Rescuer’s death brings to fore risks faced by gov’t divers

The death of Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) diver Petty Officer 3 Armand Bonifacio brought to fore the occupational health and safety risks that government divers have to contend with during search, rescue and retrieval operations in response to accidents at sea. Bonifacio died at the height of efforts to recover more bodies from the sunken MV Catalyn B off Limbones Island in Cavite. Knowing that he was a veteran diver, fellow members of the PCG Special Operations Group (SOG) never thought that Friday’s operation would end in another tragic loss of life. [See: Diver who helped retrieve bodies of MV Catalyn victims dies]
Bonifacio volunteered to dive deep In Bonifacio’s case, he volunteered to dive to about 221 feet, as PCG Auxiliary Diving Expert Capt. Matt Caldwell was unavailable. On the first of three scheduled dives for the day, Bonifacio, along with his dive buddy PO2 Saturnino Cahilig, retrieved a woman’s body still wearing a printed white shirt and black pants. On their second attempt, the two reached the ship’s wreckage again. On their ascent, however, Cahilig felt Bonifacio shake his hand at about 170 feet deep, a signal that he was not feeling well. Bonifacio reportedly increased his ascension speed, which was against basic diving safety rules. “He wanted to speed up his ascent, which would put him more in a very compromising situation. So pinipigilan siya although ina-assist na siya sa pag-air (So he was being held back although his buddy assisted him in breathing in air)," SOG diving team head Lt. Commander Marco Gines said in a GMA News’ 24 Oras report. At around 140 feet, Bonifacio lost consciousness, Gines said. He was resurfaced and brought to a decompression chamber for first aid. Inside the chamber, things went well as Bonifacio regained consciousness and was reportedly still able to follow orders. Cardiac arrest Two hours later, Bonifacio succumbed to cardiac arrest and was pronounced dead on arrival at the Jose Reyes Memorial Medical Center at around 3:40 p.m., according to Balilo. In an ABS-CBN newscast, Bonifacio’s grieving wife rues the death of her husband, who had been in the service for 18 years and was already looking forward to retirement. “Balak ko siyang pigilan. Mahina na ang katawan niya (I wanted to stop him, as he was getting weak physically)," the wife was quoted as saying. Gines also expressed sadness over Bonifacio’s death, saying he has been an integral member of the SOG diving team. According to Gines, Bonifacio was trained by the Philippine Navy and the Japan International Cooperation Agency. He participated in the relief operation for the typhoons Ondoy and Pepeng, which hit the country last year. He was also part of the rescue operation for MV Princess of Stars, which sank in Romblon in 2008, where 300 of the 800 passengers remain missing. ‘Not the equipment’ “We checked the equipment. It’s not the equipment," Gines said when asked about the cause of Bonifacio’s death. PCG spokesperson Lt. Commander Armand Balilo said, however, that divers would sometimes need to improvise so they could meet minimum equipment requirements for deep-sea diving. Balilo admitted in the newscast that government divers do not have the required gas mixture, for example, for deep-sea diving. According to the reference site Wikipedia, the gas mixture heliox (helium and oxygen) is commonly used for technical dives, such as during rescue operations, especially during deep phases. Professional diver Rommel Ortiz also says one of the common health problems for divers is decompression sickness (DCS) or “the bends". The sickness results from ascending too quickly from deep-sea diving, which causes gas dissolution in blood, forming bubbles in body tissues, he said. Deep-sea or technical dives of more than 200 feet are more risky, as 100 feet is the maximum depth for recreational diving. Common symptoms of DCS include pains in the large joints of the body and skin itching. Headache, seizures and unconsciousness may also occur, especially if the DCS is of a neurological type, according to Wikipedia. Paralysis and death are also possible results. Treatment of DCS-related symptoms involve hyperbaric oxygen therapy, or the medical use of oxygen in unusually high concentrations, inside a decompression chamber. The site, however, also says DCS incidence is rare, with estimates of only 2.8 cases per 10,000 dives, with cases of unconsciousness recorded at less than 1 percent of the total. Another risk for deep-sea divers is oxygen toxicity caused by high levels of supplemental oxygen. Its severe cases can result in cell damage and death, often affecting the central nervous system, lungs and eyes. Repeated attempts to contact Balilo for clarification on possible causes of Bonifacio’s death proved futile as calls by GMANews.TV went unanswered. A PCG staff who refused to be identified said she was not authorized to speak on the matter, and refused to give further details. The retrieval operations have been temporarily suspended until the autopsy is finished, according to PCG district commander Commodore Luis Tuazon. – JV, GMANews.TV