Is anyone else as outraged as me that scuba divers could be left behind AGAIN! Wasn't one time enough?

Question

How about changing the system whatever it might be so that everyone who leaves the boat is accounted for before returning to shore. How hard can that be??

Answer 1

This is like a movie I've seen! open water or something like this.

I used to experience something like this in Malaysia. They didn't count the crews and left one person behind.

Fortunately, they figured that out 15 minutes later

Answer 2

Are you Kidding!  It's up to the divers to keep themselves safe.  It sounds to me that these people are looking for a bit of fame!

Answer 3

You are right....there is no legitimate excuse for leaving divers behind.  Any good divemaster will keep a checklist to check divers off the boat and back onto the boat again.  Boats are not moved until every diver is accounted for.

Having said that, it does take a certain cooperation amongst the divers to make it work effectively.  I've been on a couple of dive trips on 'cattle boats' where there were simply way too many divers.  I've seen it happen where the dive-master calls out someone's name, and someone else thinking they are doing the missing diver a favor, answers for them.  This is NOT doing the person a favor and could lead to a left-behind diver situation.  I have no way of knowing if this or something like it might have happened in this situation.  But I do know there are situations on some of the large boats where the divemasters are simply overwhelmed by numbers alone.  That is the fault and responsibility of the dive charter or operator.  Enough staff need to be assigned to be able to keep track of the divers and provide safety assistance and other help when needed.

Personally, I never do the 'cattle boat' dive situation anymore.  I always look for the smaller operators with smaller boats and more personalized services.  This is one way of avoiding that kind of circumstance.  (I also carry a 'rescue sausage' for emergency signalling in the pocket of my BC).  And I follow the dive-plan as briefed.  I have seen a couple of dangerous situations where divers violated the stated dive plan and ended up well away from the boat causing the boat to go into search & rescue mode.  Notably, those situations never resulted in a left-behind diver;  I'm just saying that a diver does contribute to his own safety by sticking with the plan.

Answer 4

Is there a verified news story that goes with this?

I have honestly never talked to anyone who was personally present on a boat where all divers were not accounted for at the end of a dive.  Biggest dives I've been on were almost 2 dozen people.  Everybody in the boat was aquainted and knew who was sitting on their right and left.