KEY LARGO, Florida (19 Mar 2007) -- The lone survivor of a deadly diving accident in the Florida Keys has given investigators details of how the tragedy unfolded, clues that may help unravel the mystery of how three of his experienced diving buddies died. Contrary to previous reports, authorities said Sunday that Howard Spialter told them he did not remain outside the sunken Navy ship. Instead, he said he also ventured into the bowels 135-feet deep -- and even tried to save his best friend, but failed because he wouldn't follow him. Spialter's story may help investigators piece together details of how three divers with decades of experience died during Friday's fateful exploration into a pitch-black pump room of a massive Navy ship sunk six miles off the shore of Key Largo. The dead are Kevin Coughlin, 51, from Chatham Borough, N.J., and Scott Stanley, 55, and Jonathan Walsweer, 38, both of Westfield, N.J. Spialter, 52, also from Westfield, surfaced safely when his air supply ran low. Investigators and a diving friend provided this account, based on what Spialter told them: In the bowels of the ship, all four divers became lost. Their air supply was running out. Visibility was nil after silt obscured their two strobe lights. They were forced into a race against time: find their way out of the murky maze or die. Spialter told Detective Mark Coleman of the Monroe County Sheriff's Office that he thought he knew the right way to safety. But when Spialter tried to get Coughlin, Stanley and Walsweer to follow, they didn't. ''He went one way and they went the other,'' Coleman said in his report. ``He lived because he went the right way and got out.'' Tom Doherty, former owner of Treasure Cove Dive Shop in Westfield, N.J., where the four friends met, said he talked with a very shaken Spialter on Sunday. Spialter told him he had tried to grab the hand of Stanley, his best friend, to lead him out. ''But Howard told me Scott wouldn't hang on,'' Doherty said. ``Scott was probably the strongest diver -- most experienced. He left to try to help the divers downstream from him. That was the last Howard saw of Scott.'' Coleman's investigation concluded that at some point Coughlin also started in the right direction. The maze to safety required navigating 75 feet through a tight alleyway, and then up a 45-foot narrow shaft to a ship's opening 90 feet below the surface. Coughlin had made it out of the pump room in the lowest level, where the bodies of Stanley and Walsweer were retrieved during a risky recovery effort Saturday. Two dive instructors found Coughlin in distress and helped him to the surface. He was pronounced dead at a local hospital. ''Either he ran out of air before he got out, or he may have [suffered an embolism] in a section of the wreck where this is a long, steep ascent on the way out,'' Coleman said. ``We just don't know. Maybe the autopsy will be able to answer some of the questions. But we may never know the whole story.'' | | On March 17th, divers from Key Largo Fire/Rescue and the Monroe County Sheriff's Office recovered two bodies still trapped in the wreck. This photo is of one of the bodies being brought to shore by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. It is being transferred from the FWC vessel to a vehicle belonging to the Medical Examiner's Office, for transport to Key West for an autopsy. The Monroe County Medical Examiner began autopsies of the three victims Sunday and is expected to finish them today. Coleman also is investigating if any of the divers' equipment malfunctioned. Doherty said that with one air tank each the divers could only be at 135 feet for about 20 minutes. Spialter told investigators that the group didn't use lines to guide the way out in poor visibility. Capt. Rob Bleser of the Key Largo Fire Rescue dive team said there is no marine life to see at the bottom of the Spiegel Grove. ''No fish,'' he said. ``Nothing but murky water and rusted ship.'' Doherty said the four also had to contend with the bubbles of their regulators causing a ''rust rain'' with the ceilings only a couple feet above their heads. All four men had dived wrecks that were 100 feet deeper and more difficult. They also had been in the Spiegel Grove's pump room the previous day, Spialter said. ''They didn't feel threatened by the Spiegel Grove,'' Doherty said of the ship that was sunk in 2002. ``That's the downside of having a lot of experience.'' SCUBA FORUMDISCUSS THIS TOPIC - Dive in and have your say at Scuba ForumCDNN Related NewsFLORIDA - 'Experienced' Spiegel Grove divers made stupid, deadly errorsFLORIDA - Bodies of dead Spiegel Grove divers recoveredFLORIDA - Three divers dead in Spiegel Grove wreck diving accidentFLORIDA - Scuba diver dies after ascending from Spiegel GroveFLORIDA - Leading kidney specialist dies in Spiegel Grove scuba accident |
