Case Study Five

Night Photo Dive

Date: 2008
Location: South East Asia, tropical
Involved: 72 year old experienced male diver

A resort-based dive boat took a group of divers to a popular night diving reef a short distance from
the resort. The dive was made as a divemaster-led group, with the captain assisting as surface sup-
port (checking divers in and out, gear handling, etc.) The planned dive was to a maximum depth of
18 metres/60 feet.

The dive went as planned. The group ascended and assembled on the trail line, each diver waiting to
exit, with the divemaster at the end. The victim was second in line to exit. He approached the swim
step and handed up his camera, a large, heavy DSLR system. It was a struggle for him to lift. The
captain took it, turned, and placed it in the camera rinse barrel. When he turned back, the victim was
floating face down, unresponsive.

The remaining divers and the divemaster rapidly egressed the victim. The captain began the ABCD’S;
finding no breathing, he began CPR. After all divers were aboard and accounted for, the divemaster
took over. The captain headed to the resort, radioing ahead for EMS. He was informed that all were
on other calls and not available immediately.

Upon reaching the resort, the divemaster, captain and other resort staff continued basic life support,
which included freeflow oxygen with rescue breaths. When EMS arrived (approximately one hour
later), they declared the victim dead.

Subsequent autopsy found significant atherosclerosis (plaque buildup) in the arteries supplying the
heart. The coroner concluded the cause of death was a heart attack.

The lessons:
• As the population ages and older people increasingly enjoy active lifestyles, cardiac-related inci-
dents are on the rise during sports and other activities that involve exercise, exertion and excite-
ment. This includes diving.
• A heart attack is not technically a dive accident, but a health-incident that occurs during diving.
Nonetheless, dive professionals on hand are expected to respond.
• Diving often takes people into areas with limited emergency medical support. It’s not clear
whether it would have made a difference in this case, but it would in some. Distance from emer-
gency care is a risk divers have to accept. It doesn’t hurt to remind them of this risk if it is the
case in a given circumstance.
• Heart health is at least partially controllable through diet and exercise. Although dive profession-
als cannot control the choices divers make with respect to fitness, they can choose to maintain
adequate fitness for themselves.