Student diver dies on Sattahip shipwreck

[Rimmer]

Student diver dies on Sattahip shipwreck

SATTAHIP:--A scuba-diving student drowned taking a course on Sattahip’s current-swept Hardeep shipwreck.

Poonsak Thipburin, 39, was on a course with 20 other Thai and foreign students at the 26-meter-deep shipwreck off Samae San Feb. 10 when the Nakhon Pathom native apparently tried to surface and was swept away and drowned.

Royal Thai Navy ship 112 recovered the body and returned it to a navy pier in Sattahip and, after, Sattahip Km. 10 Hospital.

Instructor Siriwat Rukthum, 38, said his student had been training for a week.

The Hardeep, a freighter sunk in World War II, sits between two headlands and is often subjected to vicious currents that even experienced divers can find tricky.

- See more at: http://www.pattayamail.com/localnews/student-diver-dies-on-sattahip-shipwreck-45053#sthash.zj0Mq2r5.dpuf

-- Pattaya Mail 2015-02-20

[DiamondKing]

NOt sure what agency this instructor is training people under but from that report he is breaking multiple safety rules

20 STUDENTS there is a limit I believe of max 8 students to 1 instructor and the site they were diving sounds like it was not a suitable site either for training dives.

[OOLEEBER]

If he's been training for a week it might have been a drift dive or something for an advanced qualification. Also there might have been 3 or 4 instructors on the dive. Too little info to speculate negatively. Not that I really know what I'm talking about. My last dive was in Fiji over 12 years ago.

[frozin1]

I did one dive on the Hardeep over twenty years ago. Both entry and exit from the dive are critical moments as the currents at this site are indeed fearsome. The procedure is to haul yourself down the anchor line until you are at the lee-side of the wreck and then release the line and make a few powerful kicks until you enter the area sheltered from the current by the wreck itself. On exit you haul yourself up the anchor line to the boat. If you come off the line before you get to the surface, you will be swept past the boat underwater. Those on board would be unlikely to know as they are watching the anchor line where you were expected to exit.

F1

Edited February 20, 2015 by frozin1

[TSF]

Have heard bad stories about this wreck for years. I don't have any statistics on hand but believe there have been several deaths over the years while diving this wreck, also many bad accidents. I personally knew a guy back in the late 1980s who almost died on this wreck.

[Moza]

RIP Should cover the story lol .

[SEEDGER]

tragic loss; if he was so eager to see a ship all he needed to do was go to any port! I was Scuba Instructor for years and never can unerstand the need for high risk diving. Lost a good friend to Cave in Aukumal Mexico, and another in a lake when he became fouled in ropes rurnning to the suface.

20 divers and one instructor is nuts! Particularly in advanced diving situation!

[Srikcir]

Surfaced, swept away and drowned. But he had SCUBA gear and if just settled for being dragged by the current he should have been okay. Inflate his BCD and enjoy the ride. It sounds like he was out of air, maybe the reason for surfacing in the first place. A dive master should have been watching for something like that.

[Basil B]

Depending on tides it can be up to 30m deep, I too had the worst moments of my diving experience on that wreak, and some of my best, I qualified as weak diver the Hard Deep some 20 years ago, thankfully there are safer wreaks to dive off Pattaya these days.

I recall one dive when on ascending to the surface we found the current had dragged the buoys under water, bobbing around about 5m, and was unable to do a proper safety stop.

[britmaveric]

I've probably dived Hardeep a dozen or so times. Sure it's bit tricky getting down there ala have to walk yourself down the anchor line but I didn't find it too difficult after that.

It seems to me if he could have inflated his bcd (even manual if out of air), dropped his weight belt and been quite alright.

[doremifasol]

R.I.P

[KKr]

the instructor should be prosecuted !

[Briggsy]

Life is cheap in the East.

[Basil B]

I've probably dived Hardeep a dozen or so times. Sure it's bit tricky getting down there ala have to walk yourself down the anchor line but I didn't find it too difficult after that.

