The British Sub-Aqua Club’s latest Annual Diving Incident Report recorded 239 incidents during 2024, including, tragically, 12 fatalities.
The report — which covers incidents from January 1, 2024 to December 31, 2024 — and its data analysis aims to promote diver safety as well as understanding any trends that can support all the diving agencies in their diver training programs and safety advice.
A higher number of incidents took place in September 2024 than in recent years, according to the report. However, unlike the previous September, the weather wasn’t as favorable that month. The report comments that these incidents are, for the most part, linked to diving at inland sites.
The report also looks into incidents where divers experienced buoyancy control problems, particularly with drysuits:
“On reading the synopses, we can identify 18 instances in the last 2 years where divers have lost control of their buoyancy and ascended feet first or had to abort a dive due to the migration of air to the feet of drysuits and occasionally causing the complete displacement of the fins and drysuit boots from the diver’s feet.
“It is important to ensure that divers are trained in drysuit diving but also that drysuit legs and feet and fins are well fitted to ensure that they do not displace.”
The report also includes continuing analysis of immersive pulmonary oedema (IPO) incidents, noting that better training has resulted in divers becoming increasingly aware of IPO leading to earlier identification and resolution of the problem, thereby reducing the seriousness of an incident. It records seven confirmed and one additional possible cases of IPO, with none resulting in a fatality.
Those medically confirmed cases also reflect increased awareness of the condition in the medical community.
The report also highlights the importance of getting medical advice to eliminate the risk of an IPO before diving again.
Additionally, the number of incidents continues to be closely linked to the amount of diving taking place, especially since diving activities have returned to pre-pandemic levels.
