The Singapore media had a field day "reporting" the 2 diving fatalities. The
deceased male, Phil, was described by the Singapore and Hong Kong press as
Dutch, when he was in fact, Eurasian.  One of the Chinese newspapers later
had to run an apology for publishing a photograph of a Caucasian diver
mistakenly identified as Phil.  The recovery of the 2 deceased divers as
reported by the press, was at 10 metres.  On the contrary, sources close to
the commercial divers and the boat captain revealed that the deceased were
recovered at the bottom at 100 metres.  It would seem that the local press
had gone to town without execising journalistic prudence.  Understandably
so, because the female deceased, Ms Shaw Soo Ling was a member of the
prominent Shaw family (the Shaws have substantial presence in the
entertainment and broadcasting interests in Singapore and Hong Kong) and
they had to deliver the news hot off the press to feed the "hungry" public.

The following is  what I have gathered from friends and sources who claimed
to have knowledge of the circumstances surrounding the event.  The following
account must be deemed unconfirmed and hearsay, till verified.

For the ill-fated trip, the dive boat was chartered to a TDI outfit.  Phil
had completed a TDI basic nitrox course and signed up for a TDI advanced
nitrox course.  As reported, Soo Leng had only completed a classroom lesson
in a TDI basic nitrox course. Phil was diving air on independent doubles
(strapped onto a Zeagle BC).  Soo Leng was using air on a single tank.  Phil
and Soo Leng were last seen at 80 metres by Soo Leng's sister who aborted
the dive (and was intercepted by a divemaster during her hasty ascent, who
made her complete her decompression obligations).  Before the fatal dive,
Phil, Soo Leng and her sister had apparently done a dive of similar depth
successfully.  Onboard the boat were 3 instructors and 2 other divemasters,
besides Phil.

Food for thought : Were the instructors, divemasters, captain even aware
that the 2 deceased had dove on air to 80 metres on their previous dive and
repeated their foolhardy and ill-fated attempt at a similar depth?
(Legally, though not morally, this may be moot if one holds the view  that
no affirmative duty of care arises.)

If both deceased had intended to exceed 40 metres on their ill-fated dive,
they paid the ultimate price for using the wrong gas, being ill-equipped,
lacking the proper training, and lastly having the wrong attitude.

Joseph Conrad, in "Mirror of the sea", poses a sobering reminder to us all :

    "...the sea has no compassion, no faith, no law, no memory.
    Its fickleness is to be held true to men's purposes only by an
    undaunted resolution and by a sleepless, armed, jealous vigilance...."

"Carpe diem" may well be laudable; foolhardiness will never be.

Unfortunately, the tragic episode will be grist for some (i.e. the
ill-informed and/or those with vested interests) to lobby for statutory
regulation of the diving industry.  It will not surprise me one bit if this
sorry state happens.  After all, the Singapore government acts swiftly and
decisively in tackling problems.  As an example, to prevent chewing gum
vandalism disrupting the operation of subway train doors, one cannot even
chew gum in Singapore as it is an offence to sell or distribute chewing gum
in Singapore.

For the serious divers out there, the ultimate issue so aptly posed by
George in another thread, remains unanswered : "who is our  last line of
defence?"

Nick,
Singapore


Michal Alaniz wrote:

> If the divers drowned during this accident, then the question is where
> in depth.  I have heard of people drowning in 10 feet of water and 130
> ft of water.  The end result is a drown person.
>
> What is not clear to me is if the team were using recreational gear or
> tech gear and what type of dive (recreational or technical)they were
> performing. Just because someone is signed up for a course does not mean
> that intellectual and experiential interest predisposes someone to a
> mishap.  Many factors need to be taken into consideration such as dive
> site conditions, divers phyical and mental conditions with dive goals
> and dive objectives.
>
> It would be best to have more information than "new tech divers die" to
> assess the actual causes in this case.
>
> Michal
> --
> Send mail for the `techdiver' mailing list to `techdiver@aquanaut.com'.
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