper weighting, Surface Marker Buoys (SMB s) where appropriate, doubles or some other form of redundancy if required and tank(s) capable of carrying adequate gas supply for the dive plan All training dives should be conducted in optimum conditions for the level of training. Open water certification dives should be conducted in

4 conditions with little or no current and with water temperatures appropriate to the level of thermal protection worn by the students. The responsibility for evaluating diving conditions resides with the training professionals, not the students. Only the instructor and the assistants have the experience necessary to determine if conditions are appropriate for the level of training being conducted. Instructors should always err on the side of caution when evaluating dive conditions, even when dealing with students who are in top physical condition. Mental preparedness for a new activity (like scuba diving) cannot accurately be evaluated in advance of the activity. As such, a cautious and conservative approach allows the student to build their mental and physical conditioning for the activity at a safe pace. Recommendations re: Near Misses No reports of near misses have been brought to the OUC s attention at this time, so there are no recommendations.

5 SECTION D: Appendix Appendix #1, Public Domain Information on Scuba Fatality of : Brockville Recorder and Times, Monday, February 6, 2006 Quebecer dies in Rockport diving accident ROCKPORT A 39-year-old Quebec man drowned while diving in the St. Lawrence River near here Saturday morning, provincial police said. Gananoque OPP Constable Stacey Cooper said that the man was identified as Steven McAuliss, of Hull. Other divers in the area alerted police to the tragedy said Sergeant Roy Tyo, also of the OPP¹s Gananoque detachment. McAuliss was taken to Brockville General Hospital where he was pronounced dead. McAuliss was diving with an Ottawa-area man, Vaughn Brennan, Cooper said. Few details of the incident were available over the weekend as officers of the OPP¹s Leeds County detachment were still investigating. Police said the victim drowned around 11 a.m. Saturday near Rockport while he was diving recreationally. Weather conditions were not a factor, they added. Tyo said a post-mortem examination was scheduled for today in Kingston. ³It was a diving accident,² said Tyo, adding foul play is not suspected. Incident Summary of Jeremy Jones from Ontario Diving.com (summary directly below, copy of web page below that) A diver died in Rockport this morning. Details are sketchy but Andre and I came upon the body on our return from the Kinghorn and brought it in. So here is my account of what happened. I met Andre F and his son at the Rockport Dive Center this morning. He was talking to 2 other divers about diving the Kinghorn. As we started getting our gear ready we noticed the other 2 on the customs dock. They were wearing single 80's. Andre, Jeff and I commented to ourselves how they couldn't do the dive on an 80. I don't recall seeing them anymore after that and we started our dive at 10:05. We saw no one on our way out to the Kinghorn and after a bottom time of 35mins we turned around. About 70 feet from the wreck (its shadow was still visible) and 40 feet from the line

6 Andre saw something. We swam over and realized that it was a body. We had Andres son stay on the line away from it as we swam to it. The guy was on his right side, no mask on and no reg in his mouth. Andre pressed the purge button and nothing came out. He tied of a reel to a D-ring on the body and passed me the reel while he orally inflated the BC. Andre fully inflated the BC and the guy was still on the bottom. Andre removed 2 integrated weight pouches as well as a weight belt (we estimated the weight at about 30 or more lbs) before the body started to rise. Andre had to give it a push to help it along. I passed the reel back to Andre and we towed the body back in to shore. As we were doing out deco/safety stops they guys buddy grabbed the body (on the surface) to bring it the rest of the way in. When I finished my stops I indicated to Andre that I was surfacing and got out of the water to phone 911. We took the gear off the body and brought it all onto the dock. His pressure read 0psi. We shut the tank down counting the turns and waited for emergency services. Things that came out in later conversations with the guys buddy and police are their dive plan was to go to 1500psi then turn. This was only the guys 3rd dive in a dry suit. I forgot to add that at one point during their dive one of them shot to the surface. They became separated at that point.

7 Appendix #2, Public Domain Information on Scuba Fatality of : All times are GMT -5. The time now is 08:28 AM. Contact Us - Ontario Diving - Top Powered by vbulletin Version Copyright , Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd. Select An Osprey New spaper HOME > PEMBROKE DAILY OBSERVER > LOCAL NEWS Wednesday, April 12, 2006 Inside Today Local News Local Sports Editorial On-Line Classifieds Article Search Search Features Automotive Home Osprey Health Series Local News Diver s body recovered from river Dive instructor still trying

