Deceased
Karen Yoke Ming Lee
Demographics
42y, female
Date of death
2012-07-07
Finding date
2015-01-05
Cause of death
Drowning
AI-generated summary
Karen Lee, a 42-year-old recreational scuba diver with 55 dives experience, drowned during a dive to the SS Coogee wreck in Port Phillip Bay. She demonstrated poor buoyancy control during her first dive and had difficulty managing her ascent during the second dive. She exceeded the planned 30-meter depth limit, and her buddy lost sight of her at 11 meters during ascent. The coroner found she likely ran out of air either at depth or during ascent, and failed to jettison her weight belt—basic protocol that could have assisted her survival. Contributing factors included inadequate buoyancy control proficiency despite formal certification, non-use of available shot lines and surface marker buoys, and a dive cylinder two months overdue for hydrostatic testing (though unlikely causative). The case highlights gaps in post-qualification competency testing for divers.
AI-generated summary and tagging — may contain inaccuracies; refer to original finding for legal purposes.
Error types
58y · Male·drowning
A 58-year-old man died by drowning while hookah diving off the Tasmanian coast. He was using second-hand equipment purchased online that had multiple safety deficiencies: inadequate filtration allowing contaminants and r…
57y · Male·cerebral arterial gas embolism (CAGE)
A 57-year-old experienced commercial diver died from cerebral arterial gas embolism (CAGE) while recreational hookah diving near St Helens Island, Tasmania on 24 December 2021. His diving equipment had multiple critical …
41y · Female·salt water drowning
Ms Ardebby Chua, a 41-year-old woman with no snorkelling experience, died from salt water drowning during a guided snorkelling tour near Blyth Island, South Australia. She aspirated water triggering laryngospasm and beca…
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