[GKAM]

Ένα συμπλήρωμα σχετικά με το περιστατικό θανάτου του Hahn :

"Dr Max Hahn was an extremely experienced diver. A rebreather instructor with a long background in technical diving, he was a respected doctor of physics and had played a key role in writing decompression tables that thousands of divers use today. Still active at the age of 70, he was one of the world's most influential divers.

On 11 June, Hahn died while diving the Biggesee, a reservoir near the German town of Olpe, using an Inspiration. He started to ascend while his buddy Juergen Mathias was reeling in his delayed SMB, but for some reason the older man's ascent became faster. Juergen ignored his own decompression demands and followed Hahn up. At the surface, Hahn - his mouthpiece still in place - told Mathias to remove the 3kg weight that was attached to the top of the unit. But his buoyancy was failing and Mathias was faced with the increasingly difficult task of keeping his friend afloat. Hahn's buoyancy was so negative that Mathias had to kick hard to keep him at the surface, until the effort became too much and he passed out, losing Hahn. Mathias was saved by some nearby divers, but Hahn sank to the bottom of the reservoir.

He was found at 42m: his diluent tank was completely empty, his O2 tank had 15 bar left and the O2 valve was virtually closed. There was blood in his throat. When Hahn's body was recovered, the water was emptied out of the Inspiration and it appeared to be functioning properly. It is thought that he may have turned off his O2 valve to save gas during his ascent, but until an inquest has been completed no one will know for sure."

Πηγή: Dive Magazine (Aug. 2000)

/GKAM