MAYPORT,
Fl - Homicide detectives and the Coast Guard will be taking a closer look
a scuba diving death today off Mayport. 30-year-old Allen Sprouse of
Jacksonville beach was pronounced dead at Baptist Hospital.
Sprouse was diving off the charter dive boat "Amanda Renee."
Crew members pulled him onboard the boat unconscious and not breathing.
They did CPR until until the Coast Guard took over.
Diving, -an emerging hazard Diving fatalities are beginning to be recognized as an emerging hazard in the fishing industry.(8) Sometimes crewmembers with little formal diving training or experience are called on to dive below water to untangle nets or lines that have snagged on the ocean floor or in the boat's propellers. Even experienced, certified scuba(9) divers hired to dive for sea cucumbers and other aquatic life often face numerous hazards such as adverse sea and weather conditions,(10) murky water, unexpected shifts in underwater currents, entanglement of air lines, scuba equipment malfunction, decompression problems, and encounters with dangerous marine life.(11) The 60 drownings that occurred during 1992-96 accounted for one-sixth of fishing fatalities. (See table 2.) Most of these drownings involved diving activities.
INCIDENT
A 23-year-old employee suffered life-threatening injuries when he carried out SCUBA diving to retrieve an entangled rock lobster pot. The employee suffered a cerebral arterial gas embolism when he accidentally ascended uncontrollably. The employee suffered immediate disorientation and some pain but after a short rest continued work for approximately two hours.
Upon completing work the employee slept for a while at home, until about 5 hours after the accident had occurred, when he awoke with severe pain in his chest, joints, eyes and ears. He was conveyed by ambulance to the Fremantle hyperbaric chamber and was treated there over two days. Doctors stated that the employee was fortunate not to die at the time of the accident and that possibly his youth and level of fitness were factors assisting in his survival.