TOBERMORY, Scotland (1 May 2009) — A 38-year-old diver died after another fatal scuba diving accident at the Rondo wreck in the Sound of Mull. Authorities told CDNN that Henry Stephen Downs, from the York area, was pronounced dead after an RAF Coastguard rescue helicopter airlifted him to Lorn and the Isles Hospital at Oban. Downs was scuba diving with friends off the Peregrine dive boat when he apparently ascended to rapidly from the wreck of the Rondo. Coastguard officials told CDNN they scrambled a rescue helicopter and launched a lifeboat after receiving a call for help at 9:53 am. Inspector Neil Wallace said that Downs was diving with a buddy when something went wrong and the pair had to make an abrupt ascent to the surface. Maximum depth limits Located at a depth of 49 meters (160 feet), the deepest part of the Rondo wreck is well below the recommended maximum depth limits (for scuba diving on air) established by most international diver certification agencies in order to reduce the inherent risks of scuba diving and enhance diver safety. CMAS, NAUI, PADI, PDIC, SDI and SSI all recommend that recreational scuba divers using air not dive deeper than 18 - 40 meters (60 - 130 ft), depending on certification level. BSAC, a UK dive club organization whose members encompass only about five percent of UK divers, has more liberal depth limits for recreational scuba diving on air of 20 meters (Ocean Diver level), 35 meters (Sport Diver level) and 50 meters (Dive Leader/Advanced Diver level). It is not known which organization certified Downs and whether his certification level effectively prepared him for deep wreck diving in difficult conditions that are common at the Rondo. Last year, 40-year-old BSAC diver and father-of-four Neil Rodgers disappeared while exploring the Rondo. His decomposing body was found at depth near the wreck 10 months later. No more dangerous than crossing a road? The near vertical position of the Rondo wreck has made it a popular but dangerous dive due to its depth and other variables that also increase the inherent risks of scuba diving such as low visibility and cold water. | 
