DATELINE: 20 May, 2002
CONTROVERSY OVER INSPIRATION INQUEST
The inquest into the death of Inspiration diver Ian Swift, who died after a wreck dive on the Salsette in June 2000 has led to controversy after the coroner warned rebreather divers to take care.
Ex-Royal Navy diver Swift was reported to have suffered an oxygen hit on his rebreather at 45m. The coroner recorded a verdict of accidental death after hearing that Swift had experienced serious problems with his rebreather and allegedly started the fatal dive despite the alarm on the unit continuously sounding. The purpose of the alarm is to warn divers that the unit needs immediate attention, and to indicate that it will not be safe to dive until the fault is rectified.
An examination of the equipment is reported to have revealed that two of the oxygen cells were malfunctioning and had passed their expiry date. This is believed to have led to excessive oxygen being supplied at depth and would explain the continuous alarm signals. Swift's dive buddy described how he had slumped forward and then suffered a series of convulsions while underwater.
The coroner Michael Johnston is quoted as saying "I am going to record a verdict of accidental death, but I have to say that I think the diving community should look very carefully at any piece of equipment which has a possible one per cent fatality rate."
Nicky Finn, speaking on behalf of the manufacturers AP diving, defended the unit and pointed out that the statistics quoted were incorrect. AP had not been invited to attend the inquest, and there appears to have been no-one present with sufficient expertise to explain the technicalities of closed circuit rebreather diving.
|
|
|