Recent diving incidents in New Zealand have caused a great deal of concern. Water Safety New Zealand is now urging people to take more care while diving during this holiday season.
Deeperblue has reported of the recent deaths in the Bay of Plenty. A man died off Cape Runway last weekend. The body of Catherine Kells has since been found after going missing last Friday. There is also an 18 year old girl in hospital with spinal injuries after diving into a sandbar.
Almost a year ago the police of Wellington issued an article encouraging people to practise safe diving habits.
Water Safety New Zealand statistics show that five scuba divers and one snorkeler drowned in 2005 in New Zealand waters. Between January 1996 and December 2005, 47 people drowned in scuba diving accidents and 20 in snorkeling accidents.
By April 2006 already three people had died while diving. The question arises to whether it is a result of careless diving or faulty equipment provided by dive centres, or a combination of both.
The industry standard of New Zealand says that all divers should have a medical before embarking on a diving course and a list of appropriately trained hyperbaric (scuba) doctors was issued.
The New Zealand Underwater Association (NZUA) website provides information on medical conditions in relation to diving and also links through to the SPUMS website. The website references are: www.spums.org.au, www.divenewzealand.com and www.nzunderwater.org.nz.
Safety should always come first in diving, to then make it an enjoyable experience.