8 Osprey Writers Group Ottawa Column Queen's Park Column Special Report Travel About The Daily Observer General Information Advertising Editorial Staff Reader Sales and Service Online Sections Media Kit 2006 Preprint Insertion Order Paddlequest Osprey Personals Osprey Personals Osprey News Archive Service Pfinfomart Archive Service DIVER S BODY RECOVERED The body of missing diver Alex Padulo, 24, was found and recovered Sunday morning from the icy waters of the Petawawa River by the OPP s Underwater Search and Recovery Team and by divers with 2 Combat Engineering Regiment. Photo: Observer photo by Anthony Dixon Diver s body recovered from river By ANTHONY DIXON Local News - Monday, April 10, 19:00 PETAWAWA The body of a scuba diver who went missing in the icy water of the Petawawa River late Thursday afternoon has been recovered and his identity released by police. The deceased is Alex Charles Padulo, 24, a member of the Canadian Armed Forces stationed at CFB Petawawa. He was a member of 3 Royal Canadian Regiment. to piece together events from last Thursday Frost says goodbye to Lumber Kings Special Interest Single Copy Outlets Subscribe Contacts The body was found prior to 10 a.m. (Sunday) in the general search location still within the Petawawa River, said Const. John Riendeau of the Upper Ottawa Valley Detachment of the OPP. Mr. Padulo was on his third dive of a basic scuba course with the Barracuda Club on Thursday afternoon when he became

9 distressed and disappeared under the water about 20 feet from the west shore of the Petawawa River. The divers entered the water off of North Street. Const. Riendeau said the discovery was made by military divers with 2 Combat Engineering Regiment who had been assisting the OPP s Underwater Search and Recovery Unit. They immediately contacted the OPP dive team which was still on site and let them take over, Const. Riendeau said. FOR THE REST OF THE STORY PLEASE SEE MONDAY'S THE DAILY OBSERVER Discussion Closed ID Printable Version Thank you for reading Pembroke Daily Observer online. Click here to order convenient home delivery. By SUN STAFF Body found in river April 10, 2006 Searchers pulled the body of a missing soldier from the waters of the Petawawa River yesterday. Pte. Alex Padulo, 24, of CFB Petawawa disappeared Thursday while diving with the civilian Barracuda Dive Club in the quick-moving water at the mouth of the Ottawa and Petawawa rivers. Military and police divers took part in the search for Padulo. A-Channel News Body of Missing Diver Recovered The body of a Petawawa man who has been missing since Thursday evening has been recovered from the Petawawa River. The victim is identified as 24 year-old Alex Padulo.

10 Members of the OPP Underwater Search and Recovery Unit and CFB Petawawa divers located the body around 10 am Sunday morning. Padulo was participating in routine diving drills on the Petawawa River Thursday when he began to struggle in the fast moving current. The victim was a soldier at CFB Petawawa, however he was participating in the drills as a member of a local recreational group. Military officials say detailed information about Private Padulo will be made available Monday. His funeral is expected to take place in Toronto, where his family lives. A memorial service will be held at CFB Petawawa in the coming days. Police say the investigation into his death continues. Stay tuned to A-Channel News for the latest

11 Powered by vbulletin Version Copyright , Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd. Ontario Diving ( - Accidents and Incidents ( - - Petwawa Diver missing ( Page 2 of 4 < > Show 40 posts from this thread on one page Jeremy Jones :50 PM Saw this on another site. I can't find the link to the Ottawa Citizen, and I can't seem to copy and paste text but here it is. Quote: Originally Posted by Ottawa Citizen Young diver presumed dead in Petawawa River incident Man, 22, was on his third dive when incident occurred Howaida Sorour The Ottawa Citizen Saturday, April 08, 2006 PETAWAWA - The search continues today for a 22-year-old novice recreational diver who went missing Thursday evening near where the Petawawa River enters the Ottawa. The man, who is presumed dead, has not been identified until relatives arrive from Toronto. He was only on his third dive and was one of four students accompanied by two instructors. He was a member of the military but the dive was a private recreational one. "He was so close to shore, about 20 or 30 feet. All he had to do was turn around or just hit the button on his buoyancy compensator, but he was in a lot of distress," said instructor Mike Pearce, advanced rescue diver and a witness to the tragedy. The water temperature is below freezing and visibility is between five and 10 feet (1.5 to three metres) in the water, according to Mr. Pearce. When the young man had been submerged for 10 seconds, the dive master on shore called 911 about 5:50 p.m. Petawawa's fire department was the first on the scene. "We conducted a shoreline search and then requested a boat from CFB Petawawa fire department," said town fire Chief Steve Knott. Divers from the military base searched until 8 p.m Thursday and were back yesterday at 7 a.m., according to Maj. Mark Flint. OPP divers took over the search about noon. At this time of the year the rivers are quite high and the currents can be strong, said Sgt. Clem Paradis of the Upper Ottawa Valley OPP. "It's a fairly tricky site, because the water is flowing very fast. "There's a fair bit of danger

12 involved with the rescue," said Sgt. Paradis. Yesterday's search effort included canine search teams as well as helicopters from the base and police and military boats. "He was really looking forward to this dive," said Mr. Pearce. "I had taken him on his first two dives and he really was very eager. He was a confident, calm, really fit guy." "I was out of the water when he (the missing man) surfaced and he was yelling and waving his arms, then 15 seconds later (the other dive instructor) and the other student surfaced," said Mr. Pearce. Meanwhile, the dive master and the other instructor called to the distressed young man telling him to inflate his buoyancy compensator so that his dive weights wouldn't pull him back down. Mr. Pearce re-entered the water in an attempt to rescue the man. "I was halfway across when he disappeared," said Mr. Pearce. He and the other instructor continued to search until relief arrived. The Ottawa Citizen 2006