Coroner criticises divers in friend’s drowning death
A Wellington man with no formal scuba diving training may not have drowned if his friends had stayed with him when it was decided he should resurface, a coroner says.
Willie Collins, the cousin of former All Black Jerry Collins, drowned while diving for kaimoana with two friends at Sharktooth Point, Lyall Bay, in December 2015, as his wife and youngest child waited in a car on the shoreline.
In findings released yesterday, coroner Tim Scott found the 39-year-old personal trainer’s death was likely to have been prevented if the trio had stuck together.
He said Collins should not have been allowed to ascend to the surface by himself, after discovering his air reserves were low.
Collins’ death marked a harrowing year for his wider family, still coping with the death of his rugby-playing cousin in a car crash in France in June 2015.
Senior Constable Paul Ferguson of the Police National Dive Squad issued a list of safety recommendations as a result of Collins’ death, which were included in the coroner’s findings.
Ferguson concluded Collins had used up all his air, but ‘‘without proper training, failed to recognise this and, therefore, to ditch his weight belt and catch bag which would probably have enabled him to reach the surface’’.
The coroner said there were conflicting opinions on Collins’ level of diving experience but he had not undertaken any formal training and was the least experienced of the trio.
Collins’ diving buddies, Wade Summers and Apakuki (Kuki) Soro, had more than a decade’s experience each when the ill-fated dive took place about 200 metres from shore.
Each tank had been filled with 200 bars of air, which was standard for that size of tank, but Summers told police he did not check Collins’ equipment and was unsure if Soro had either.
Once the dive began, Summers split off from the other two to complete his dive, a decision roundly criticised by the coroner.
‘‘Had [Summers] remained with [Collins] and [Soro], it is possible that the tragedy would not have happened.’’
About 20 minutes into the dive, Collins’ air tank was at the 50-bar level, while Soro had 150 bars.
Soro signalled to Collins that he needed to return to the surface. Collins gave a thumbs-up, which is a diving signal that a diver needed to go up.
‘‘This is where things began to go wrong,’’ Scott said.
Soro watched Collins swim away, the last time he was seen alive.
After Collins failed to resurface, a search began. Soro later discovered his body on the seabed.
Efforts to resuscitate Collins failed and he died at the scene.
"All three should have remained together throughout the dive." Coroner Tim Scott