BELIZE (16 Oct 2001) -- A tornado may have spun off Hurricane Iris and ripped the MV Wave Dancer from a dock in southern Belize and rolled it underwater Oct. 8, killing 17 scuba divers and three crew members. That is the conclusion of investigators from Lloyd's of London, the Wave Dancer's insurance carrier, said Peter A. McLauchlan, a partner in the law firm representing the owners of the 120-foot adventure boat. "Knowing what I know now, it's amazing anyone made it out alive," McLauchlan said after spending several days in Big Creek, where the disaster occurred. Fifteen of the 20 victims were from the Richmond, Va., area. An official government investigation has not been completed. Tornadoes frequently spin off fast-moving hurricanes. Belize locals have wondered if the hit-or-miss damage in their villages was compounded by twisters on top of Iris' 140 mph winds and sea surges. McLauchlan said eyewitness accounts, physical evidence and twisting damage in nearby wreckage led to the tornado conclusion. For example, Wave Dancer videographer Thomas Baechtold of Sweden, who was found alive in the mangroves some 300 feet away, told investigators it felt like he was plucked out of the water by 20 pairs of hands and flung far away. Ropes holding the boat snapped, and cleats were torn off the boat and the large concrete dock. But Angelo Mouzouropoulos, director-general of the International Merchant Marine Registry of Belize, said although the tornado theory has merit, his agency has not concluded its investigation. Among the loose ends are comments made by one of the survivors aboard the Wave Dancer broadcast by Belize television. Angela Luk, the boat's assistant cook for five months, told Channel 5 News in Belize she was told by the Wave Dancer's captain she would be fired if she left the Wave Dancer to find shelter shortly before the hurricane hit. "He said, 'If you go, you're not coming back.' I said, 'That's fine, I'm still going. I'm not going to be stupid and stay on the boat and risk my life,'" Luk recalled. Luk told the television station she tried to convince other crew members to come with her. "They was really worried, there was crying and they was confused. They don't know if they should go home, they wonder if they could go back to Corozal or if they should stay on the boat. But they decided to stay." Three of those crew members died. The Wave Dancer's captain declined to discuss what happened. Mouzouropoulos has made arrangements to meet Luk. "I have heard this allegation, and I am investigating it," he said. He said he also has investigated the allegation those aboard the Wave Dancer were drinking and having a "Hurricane Party," as was reported in the news in Belize and in at least one major newspaper in America. "Absolutely not," Mouzouropoulos said. "I have completely and utterly exhausted that one. No trace. And I was gunning for that one. If there was evidence [of heavy drinking], I'd be the first one to jump on it like a ton of bricks." | | In the worst single accident in the history of recreational scuba diving, 20 people died when the Wave Dancer capsized in Belize. The Wave Dancer was properly registered and inspected, and "it would appear at the moment all precautions had been taken to properly and correctly secure the vessel at the dock," Mouzouropoulos said. That contrasts with the account of tugboat captain Earl Young, who was in his tug and watching when the Wave Dancer broke free from the dock in front of him. Young said he believes the Wave Dancer was tied too tightly to the dock to account for the vast storm surge. Mouzouropoulos said there is much left to do before a conclusion can be reached. "You can rest assured there will be a proper report," he said. Bart Stanley, dive master aboard the Wave Dancer, said the boat's owners and lawyers asked him not to discuss issues surrounding the vessel's demise. But the Belize City resident said the storm defied human comprehension. He said he survived "by the will of God." One moment, Stanley said, they were finishing dinner in the salon. The next, the storm was lashing them furiously. When the boat broke free and flipped, "I didn't have time to think." He found himself underwater for a full minute or more, "all soaked in diesel" from the spilling tanks. Between the diesel and the salt water, he was blinded. "I pictured the boat upside down and felt my way out," said Stanley, 29. He was running out of breath, thinking of his three daughters, when one hand felt the door leading out. His other hand brushed something. "I felt a hand," Stanley said. So he grabbed it and pulled it out with him. It was attached to a fellow crew member, who also survived. "All of these crew members were absolutely heroic in their efforts to save people," McLauchlan said. Peter Hughes, head of Peter Hughes Diving Inc. of Miami, has been among the company's representatives who have been on the scene at Big Creek during the past week. Hughes and the Wave Dancer's captain, Phillip Martin, were among those who pulled the last victim from the Wave Dancer on Thursday. A few minutes before the recovery, Hughes sat on a banana pallet, hugging his knees and sobbing. The bodies of the Richmond victims were flown from Belize on Sunday and have been taken to area funeral homes. SOURCE - Reuters |
