DAN was there for Me..... Close encounters of the shark kind

Internationally, DAN has many members who enjoy a combination of water sport activities. With so many activities taking place in the water, encounters with hazardous marine life are bound to happen.

During 2009 Mark Barker a DAN member that had a very close encounter with a shark in Mozambique. Mark enjoys spearfishing and planned a trip to Vilanculos in Mozambique with a group of experienced spearfishing dive buddies.

Mark and his team are meticulous when it comes to dive safety and therefore, their preparation before and during a spearfishing dive trip is planned to the very last detail in case of an emergency. Before departing on any dive trip, Mark informs the DAN office of the dive
trip and when visiting remote locations, he submits an emergency assistance plan to the DAN office. These simple considerations help DAN improve emergency assistance when needed, especially when diving in remote locations. Each morning before their diving starts, they leave a dive plan with the lodge. This helps the lodge track their clients out at sea and also helps identify boat launching times during the day.

It was the third morning of their stay at Villa Mar near Vilanculos, the time was about 06:45 and the conditions perfect. All the divers were excited and ready for a long day out at sea.
Before entering the water, they circled around for awhile and soon found a pinnacle at 15 m. They moved up current and found a steep drop-off to 30 m with loads of fish activity. They decided that the first drift should be approximately 200 m from the pinnacle, just enough
time to get settled before reaching the upwelling.

As is the usual case, Mark was the first diver ready to get into the water. His float line uncoiled and he loaded his spear gun, accidentally dropping the flasher to about 12 m. At that stage, it was important for Mark to relax and breathe, which improved his awareness of the other divers and the underwater environment.

As he drifted on the surface, he spotted the usual reef fish – this meant that it was time to get going. While he descended, the ocean suddenly cleared and revealed a decent-sized kakaap. He took aim and landed the fish and found that the fish attached to the spear.
Great shot, he thought to himself as he let go of the spear gun and ascended to the surface. With the float line running through his fingers, he noticed a large Zambezi shark in the area.

On reaching the surface, Mark immediately called Rob for assistance. It is not unusual for spear fishermen to see sharks while diving but it is not as frequent as in the past. Mark was not keen to lose his catch to the shark and started pulling up the speared fish as fast as possible. Finning vigorously on the surface to stay afloat, he kept a lookout for the shark which had moved out of sight. Looking down again, he noticed the shark directly below him, swimming towards the speared fish. The shark, now about 15 m away, turned around, swam past the speared fish and started in the direction of Mark’s fins. Before he knew it, the shark was well within his personal space, and with its mouth open, bumped into his legs.

All that was left to do was curl up into a ball, forcing his body to pull his legs out of the shark’s way and hope for the best. The shark bit down and got hold of Mark’s left foot. He was then shaken around violently. Suddenly, the shark let go and swam away. There was no doubt about it, Mark knew that he was in trouble as the boat approached to assist him. As he swam closer to the boat, his foot was not reacting and he was worried.

Filled with adrenalin, he climbed into the boat and pulled off his badly-damaged fin and booty. A gaping wound was exposed on the top of his foot. Thankfully, his experienced dive buddies were able to control the situation and calmly started initiating their emergency plan. With their first aid training and experience, they managed to control the bleeding. Mark’s spearfishing gear was also recovered, and included the speared fish. After securing the gear on board the boat, the long ride home began. Mark recalls this being the worst hour and a half he had ever endured.

As the boat beached back at the lodge, Mark was carried to shore. Fortunately, the lodge manageress was a qualified nurse who was able to attend to his wounded foot. It was clear that Mark needed proper medical treatment as soon as possible, however, the Vilanculos hospital was closed for the day due to the election campaigning taking place at that stage. Suddenly, Mark remembered that he was a DAN member and asked his wife to phone the DAN hotline for assistance. DAN was able to respond immediately and sent a fixed-wing aircraft to evacuate him back to South Africa. During the painful wait 1 , the lodge manageress cleaned and dressed the wound, and they then reflected on the day’s events.

What Mark and his fellow divers learnt

•  Having prepared an emergency assistance plan helped themmanage the situation with a clear head and prevented them from panicking, even though they were under a great deal of stress.
• Informing DAN and the lodge of their plans before their dive trip certainly played a major role in the assistance of the divers. After informing the DAN hotline, they were prompted to activate the roaming function on their mobile phones. This proved to be very useful advice.
• They realised the value of completing a first aid and CPR course. Without this training, who knows what would have happened. Mark was amazed at the effectiveness of the basic first aid training they received. He has vouched to keep this training up-to-date as it has proven to be invaluable.
•  Having functional and well-serviced equipment is very important. The lodge boat used was in good working conditions and Mark recalls it having a DAN Diving Safety Partners decal on the console - the mark of safety excellence! The experienced skipper knew exactly what to do. He used the two-way radio on board the vessel to contact the lodge and informed them of the emergency and asked the lodge to inform the medical services of the injured diver. Mark was impressed when the skipper opened a DAN oxygen unit and offered him oxygen after he had been stabilised.
• After the unfortunate event, they realised the importance of contacting the DAN hotline as early as possible during an emergency.

Fortunately for Mark, the DAN hotline was contacted just after 9:00, whereafter the fixed-wing aircraft arrived at 13:30 2 . He arrived at the casualty section of hospital at 17:30 and was immediately prepared for theatre. He needed one and a half hours of reconstructive microsurgery to reconnect the tendons.

Lastly, they realised the importance of having an active DAN membership. Fortunately, this story has a happy ending. Mark was kept in hospital for a few days after receiving further surgery to remove dead tissue. After he was released from the hospital, the doctor was confident that Mark would fully recover with minor loss of feeling on the top of his toes.

Thanks to good planning, the divers were able to contact DAN and get the support needed to set the ball in motion. “DAN was there for me and arranged the rescue team immediately,” Mark said. The idea of not being able to contact DAN, or worse, not having someone like
DAN to help in a dive emergency like Mark’s, is unthinkable. Important points to remember when diving when diving in remote locations:

• Call the DAN hotline as soon as possible.
• Ask the tour operator about the area where you will be divingand travelling and be prepared remote locations can prove difficult and challenging when it comes to arranging evacuations and medical care.
• Make sure your DAN membership and medical aid are active and notify both if you intend to travel. 
• Let the resort and your dive buddies or travel companions know that you are a DAN member and give them the numbers to call in an emergency. 
• Have your cell phone roaming activated or make sure there is a phone you can use to call in an emergency.
• Follow the advice and recommendations of the DAN hotline: they are trained professionals and are there to make sure you get the best possible care.