EDINBURGH, Scotland (15 May 2003) -- A CITY taxi driver drowned in a mystery accident on a club trip after falling unconscious during a routine dive. Ian Brodie, 57, from Telford Road, Craigleith, died after getting into difficulty in icy waters when out diving with seven other members of his scuba club. He started struggling and pulled off his breathing apparatus during a dive in Loch Fyne, Argyll. His female diving "buddy" immediately offered her alternate air source but he refused. The alarm was raised after he failed to return to the surface with her so the experienced divemaster on the boat went back into the water and found him lying unconscious, 22 metres down. He was pulled back to the surface where his diving colleagues hauled him out of the cold water with the help of two nearby traffic police officers. When they finally got him into the boat they desperately performed CPR to try to revive the father-of-two and grandfather-of-three, and paramedics continued resuscitation attempts as they rushed him to hospital. But the attempts to save him failed and he was pronounced dead on arrival by doctors at Lorne and Island General Hospital in Oban. Today, his distraught family paid tribute to him, but said they still had no idea about the cause of his death. His wife Norma, 59, said: "We really have no idea why or how this happened. We don't know if there was a problem with his equipment which caused him to get into difficulty or if he suffered a heart attack or something else medical. "But it still looks as though it will be a couple of days before we find out why he drowned and that is the hardest thing. We can't get on with grieving properly until we know ." Mr Brodie, who was a member of Edinburgh-based Splash Sports Dive Club, died on Saturday afternoon after leaving his home that morning. Mrs Brodie told how he had taken up the sport 18 months ago to lose weight and was enjoying it so much the couple were due to go to South Africa in October to swim with sharks. | | She added: "He had been doing it for 18 months after deciding to lose weight and he had really been doing well. He was a really strong swimmer and it really helped him. He was fully qualified, had all the gear and had done all the proper training for it. "He always looked forward to it and he was really excited about this outing. "He left the house about 6.30am on Saturday and I got a knock at the door about 3.30pm. When I opened it there was two police officers standing there. I knew it was bad news. "Everyone has been really supportive and we will get through it somehow although it is hard. Ian had a lot of friends in the taxi business and he was well liked because he was always laughing and smiling. If somebody needed something doing then he would volunteer straight away because that's the type of person he was. " He will be very sadly missed and there are a lot of people who are devastated by this." Mr Brodie practised his diving skills fortnightly in the swimming pool at Queen Margaret University College. The Splash Sports Club was on a trip to Furnace Quarry in Loch Fyne which is popular for scuba diving and other water sports. It is believed Mr Brodie was trying out a new drysuit during the dive, although there is still no explanation as to what went wrong while he was under water. The sea loch is known for its considerable depths and unpredictable currents but Mr Brodie was a qualified open water diver and should have had no problem with the dive. Drew Anderson, branch diving officer for Splash Sports Dive Club, said: "Ian was a great guy who loved scuba-diving. He was very polite and cheerful and got along with everybody at the club. "What happened was a terrible tragedy and he will be greatly missed by everyone. Our condolences go out to his family at this time." SOURCE - Edinburgh Evening News |
