Mystery surrounds death of arctic divers

[UM-Bot]

Five hundred miles north of Alaska, a group of shipmates from the Coast Guard cutter Healy tossed a football on the blue-and-white, diamond-hard Arctic ice. Others snapped panoramic photos and took walks during the two-hour break, stretching their legs after a month aboard the 420-foot icebreaker.

Lt. Jessica Hill and Boatswain's Mate Steven Duque seized the chance for a training dive and slipped into a patch of open water near the Healy's bow.

View: Full Article | Source: AOL News

[Aztec Warrior]

Maybe someone else can remember, but wasn't there a similiar experience/story a while back about mysterious diver deaths in the artic.

Because the bodies were not torn to shreds, I think they may have had some imbalance in their mixture. I doubt the depth was an issue, as the amount of line released was monitored from above. Maybe they saw something that scared them to death. Maybe.

[Azalin]

Maybe someone else can remember, but wasn't there a similiar experience/story a while back about mysterious diver deaths in the artic.

Because the bodies were not torn to shreds, I think they may have had some imbalance in their mixture. I doubt the depth was an issue, as the amount of line released was monitored from above. Maybe they saw something that scared them to death. Maybe.

Honestly I was for some reason thinking the same thing. They might of seen something they were not expecting, which could of caused panic, or irregulate there breathing.

[Celumnaz]

is there anything that can seep in skin and poison that could be in there? like some mercury deposit or something? Well maybe more "something" than "mercury deposit".

would be wild if they both died of heart failure....

is there such a thing as super saline patch that can insta-freeze someone?

[_Nyx_]

The only thing I can think of that would kill them so quickly is perhaps a sting or bite from something down there or electrocution.

I'm not sure how cold the water was, but even being in cold water for such a short time would've kept them alive, barely.

[Cancerien]

We'll probably never find out what killed them, especially if it was something out of the ordinary.

The government would, of course, not tell us; they're to busy trying to make sure that nothing disrupts their perfect little normal world.

[Ghost Ship]

A freak accident i think. A coincidence. But it spooks me to think they may have died in terror. Have those areas of the ocean been investigated as much as other area's of the ocean? Theres probably life forms in arctic waters that have yet to be discovered.

[BurnSide]

They retrieved the bodies right? Should be simple enough to perform an autopsy on the body and figure out if any foreign elements may have been involved.

[Aztec Warrior]

Although in antarctic, this article seemed interesting.

Exploring Queen Maud Land

As discussed in part one, the Nazi "Shangri-La" did exist. Of unknown size, it was set up during the 1938–39 Deutsche Antarktische Expedition. The existence of a Nazi Antarctic base hidden in vast caverns was considered feasible enough for the British to set up bases in many parts of Antarctica during the war in response to the threat.

http://www.red-ice.net/specialreports/2006...antarctica.html

[Aztec Warrior]

Coast Guard update:

Mystery surrounds deaths of Coast Guard divers in the Arctic

Last Update: 9/25/2006 7:25:23 AM

SEATTLE (AP) - The U-S Coast Guard has launched two investigations into the mysterious deaths of two crew members from Florida who died during a training dive 500 miles north of Alaska.

The Coast Guard has also relieved the captain of the ship the divers were on, pulled all diving equipment off the ship and suspended all polar diving.

But nothing has been said about what might have killed 31-year-old Lieutenant Jessica Hill and 22-year-old Boatswain's Mate Steven Duque on August 17th, or when the investigations will conclude.

The Healy was on a research mission backed by the National Science Foundation. On board were three dozen scientists collecting data that would help them map the ocean floor and study the Earth's crust to better understand earthquakes, tsunamis and plate tectonics.

The divers slipped into a patch of open water near the Healy's bow. A team held ropes attached to the divers, lest they become disoriented under the ice. Several research scientists watched from the deck.

But no one knows what happened on the other end of those ropes on that cold, brilliant summer day -- except that both divers died.

http://www.cbs47.com/news/state/story.aspx...D7-58F7C67A82FE

[Randroid]

Maybe someone else can remember, but wasn't there a similiar experience/story a while back about mysterious diver deaths in the artic.

Does anybody have a link to more information?

Edited September 27, 2006 by Randroid

[__Kratos__]

Only the surface of discovering the ocean has been uncovered. Could have been a freak animal that killed them or some sort of unknown bateria/virus. They discover new stuff all the time that isn't healthy to our health. Maybe these guys found something like that. Someone had to find out the mushrooms where poison, not really different here.

[Aztec Warrior]

The problem with a virus is that it killed in 10 minutes. That my friend is impossible. Massive exposure to radiation could do it though. Still going with the bad air mixture myself.

[__Kratos__]

The problem with a virus is that it killed in 10 minutes. That my friend is impossible. Massive exposure to radiation could do it though. Still going with the bad air mixture myself.

They would know that right away though by the physical signs.

There is a lot out there... Much that seems off the wall. I mean just a couple weeks ago they found a shark that walks on it's fins to search for food. Doesn't have to be a virus, could have been something crappy that just took them out.

[Griffon]

Im going with the unknown animal theory myself.

I cant find much else wrong with it.

[RollingThunder06]

They have had those bodies and some sort of results over a month, and they are acting like it is no ones business but theirs on what happened! Those poor families. I hope a good lawyer will offer his/her services in order to make these people tell what they have found out. I also hope if the cause of death comes back as drowning someone can help them.

[Bone_Collector]

It's amazing to see how many people here want to believe this happened because of some unkown creature in the Atctic waters. It's highly unlikely that some virus got them in 10 minutes or they both having a heart attack after seeing something down there. It's also unlikely that they died of extreme cold either in barely 10 minutes.

