CAIRNS, Australia (26 Feb 2004) -- A German diving instructor's death in a Cairns pool has sparked a warning to extreme free divers trying to beat breath holding records. The 33-year-old man was found on the bottom of the Sunny Grove Holiday Flats' swimming pool in Grove Street about 11.30pm (AEST) yesterday. He had been seen entering the pool about six hours earlier and was found wearing snorkelling gear, Cairns police said today. The man was believed to have blacked out underwater. Police were not treating the death as suspicious and were today awaiting the results of a post-mortem examination before preparing a report for the coroner. Dive Queensland spokesman Colin McKenzie said the death appeared to be another case of shallow water blackout, caused by trying to stay underwater for as long as possible in an extreme form of free diving. "We've had five of those kind of deaths (in Queensland) last year and they were all fit young males. It's one of those macho things, 'I can go deeper, I can stay longer'," he said. "By hyperventilating before you go under you end up being able to hold your breath for longer." Meditation techniques were often employed and breath-holding competitions were held in Europe where the record was around eight to nine minutes, Mr McKenzie said. | | King of the free diving machos: Francisco 'Pipin' Ferreras. "You never do it on your own. It's well known as being a very dangerous activity and the people who do those kind of things know they are doing it with a high degree of risk." Mr McKenzie said the danger lay in blacking out when all oxygen was used up and the dive industry had plenty of warnings posted about the risks. The Freedive Australia website carries a strong warning about the risks of shallow water blackout. "Young adult males are the most likely to suffer from shallow water blackout, the most common freediving accident and are expressly asked not to be dickheads and to respect their own limitations," the website says. "Always dive with a competent and alert buddy." SOURCE - AAP |
