So sad but it's not just Mexico and it's not just due to poor equipment. Breathing compressed air (gases) underwater has inherent dangers.
From the TAMPA TRIBUNE
It's easy to see the allure of hookah diving. Unlike scuba, there are no heavy tanks or expensive dive vests to buy or rent, and divers can stay underwater for hours.
There also are no training requirements.
Anyone with access to a hookah rig - the equipment gets its name from the multiple hoses that run from the compressor - can immediately start diving, regardless of whether they have any experience or training on how to deal with the dangers inherent to diving.
Those dangers came to the forefront this month for three Tampa Bay area people who died hunting lobsters in the Keys. Two were using a hookah diving rig, which uses a compressor floating on the surface in an inner tube to pump air through hoses.
Brent Teal of Tampa used a hookah rig since the 1980s on family outings to dive for lobster and never ran into problems.
But his father, a certified diver, taught him the ropes early. He understands how inexperience can lead to trouble and panic in an emergency.
"If you do lobster diving, but don't do any other diving during the year, you can panic," said Teal, 40.
His family took precautions during dives, he said. They always had the boat running in case of trouble and tried to time their dives for slack tide. New divers were paired with more experienced divers.
Anyone diving, whether with a scuba tank or hookah rig, needs to learn about the potential hazards, he said.
"Before you jump into anything that has some danger, you should do some reading. Ninety-nine percent of the time, nothing happens. But if there's a problem, it can be really bad," Teal said.
Little known outside the diving community, the rigs have become increasingly popular, especially during lobster season in the Keys, where the water is relatively shallow and divers can boost their catch the longer they stay submerged.
Experts say the rigs are safe - no more hazardous than scuba gear - but can allow people with little experience or training to dive. One big difference, though, between the hookah rigs and scuba diving is no certification or classes are needed.
Diving with a hookah carries the same risks as scuba diving, such as getting an air embolism or decompression sickness, said Randy Shaw, training manager for the National Association of Underwater Instructors, which certifies scuba divers.
An air embolism happens when a diver rises to the surface without exhaling and air expands in the lungs. It can be fatal, and it doesn't matter if the air came from a scuba tank or hookah rig.
"You don't just throw the inner tube in the water and start diving," Shaw said.
The lack of any requirement for training and certification means inexperienced divers can get into trouble they're not prepared to handle, though companies selling the devices strongly recommend buyers get training.
Capt. Mike Miller, owner of Tanks-A-Lot Dive Charters in Clearwater, started using a hookah rig when they first came out in the 1960s and he was 10 years old. He had no training or certification, but logged hundreds of hours breathing underwater with the rig.
Miller said the lack of training can lead to three problems besides the danger of an embolism.
Untrained divers don't know the proper amount of weight needed to keep them neutrally buoyant. Also, hookah divers may not have a buoyancy device that can keep them afloat on the surface if they get into trouble. The devices are generally part of the harness that holds a scuba tank.
And divers may not know how to clear water from their mask or regulator while submerged. That is covered extensively in scuba classes, Miller said.
Lobster season draws thousands of divers to the Keys, especially in its early days when divers haven't plucked most of the lobsters from the water.
About 10 to 15 divers die each season, Monroe County sheriff's spokeswoman Becky Herrin said.
Louann Greene, 33, of St. Petersburg was diving for lobster a week ago near Big Pine Key with a hookah rig when she ran into trouble. Searchers have not found her.
Brian Harlin, 25, of Brandon was diving for lobster on the first day of the season when he drowned.
Monroe County sheriff's deputies said Harlin was diving in the Indian Key Channel with his family about 8 a.m. Aug. 6. He was in the water with his father. They were using a hookah rig when an air hose dislodged during the dive.
Both men made it to the surface, but as the boat approached to pick them up, Harlin began to struggle in a strong current and slipped underwater. When he was pulled aboard the vessel, relatives tried to revive him, but couldn't.
