SINGAPORE (30 Nov 2004) -- THE 26-year-old Singaporean who died on Thursday while diving at Australia's Great Barrier Reef probably suffered a lung expansion injury, say doctors and divers. Following the accident, experts have called on divers to exercise greater caution when on overseas dive trips as they may be unfamiliar with the waters there. But the bottomline is that they should not take the plunge if they are not well. Engineer Melvin Ng Kin Thuan had apparently encountered difficulties after 15 minutes of diving at a dive site off Lady Mustang Island, and was rescued when he surfaced. Dr Kevin Chan, who specialises in diving and hyperbaric medicine and is an avid diver himself, says one possibility is lung expansion injury. This could be caused by environmental factors, equipment failure or if a diver is unwell. Mr Ng was reportedly unwell the day before the tragedy. | | Said Dr Chan: "With the phlegm build-up in the system, it can be a bit of a plug in the respiratory system. When we dive, a small bubble at depth gradually as we come to the surface becomes big. With nowhere to go in the lungs, you are in for a big problem. " While visibility under water off Australian shores may be better, the water temperature is colder so the advice is to suit up in thicker wetsuits to keep warm, say experts. SOURCE - Channel NewsAsia |