It seems to me if he could have inflated his bcd (even manual if out of air), dropped his weight belt and been quite alright.

I assume he did not ascend the line with his instructor, or even a buddy partner.

Inflate BCD, a novice diver probably never thought to do that, drop your weight belt, again when you get in to difficulty and start to panic you do not think rationally, anyway probably a Thai would not be carrying much lead.

[Explorer Instructor]

The story is more than what was reported. Always is when a Thai is involved in the mix and damaged because of a Thai.

The student finished his Open water class the past week and was on hard deep with his former instructor. Instructor was back on the boat drinking tea/coffee when was asked about his buddy (student) and they found the body on the wreck. Reports looked like lung expansion caused his death. "Uncomfirmed Reports"

[coulson]

RIP, this outfit needs a serious shakedown.

A fresh open water graduate being taken in those conditions to a 26m wreck in a group that size.......further action required. I hope it resonates across the entire diving community in Thailand.

Thailand again showing how it is one of the most disastrous locations for adventure tourists

[uksomchai]

The trouble is it all boils down to the money when push comes to shove. When I worked for an underwater time-share company / Dive shop on Koh Pi Pi the salespeople there would regularly sign people up for a wreck dive to 30 metres plus with just them completing their open water certification. They simply said that they would be with an instructor so it was OK. having dived the wreck in question many times and found on most occasions it to be a taxing dive even for an experienced and highly qualified diver never mind a newly qualified diver I disagreed with this. The reason they were sold this dive was simply because the salesperson got more commission for signing up this dive compared to a nice easy fun dive.

When I actually asked PADI about this I was told that the recreational diving limit for divers was 40 metres and so this was acceptable which makes a total mockery of having an advanced qualification to dive to a deeper depth. If the dead person was left on the wreck then heads need to roll but I very much doubt they will. I would like to read the full report of this incidence if its ever available

Edited June 4, 2015 by uksomchai

[coulson]

The trouble is it all boils down to the money when push comes to shove. When I worked for an underwater time-share company / Dive shop on Koh Pi Pi the salespeople there would regularly sign people up for a wreck dive to 30 metres plus with just them completing their open water certification. They simply said that they would be with an instructor so it was OK. having dived the wreck in question many times and found on most occasions it to be a taxing dive even for an experienced and highly qualified diver never mind a newly qualified diver I disagreed with this. The reason they were sold this dive was simply because the salesperson got more commission for signing up this dive compared to a nice easy fun dive.

When I actually asked PADI about this I was told that the recreational diving limit for divers was 40 metres and so this was acceptable which makes a total mockery of having an advanced qualification to dive to a deeper depth. If the dead person was left on the wreck then heads need to roll but I very much doubt they will. I would like to read the full report of this incidence if its ever available

I understand what that scenario might be like..... bunch of hungover backpackers with go-pro's, got a group discount at the bar the night before, all charged up for the wreck dive. It must be painful having to assume certification has been achieved, assume someone who looks reasonably fit can handle the gig, assume they know how to swim etc.....but then it doesn't matter really because they've signed the waiver.....ah sh@g it, let's do this! It's not really enough to email PADI, they aren't going to influence the sales team once the paperwork is in order.

The best dives I've ever had were the real close encounters, seeing bull rays in pitch black night when the torch batteries ran out, surfacing 10m from a ciff face & having to back paddle against the current with 5 bar just for the bcd, or hitting a cold current at 33m after coming out from a wall and returning to a dingy at the surface in a significant swell.

The worst dives were those that were done in an over-controlled manner, being invited to check the conditions and convey an opinion, doublechecking the equipment, ridiculous conversations about weights, over use of the hand signals/ buddy system etiquette and constantly checking air. Two particular dive masters spring to mind, truly the most boring souls I'd ever met on land.

Had either of the latter divemasters been in charge of this particular outing, nobody would be dead, that is a fact. I now have a full respect for their understanding and teachings of 'accountbility'.

Edited June 4, 2015 by coulson