LOWER NAZARETH TOWNSHIP, Pennsylvania (29 May 2007) -- A male diver died while scuba diving at the Dutch Springs scuba diving theme park in Lower Nazareth Township. Robert French, 59, of Binghamton, New York, was diving with friends when he encountered problems while resurfacing. Other divers called for help and paramedics rushed to the scene of the accident where they found French unconscious and started CPR. The victim was transported to St. Luke's Hospital - Fountain Hill, however, he never recovered consciousness and was pronounced dead at 11:47am. The Dutch Springs scuba diving theme park, which opened for business in 1980, is on a 95-acre campground straddling the Bethlehem Township and Lower Nazareth municipal line. The campground includes a large water-filled former quarry that each summer season draws divers looking to practice their scuba techniques and take lessons from instructors. Owners of the facility dumped vehicles and an aircraft in the quarry to provide scuba divers with underwater entertainment. In 2003, 21-year-old Casey Parent died in the Dutch Springs Quarry after she suffered a gas embolism, which is second only to drowning as a cause of death among divers. | | A gas embolism, also called an air embolism, typically occurs when a diver fails to fully exhale while ascending. The diver's lungs overexpand forcing bubbles of gas, or emboli, into the bloodstream. When gas emboli reach the arteries to the brain, the blood blockage causes unconsciousness and often death. © CDNN - CYBER DIVER NEWS NETWORKSCUBA FORUMDISCUSS THIS TOPIC - Dive in and have your say at Scuba ForumCDNN Related NewsNEW YORK - 21-year-old Connecticut woman dies scuba diving in quarry |
