MANCHESTER, UK (29 May 2008) — An experienced diver drowned on a guided snorkelling trip in Egypt after instructors failed to tell him about a strong sea current, an inquest heard. Retired upholsterer George Fildes, 63, was swimming with his wife Shirley in a bay at Sharm El Sheikh when they both found themselves in difficulties in the water. They raised the alarm and their diving instructor swam over to help but Mr Fildes began to panic as they struggled to reach their boat. An inquest in Manchester heard that the organisers of the trip had also failed to give life jackets to those on the snorkelling trip to a reef in an area called Sharks Bay in November last year. Despite the efforts of the diving instructor to save him, Mr Fildes suffered a heart attack - possibly caused by the stress of finding himself struggling in the water - and drowned. Recording a verdict of accidental death, coroner Nigel Meadows said he would be writing to authorities in Sharm El Sheikh about the case. Former swimming instructor The inquest heard that Mr Fildes was a former swimming instructor and that both he and his wife Shirley, 65, were qualified scuba divers and strong swimmers who had been diving trips around the world for the last 25 years. Mrs Fildes told the hearing that she and her husband were staying at the Reef Oasis Hotel and booked the snorkelling trip with a Professional Association of Diving Instructors (PADI) registered company. She said that it was common practice on previous trips for them to be given life jackets and briefed on possible hazards before setting off. But the organisers of the trip to Sharks Bay did not issue the jackets or give a briefing. Mrs Fildes said the party left their boat to swim over to a reef and swam around when both she and her husband began to feel themselves being swept along in a strong current. "I said, `I am struggling a little bit here George, but don't worry, I am not panicking'. He said, `no, but I am,'" Mrs Fildes told the hearing. "The divemaster was 15-20 metres in front when in actual fact he should have been behind us." Divemaster Mrs Fildes said the divemaster came back to help the couple after they attracted his attention. "I heard George saying, `I am tired'. He was in far more distress than I had originally thought. I passed him over to the dive instructor and it was then I realised what a dangerous situation we were in. I said to the dive master, `save him'." | | An inquest into the death of a diver who died while participating in a PADI snorkeling trip in Sharm el-Sheikh heard that the victim was not given a buoyancy vest, was not warned about strong currents and was not adequately supervised by the divemaster leading the dive. The dive master and other swimmers took Mr Fildes onto the nearby reef, where the water was only two foot deep, and tried to resuscitate him. The inquest heard that Mr Fildes died from drowning but pathologist Ray McMahon said the father-of-two had also suffered a heart attack which may have occurred as he panicked in the struggle to return to the boat. Coroner Nigel Meadows said he would write to the relevant authorities in Egypt and to the Reef Oasis hotel calling for better checks on the training and procedures of those in charge of guided diving and snorkelling trips as well as the availability of safety equipment and life jackets. After the inquest Mrs Fildes said the couple had specifically chosen to go with a PADI registered company because they wanted to be safe. She said: "If we had been properly briefed about having to swim back to the boat against a current, we would not have got into the water in the first place, at our age." "We were married for 43-years, so I am coping as well as anyone would in that situation, but there was also the added trauma of how it happened and the repatriation process," she said. She said she was grateful the coroner had decided to write to the authorities and hoped the recommendations were taken on board in order to prevent a similar tragedy happening to another diver. © CDNN - CYBER DIVER NEWS NETWORKCDNN RELATED NEWSUK - Scuba victim's mum: 'I'll fight to the end to bring her killer to justice'SCUBA FORUMDISCUSS THIS TOPIC - Dive in and have your say at Scuba Forum |
