The death of a solo scuba diver three years ago was unnecessary, a New Zealand coroner has noted, attributing the fatal incident to a combination of inexperience and unsafe diving practices, including using a back-to-front cylinder and regulator.
Aaron Matthews, 43, from Rotorua had been diving alone to collect seafood for Christmas early on 24 December, 2022, off a remote beach at Lottin Point on North Island’s East Cape.
The hydraulic specialist and volunteer firefighter had spent the night at the site with a friend in a vehicle so that they could make an early start.
The weather was calm and, using new scuba-diving gear that he had just bought, Matthews had entered the water alone at around 6.30am, according to a report on the inquest findings by the New Zealand Herald today (27 November)
His friend, who was fishing from the beach, had seen Matthews surface from time to time, but at around 7am he had seen him come up without his mask on, apparently struggling to breathe as he called for help.
The friend had thrown him a line, which he grasped. He then heard Matthews utter enigmatic words to the effect of “It got me” and start coughing as he lost his grip on the rope and slipped beneath the surface.
Bubbles spotted
It took Matthews’ friend 25 minutes to drive to a point where he could pick up a phone signal to call for help. The emergency services had responded but it was some eight hours after the alarm had been raised before bubbles were spotted rising from Matthews’ scuba-gear.
The diver’s body was found facing upwards at a depth of 9m, tangled in branches and seaweed and with his mask around his neck. The police reported finding no evidence of foul play and no alcohol or drugs other than paracetamol in Matthews’ system.
Police National Dive Squad officer PC James Kang said that Matthew’s air cylinder had been mounted with its valve facing away instead of towards him. The regulator first stage would have been facing backwards, with the resulting tension on the hose making it feel as if the now-inverted second stage was being pulled from his mouth.
When PC Kang carried out a test dive using the incorrectly assembled equipment he found that he was unable to turn his head left without the second stage being pulled out of his mouth. He concluded that this would have restricted Matthews’ visibility and possibly allowed water inhalation, resulting in panic, of which removing a dive-mask was a common sign.
The diver had also been overweighted, and had failed to release his weighbelt when struggling at the surface.
‘Not a risk-taker’
Matthews was described as physically fit and not a risk-taker. His fiancee stated that he liked to dive solo but with shore cover. She said he had completed a training course in 2020 but without submitting the paperwork required to be certificated, though the police could find no record of his having undergone any diver training.
“Sadly, I have reached the conclusion that Mr Matthews’ death was preventable,” said coroner Katherine Greig, recording a verdict of death by drowning. “Unsafe diving practices identified by Constable Kang were instrumental in his death.”
Grieg recommended that to avoid similar incidents divers should always dive and remain with a buddy; carry out pre-dive checks on their own and their buddy’s equipment; abandon their weight-belt if in difficulty; maintain correct buoyancy; dive within their qualification and experience levels; complete recognised training courses, including refreshers; and always have a dive and emergency plan – including contingency planning for remote locations.
This was the second inquest into the death of a New Zealand scuba diver collecting seafood this month: see Domino Effect’ Killed NZ Scuba Diver.
