An Underwater Scuba Selfie Accident

As we all know selfies are fun to make, but they can be the cause of tragedies as well.

Unfortunately the planned selfie these two divers , Bill and Tony planned did not quite work out as planned. I do not believe it was the selfie that cause the accident, but it may have contributed to the desire to dive beyond their skill level.

Bill, a 33 year old diver, had 10 years of diving under his belt. He was an avid reader about diving and explorations, but he had not taken any advanced diving training courses and he was somewhat overly confident about his diving abilities.

Diving looks easy , but the safety is in the nuances. A number of mistakes were made. However two mistakes that shine in this accident is insufficient air supply. They were diving  to 120 feet and planned to enter the wreck and high-tail it out of there. So it was apparent that they had an idea they were taking unnecessary risk.

There were a number of additional mistakes pointed out in the article  by Eric Douglas on Scubadiving.com that we can all use as lessons from this incident.

1 Plan Accordingly Plan for the dive you are doing, or make a dive you are prepared for. Entering an overhead environment without the proper equipment is a great way to get in trouble.

2 Learn the Skills Seek out the required training for diving in overhead environments before you attempt a penetration.

3 Use A Safety Line Any time you are making a penetration dive, use a safety line attached to the outside so you can easily find your way out.

4 Mind Your Buddy Agree with your buddy on a course of action should you become separated. Typically, that means searching on the bottom for a minute, and then making a controlled ascent to meet at the surface.

5 Ignore Your Ego Don’t let aspirations of greatness cause you to take unnecessary risks. You can always make another attempt — as long as you survive the first one.

Read the entire article here on scubadiving.com

This post was based on an article appearing in the Lessons For Life Articles section of scubadiving.com

Image Source: pixabay.com