SOUND OF MULL, Scotland (9 May 2009) — Authorities have released the name of the Equinox dive boat customer in CDNN's May 1 report about a diver who went missing in the Sound of Mull. Authorities told CDNN the scuba diving accident victim was Mike Pye, 62, a Keswick resident and a member of the West Lakes Sub-Aqua Club. Pye disappeared in strong currents on May 1 while exploring the wreck of the Thesis. The buddy diver said the pair lost contact with each other about 30 minutes after they descended. Clyde Coastguard responded to the missing diver emergency after the crew of the Equinox called for help at about 2:25 pm. Coastguard officials scrambled a helicopter and three patrol boats to search for the missing diver. Divers also searched the area around the wreck but found no trace of Pye. The search was called off on Saturday, May 2, the day after Pye disappeared. Two other scuba divers, 38-year-old Henry Downs and 67-year-old James Hyslop, also died in the area about the same time Pye went missing. After the spate of fatal scuba diving accidents, both the UK Coastguard and CDNN warned divers about the inherent danger of scuba diving. On May 4, CDNN published a warning by the UK Coastguard reminding divers that scuba diving is inherently dangerous and urging them to be more cautious. In CDNN's May 1 article about the scuba diving accident that killed Henry Downs, CDNN Editor Luther Monroe reminded divers that exploring the Rondo is dangerous due to cold water, low visibility and the depth of the wreck (50 meters - 164 feet), which is below the maximum recommended depth limit established by most scuba diving certification agencies for divers using compressed air. BSAC dive leader rejects warnings Dismissing concerns about the inherent risks of scuba diving and harshly rejecting the warnings as "sensationalistic", BSAC dive leader, John Thomas, described the Rondo as equivalent to crossing a road thanks to BSAC training, which allows a maximum depth of 50 meters for divers breathing compressed air, and a big rope that leads divers to the wreck and back to the ocean's surface. | | West Lakes Sub-Aqua Club member, Mike Pyes, is missing and presumed dead after a scuba diving accident in the Sound of Mull. "BSAC trains to dive to 50m on air," Thomas declared. "There is a very large, solid guide rope from 49m to the surface...diving the Rondo is no more dangerous than crossing the road." "Your statement is therefore 'sensationalist'," Thomas insisted. 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). CMAS, NAUI, PADI, PDIC, SDI and SSI all recommend that recreational scuba divers using air dive no deeper than 18 - 40 meters (60 - 130 ft), depending on certification level. |