I think the coast guard had faulty breathing equipment, something which they obviously would not accept and enough reason why they aren't letting much out on this.

[RollingThunder06]

That would explain the removal of all equipment from the ship along with the captain.

[Mysterious Molecules]

I think the coast guard had faulty breathing equipment, something which they obviously would not accept and enough reason why they aren't letting much out on this.

I agree!

So many (much more likely and reasonable) things can go wrong with diving equipment.

Still sad to see, i hope the truth gets out in the open someday.

[Iwishthatweretrue]

faulty equiptment dosent explain how they ended up 189ft under water, espiecally when they were attached to the ship by "ropes". Arccording to what i have read the dive was only schduled for 20ft. Somehow they decended to a depth of 189ft (at least) in a matter of 2 min. Normally it would take about 30min to safely reach that depth. The question is how did the end up with 189ft of rope? Who gave them that much slack? If they werent provided with that much rope then it must have be aquired by force. Either a current or a thing helped them get that deep, they didnt do it by themselves.

But i dont agree that we should conclude that some loch ness monster did the job. But it is safe to say that they didnt reach that depth in the estimated time (2min) with help from the crew or thier equiptment. We dont have the technology to do that safely.

source: http://articles.news.aol.com/business/_a/a...e5&cid=2360

[jarhead]

I'm a diver, although not an artic diver. I would have to lean towards hypothermia, mix problems or equipment failure. Yet, I would find it difficult to imagine that both divers had the same equipment problem. I do agree that sometimes it is difficult to get details from our government. I, however, would be hesitant to propose a coverup.

[Unknown Pwn]

I think its possible that due to the cold water and the possability that they were diving on Nitrox where the atmosperic content of what they are breathing contains a greater fraction of oxygen ballanced against the nitrogen in the blend they were using mite have become toxic at an other wise "shallow" depth for whats know as oxygen poisoning, where , past 255feet oxygen becomes more and more toxic to the body and needs a special mixture of gasses, usualy helium, to offset this phenomenon of oxygen poisoning.

The extreem cold water coupled with a Nitrox mix could in theory become toxic at the depths they were diving at and shallower because of the greater compression of the gasses and due to the extreem cold.

Im a tech a diver of no extraordinary experience,and as is being voiced by most of the other divers on this thread,there is a possability that

also the tanks were just filled with bad air altogether, and has alot more to do with hypoxia than ogyxen poisoning. While this is fairly uncommon

in this age of diving technology and practice, it can and does happen with alot more frequency than Im comfortable with.

[keithisco]

Is this story? 8 months old! And the deaths were mearly 14 months ago. I suspect the answers are already posted somewhere.

Just noticed that someone has "Bumped" this thread

Exclusive: Coast Guard Deaths Were Preventable

Arctic Dive Incident Killed Two Coast Guard Divers By CLAYTON SANDELL

Jan. 12, 2007

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Share A report released today sheds new light on the mysterious deaths of two U.S. Coast Guard divers killed during a training dive in the Arctic last summer. According to the report, the divers may have carried too much weight that they could not easily jettison in an underwater emergency.

Coast Guard investigators said the tragedy was preventable and resulted from a "failure" of the command staff and dive team to "properly plan for and execute" a standard cold water dive.

200-Foot Plunge Killed Coast Guard DiversTop U.S. stories

"We are totally committed to doing everything possible to ensure this tragedy is never repeated," said Real Admiral David Pekoske, the Coast Guard's assistant commandant for operations.

Thirty-one-year old Lt. Jessica Hill and 22-year-old boatswain's mate Steven Duque were killed Aug. 17, 2006, during what was supposed to be a routine training dive. The deaths -- the first Coast Guard diver fatalities in 30 years -- occurred about 500 miles north of Barrow Alaska. The divers were assigned to the Coast Guard icebreaker Healy.

'Numerous Violations'

The report cited "numerous violations of [Coast Guard] and Navy diving manuals," including inadequate preparation, improper use of the diving equipment, inadequately trained diver tenders, and a failure to ensure proper supervision and " redundancy " of the "dive capability in case of emergency."

Each of the divers carried approximately 60 pounds of weight-- twice the recommended amount-- in the pockets of their buoyancy compensation devices, or BCDs, the report says. The BCD provides neutral buoyancy underwater, using a combination of air pockets and weights.

Hill and Duque "filled not only the weight pockets but also the equipment pockets of the BCD. Thus, much of the divers' weight could not be easily jettisoned," the report says.

Soon after beginning the dive, Hill and Duque rapidly descended as much as 220 feet, according to the report. Dive tenders on the surface, who monitored ropelike lines connected to the divers, became concerned that too much tending line was being let out too quickly. They brought the divers to the surface at 6:48 PM. Despite efforts to resuscitate them, both divers were pronounced dead at about 8:00 PM.

Edited September 24, 2007 by keithisco

[SoulFire]

I'm a diver, although not an artic diver. I would have to lean towards hypothermia, mix problems or equipment failure. Yet, I would find it difficult to imagine that both divers had the same equipment problem. I do agree that sometimes it is difficult to get details from our government. I, however, would be hesitant to propose a coverup.

i don't know much at all about diving, but wouldn't you kinda know something was wrong with your breathing aparatus or your mixture & atleast make an attempt to come up or would it just be instant death??? hypothermia wouldn't set in that quick, especially in a wetsuit, would it???

[Bear's Quest]

Is this story? 8 months old! And the deaths were mearly 14 months ago. I suspect the answers are already posted somewhere.

Just noticed that someone has "Bumped" this thread

I too noticed that, and the sources are expired...

Where are the bodies? What was the diagnosis?