DEERFIELD BEACH, Florida (30 July 2004) -- The lack of certification and the improper training of both father and son may have contributed to the son's accidental drowning death as they were scuba diving off the coast of Deerfield Beach on Thursday, according to the Broward Sheriff's Office. Neither Yannick Berger, 14, nor his father, 39-year old Herbert Berger, of Deerfield Beach, was a certified diver, BSO said. Yet on Thursday, the two donned dive gear and tanks and waded into the ocean from the beach along the 900 block of SE 21st Avenue in Deerfield Beach, according to BSO. The pair made their way out about 200 yards to a depth of approximately 12-feet, BSO said. During the dive, Herbert Berger surfaced to clear water from his mask. When he descended back into the water, he could not locate Yannick and called for help. Lifeguards found Yannick Berger about 20 minutes later on the ocean floor. The boy was rushed to North Broward General Medical Center in Pompano Beach but was pronounced dead soon afterward. | | BSO investigators said the two had only been diving two or three times before Thursday's drowning. Investigators also found that Yannick's buoyancy control device (BCD) contained 12 pounds of lead weight loaded into two utility pockets. Detectives say that practice would have made it very difficult for the inexperienced teen to easily ditch the weight in an emergency situation, BSO said. Detectives also say that Yannick's BCD was fully deflated when he drowned, even though his air tank was approximately two-thirds full when his body was recovered. BSO dispatch received the call for help at about 4:50 p.m. and responded with a helicopter and a BSO Marine Unit vessel. Deerfield Beach lifeguards also responded and located Yannick on the sea floor. By about 5:10 p.m., they had brought him to the surface and raced him to shore with the help of a water scooter. SOURCE - Moscow News |
