Diver in the bell hit by falling object

What happened?

A diver in the diving bell was hit and slightly injured by a water bottle containing a gallon of water (4.5kg). Diver #1 left the bell and was handing over to the next bellman. In the bell the remaining divers were organizing their gear before departing the bell. They were moving a partially frozen one gallon water bottles when a handle on a water bottle broke and the bottle fell into the transfer lock striking the diver #1 on left side of his head and then onto his shoulder.

The diver received medical attention; he had an abrasion on his head and a red mark on his shoulder. He was able to continue the Sat run reporting only minor soreness over two days, eventually back to normal.

What went wrong?

The handle of the frozen water bottle broke and fell on the diver standing at the bottom of the transfer lock.

What was the cause?

The bell temperature was elevated due to shallow water diving and the bell being well insulated. Divers were bringing in frozen bottles of water to help lower the internal temperature.

Lessons learned and action:

• Our member noted the following:
• Deviation from procedure, no matter how minimal has the potential to trigger an event leading to accident;
• No risk assessment was completed for this change in operation;
• A “Hazard Hunt” was initiated – focusing on routine tasks;
• Arrangements were started for installing a diving bell chiller to regulate higher temperatures;
• Updated a Management of Change process and risk assessment for continued use of frozen bottles as a short-term solution, focusing specifically on proper securement and material handling to prevent dropped objects.

Members may wish to refer to the following, all relating to issues inside the bell:

• Failure of dive chamber overhead door centre pin
• Finger injury: diver caught finger in bell door
• Bell re-claim failure resulting in minor injury