CAYMAN ISLANDS (16 Apr 2007) -- A second diver has disappeared and is presumed dead after another tragic scuba diving accident at PADI Gold Palm 5-Star Little Cayman Beach Resort and Reef Divers. According to police, the most recent accident at Reef Divers involved an American tourist who signaled at depth that he was experiencing ear pain and ascended alone. It is not clear why the buddy diver did not ascend with the victim. During entry-level training courses, divers learn various safety procedures including the "buddy system" and practice ascending together when one diver encounters problems such as equipment failure or disorientation. Generally, safety-conscious dive operators require divers to comply with standard dive safety procedures such as the "buddy system" and specify during pre-dive briefings that buddy teams must stay together throughout the dive. Police did not provide details of the pre-dive briefing but said there was a professional dive guide in the water supervising the group when the accident happened. Apparently, the dive guide allowed the victim to ascend alone, or failed to notice that one of the divers had encountered problems and separated from his buddy and the group. It is not clear how much time elapsed after the victim separated from the group and when Reef Divers finally notified the Royal Cayman Islands Police Service of a missing diver emergency at about 10:15am. After receiving the call for help, authorities immediately organized a search that involved one helicopter, a fixed-wing aircraft and boats including many local dive operators. According to a statement, Reef Divers and Little Cayman Beach Resort emphasized that the victim was diving with a buddy "...as is (our) standard and strict policy". But in February, the same resort and dive operator allegedly violated the dive safety code and attempted to cover up another scuba diving accident in which 43-year-old Heidi Carson disappeared at the same Bloody Bay Wall dive site while diving solo. That accident went unreported for over a month until CDNN broke the story on March 14 after receiving an email tip from a local resident. "It appears that these fatalities could have been avoided," said CDNN Industry News Editor Lamar Bennington. "It is deeply troubling that in both of these accidents it appears people died after a lax dive operator failed to enforce rules that govern the operations of all dive boat operators in the Cayman Islands." | | A tourist diver is missing and presumed dead after another scuba diving accident at Little Cayman Beach Resort and Reef Divers. On February 11, Heidi Carson, 43, disappeared and is presumed dead after the same company allegedly violated scuba diving safety regulations and attempted to cover up the accident until CDNN broke the story on March 14 after receiving an email tip from a Little Cayman resident. "In the February accident, Reef Divers and Little Cayman Beach Resort apparently failed to enforce the buddy system rule and allowed a customer to dive solo," Bennington said. "In the most recent accident, the divemaster leading the group failed to abort the dive after a diver in the group disappeared. Either the divemaster failed to notice that one of the divers in his group was missing, or did but then decided one diver in trouble without buddy support was less important than giving the other divers what they paid for." But Little Cayman Beach Resort Hotel Manager Nicholas Wilson emphasized that their dive staff are not responsible for the safety of customers after they enter the water and seemed to blame the victims. "Obviously, an incident like this…heightens your awareness that scuba diving is an extreme sport and even the most experienced divers shouldn't take safety for granted," Wilson told reporters. Despite five scuba diving deaths in the Cayman Islands during the first three and a half months of 2007, local tourism promoters dismiss concerns about lax dive operators and instead blame the deaths on "old age" and "pre-existing medical conditions". © CDNN - CYBER DIVER NEWS NETWORKSCUBA FORUMDISCUSS THIS TOPIC - Dive in and have your say at Scuba ForumCDNN Related NewsCAYMANS - Diver died after Little Cayman Beach Resort ignored safety code |
