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Diver died because her suit was too big
Last updated at 10:22am on 12.01.07
Carrina Beer: She loved diving
Second skin: Suits should be snug and let little water in
A petite student nurse drowned in a diving accident because the dry suit she was wearing was too large for her.
Carrina Beer was 5ft 4in and weighed 8st, but she used a man's suit as she found it more comfortable.
However, the 23-year-old lost consciousness when her suit filled up with cold water, causing her temperature to plummet.
Miss Beer, who was in her second year at King's College London, was diving off the coast of Brixham in Devon with the college's sub aqua society when tragedy struck in March last year.
An inquest heard that although a qualified diver, she was relatively inexperienced in cold waters.
On the day she died, the water temperature was only 7c.
Miss Beer's father Robert, 59, told South Devon Coroner's Court: "Her main concern was that she hadn't been in the sea for a year and the previous time she dived she was very traumatised afterwards by the cold.
"I was very worried about her going in for a dive but she was determined to go because that is the kind of person she was, she didn't want to let her dive group down."
The alarm was raised after her "dive buddy" Gemma Clarke spotted that Miss Beer did not have her breathing apparatus in her mouth.
Miss Clarke said: "I didn't see her panicking or doing anything."
Two divers tried to put an air regulator into her mouth but Miss Beer did not respond.
Diving safety specialist Nicholas Bailey inspected Miss Beer's equipment and found no fault.
However, he discovered that her 7mm thick semi-dry suit was far too big and let in freezing water.
He said: "Carrina was a slim girl and the suit would have been a very loose fit on her, which means it would have a very poor thermal retention. All suits are designed to be a snug fit and to allow just a little water in, but this suit would have allowed cold water to come rushing through, chilling the diver much more than it was meant to.
"This was not suitable for conditions where the temperatures had dropped to between 7c and 9c."
Miss Beer's mother, Helen Coles-Beer, a lecturer in Hebrew Studies at University College London, said her daughter had been unwell a few weeks before the trip and was concerned she was not well enough to go diving.
Consultant pathologist Lyndsae Wheen, who carried out a post-mortem examination, said cold people had slower reactions.
"The cold was probably a contributing factor in whatever it was that caused the incident that led to the drowning," she added.
South Devon coroner Ian Arrow recorded an accidental death verdict and said Miss Beer, from Oxford, had drowned.
He said it was clear her dry suit was not as snug as it could have been.
"Unfortunately I cannot be certain what happened but it appears Carrina stopped using the regulator or breathing apparatus," he said.
"I note the concerns about her death and I hope we can bring this to the public at large so that maybe some good can come out of this tragic occurrence."
After the inquest Miss Beer's father said: "She was just a beautiful girl. She was always in a good mood and always full of joy.
"Her great delight in life was sub aqua diving. She died doing what she wanted to do."
Reader views (2)
This is indeed a tragic accident.
The article seems to flit between Carrina having worn a semi-dry and a dry suit but from the comments made by the diving safety specialist and the pathologist, it would appear that she was in a semi-dry suit.
The distinction is important - a dry suit may flood through the seals if these are loose, but a diver would usually have time to make an emergency ascent. A semi-dry suit is a type of wetsuit and something of a misnomer, whilst a perfectly-fitting one can keep a diver's chest dry, this is unusual. The loss of thermal heat by the diver would be gradual to the point where the diver would slowly drift out of conciousness.
It is much better to wear something that is uncomfortable out of the water than risk injury or death. Once in the water, the suit will tend not to be so uncomfortable. A degree of blame must surely rest with those who let Carrina dive in such equipment, but ultimately, blame will not bring her back.
Let's hope anyone reading this realises the importance of equipment checks.
- David, Narborough, 10/07/2010 13:58
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As a PADI Divemaster I can only add that divers who are unused to diving in conditions that they are not througly trained to do so should NOT dive in those conditions.
PADI offers a full training programme for Drysuit diving which properly prepares divers in the use of such equipment - which is significantly different to diving in a wetsuit. Diving without specialist training opens up the possiblilty of diving by "chance" and the chance of accident is massively increased.
This is a tragic accident that could have been completely prevented.
- Karl, London, 12/01/2007 11:58
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