A Diver Death in Tubbataha

Dear Ben,

Five friends and I went on the Philippines Aggressor in mid- March 2024 for a week to dive Tubbataha. There were 24 divers onboard. On the checkout dive, a Canadian diver (I'll call him Charles) died. He had declined to take an SMB with him. When he first descended with his group of six, he went straight down to 100 feet. The divemaster brought him back to a safer depth.

Charles' dive buddy (I'll call him David) later told us that the guide left him and Charles to join the four divers. Charles came to the surface, panicking. David tried to put air in his BCD, but Charles's tank was empty. Charles was flailing. David backed off, and then Charles's head dropped into the water. Steve tried to hold him up and wave to the skiff. The skiff didn't get to them for 10-15 minutes as they were picking up the other divers. No doubt they didn't realize there was an emergency.

There were two doctors on the skiff who immediately started CPR. My dive buddy, also an MD, boarded the boat to assist. They returned to the Aggressor and got Charles onboard, but it was too late. The crew performed CPR for five hours. The captain called Aggressor headquarters; no one could decide to stop CPR because, we were told, they had no protocol for such an event. The crew, exhausted, finally stopped after five hours.

When the incident occurred, the Aggressor captain informed the Philippines Coast Guard, which told him to head back to Puerta Princesa (a 17-hour trip), and a boat would meet them (they don't have helicopters, apparently). After six hours, a fast Coast Guard boat arrived and took Charles's body. We continued to port for a Coast Guard investigation.

After the investigation, six divers, including the first two doctors, were so upset they left the ship to go home. After two days, our trip resumed.

The dive crew did their best, but there were a series of small errors, and I question a dive guide separating from some divers during a checkout dive, especially in such a remote area.

On the last day our dives were in Puerta Princesa, The Aggressor staff wrote a letter for us to submit to travel insurance that there was a medical emergency that tied up the boat for two days. After some arguing with our insurance company, they reimbursed us for two lost days. As for the Philippines Aggressor, it's a well- laid-out ship and the staff was great. It's also part of the Almaroon fleet and known locally as the M.V. Almaroon Intrepid.

- Regina Roberts, Alameda, CA