As IMCA informs, a diver had a major injury to his finger that could cause possible infection if he had not been decompressed. While the dive team was attempting to close a bell door, the door moved and pinched him causing a deep cut to his finger.
The incident
At the end of the dive, when both divers had been recovered to the bell and were preparing for return to surface, one of them suffered an injury when his finger got caught between the top of the bell door and the retaining latch. The dive team were attempting to close the bell door, but the racked umbilical was stopping the door from fully closing.
One of the divers placed his hand on top of the door and leaned onto it to steady himself as he tried to reposition the umbilical. At that moment, the door moved back slightly, pinching his finger between the top of the door and the retaining latch. He suffered a deep cut to his finger which lead to him being decompressed from the system as a precaution against possible infection.
Probable cause
The investigation for this incident highlighted a number of contributory factors:
- Incorrectly stored umbilical interfering with the closing of the bell door
- Lack of awareness/perception of risk
- Lack of hazard markings on the pinch point location
Lessons learned
- Work areas should be checked thoroughly for potential pinch points, and where these cannot be removed, ensure that they are physically highlighted and identified in task risk assessments, and communicated to all personnel during toolbox talks.
- There was a review of equipment stowage in the bell, which resulted in the repositioning of the bell scrubber, improved stowage of rebreather and repositioning of divers’ seats within the bell.
