AIBU to question recovering divers’ bodies

[SP2024]

The case of the divers who have perished underwater is very sad. The company clearly didn’t have the right equipment. Went too deep and couldn’t get back. However I can’t understand why they risked other lives - and someone did die - trying to recover the bodies. Why not leave them to nature like ship wrecks and those who fall overboard from the small boats? It surely cost loads as well. What am I not understanding?

There are literally hundreds of bodies left on Mount Everest. Although periodic attempts are made to recover them, many have been there for decades. Climbers literally pass some of them as they ascend and descend the mountain.

Yep, very different ethos among climbers vs divers though. Climbers are all “lone adventurer, able to self-rescue”, and divers are very team-oriented, stick together, look after each other.

Climbers don’t have buddies who are expected to share their oxygen, bring each other back down the mountain etc. Whereas divers learn to rescue each other on day 1 - you literally can’t get your basic Padi card without doing a simulated lift to the surface with your buddy whilst sharing air.

This.

My life is routinely in my buddy's hands. And hers in mine.

It is OK that you don't get it. But rest assured there would have been an over abundance of volunteers.

Yes, that’s correct. My father is a technical diver with over 15,000 dives around the world including in deep water and caves. He’s been absolutely baffled by the decisions they made, especially with their experience.

Hence why the Italian government is conducting an investigation.

There's a YouTube channel, DiveTalk, that talks about this kind of thing. It's really interesting.
I loved diving when I was younger, the idea terrifies me now!

You have a point.
But you underestimate the depth of skill, knowledge, and a sort of unreal devotion to wanting to help in tragic and rescue situations...there are really talented individuals who step forward to help. Dangerous for them for sure. But it makes the world a slightly better place, undoubtedly.
A cousin of mine was rescued from a deep cave in Ausrian Alps. He was surely deae, but for a group of amazing caving locals who put themselves in danger and saved his life.

The company clearly didn’t have the right equipment. Went too deep and couldn’t get back.

That's not what I've read. From the Independent:

"The group entered a complex underwater cave in Vaavu Atoll at around 50m of depth on the morning of Thursday, a depth well beyond the permitted recreational diving limit of 30m."

I've read that the weather conditions were rough that day; they may have suffered "oxygen toxicity" from the oxygen/nitrogen mix; they may have taken a wrong turn; someone may have panicked...

It seems like they don't know what happened. Bringing them back helps determine how and why they died. And it's the humane thing to do, for them and for their families.

No, her DH probably would not. But that is not the issue. The family cannot have a funeral for a DD. Every effort possible is made to recover bodies so that they can have a proper funeral. It's important and part of grief. Also, without a body there is the nagging worry/hope that death may not have occurred.

I imagine that it’s, at least in part, to try to establish what happened. They may learn something that could have implications for other divers, and there may be legal liability for what went wrong, and evidence needed.

It’s a bit like when there’s an aeroplane crash and investigators have to recover and examine what remains of the plane in order to establish what went wrong.

There are some good points about working out what happened, I hadn’t really thought of it that way. Also good to know the community is so strong and helping each other. I still wonder who paid for their flights, equipment etc. ?

i agree with you. A diver lost his life in the rescue mission.
Search and rescue shouldn’t have risked it.
Rescue missions that risk the lives of the crew should be exclusively used for live missions.
I would feel the same if it was me or my child down in the underwater cave.

I don’t think anyone is suggesting we routinely just leave bodies. It’s only in cases where locating and moving the body would present such danger to others that this may be the most pragmatic choice. It’s awful for the families of course but broadly speaking I do agree with the OP.

They do it to recover the bodies for burial to give family closure and also as part of the investigation into the cause of death to learn and to prevent reoccurrence. Despite your assertion in your OP no one knew exactly where they were or how or why they died. “The company clearly didn’t have the right equipment” is your ignorance talking and not true. No one is forced to go after them it’s voluntary.

@Tigerbalmshark

That is very interesting to read. I’ve learned something there. I’ve wondered a little since this diving accident why there seems to be such a difference between climbers and divers and now I know.

The Finnish team volunteered to do it but it was not an overly difficult recovery with the right skills and equipment and planning.

They will always attempt to recover bodies in shipwrecks etc if it is possible. The MV St Thomas Aquinas ferry disaster in the Phillipines. Teams of divers worked under very difficult conditions to recover the bodies of the victims, many of them children. There are videos of the recovery dives on YouTube, it’s a hard watch. I’m sure their families were supremely grateful.

I’m struggling to comprehend your focus on money here, you’re repeatedly asking.

if it was your child or spouse would you leave them down there, or would you want to give them a proper send off and understand what happened.

try to have some empathy and not focus on money.

I don’t really agree with you, they were dead the minute they decided to enter that cave. Even if they’d not gotten lost in the dead end (this is the prevailing current theory) they would have run out of air before they could make it out and back to the surface.

I don’t think it’s unreasonable to wonder who funds this sort of rescue operation.

I read that they left in such a hurry they had to stop at a supermarket to buy shorts.

They were all experienced divers who were highly educated. I’m sure they would have known how to check the equipment.
An investigation is crucial, to avoid further death but I don’t feel a body recovery mission is worth risking lives for under dangerous circumstances.
It’s not about money, it’s the secondary tragedy, a rescuer died trying to recover them.
If it was me, I’d rather be left there, in a place that I loved.

I do wonder if it is because recreational diving originated from WW2 Italian navy “frogmen” - there’s the whole armed forces “no man left behind” brothers-in-arms stuff. You wouldn’t be a very effective marine commando squad if you dumped your team-mates at the first sign of trouble! And then that has carried over into recreational diving.

But did anyone know they had even gone into the cave until they recovered the bodies?

Up until the bodies were found, presumably they had just failed to return, and could have been anywhere? (Including surfaced away from the boat alive but lost)

I'm so sorry for your loss.

I admire your determination to do something so constructive.

I don't think it is something that rescue divers are forced into. It's something they do as part of their job, and as part of being a community, and maybe also what they would like to happen if an accident befell them. They are aware of the risks they undertake and the choice is their own.

I assume someone knew that was their plan. Either a member of the boat crew or the 6th diver who pulled out at the last minute.