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Amigos del Mar speaks on accident that resulted in one death

Press Release - 9th October 2012 - Amigos del Mar Ltd. - On October 8th, at about 4:45PM a very unfortunate accident claimed the life of one of our employees. Hector Duran, known to us as Chapin, has been with the Amigos del Mar Dive Shop for the past 20 years and was one of our most experienced and veteran employees.

All the relevant authorities were facilitated to conduct the necessary investigation into the very unfortunate tragedy. The family has expressed that they prefer confidentiality and as such further details will be disclosed only when the family choose to do so.

The incident is very unfortunate and has affected his co-workers and the management of the dive shop since he has been an extended family to this establishment. We continue to offer all the necessary support to the family and staff during their time of bereavement.

Hector will surely be missed not only by his family and staff, but the wider tourism industry on Ambergris Caye, since he has been one of our front line employees. We join the family in mourning and we also reiterate our support to the Duran family.

Explosion kills San Pedrano while refueling dive tank

A veteran diver was killed in a blast at Amigos del Mar in San Pedro on Monday evening. The loud explosion shook the dive shop, and other buildings in the neighborhood. Many immediately set out to help Hector Duran, who has been employed with the company for over twenty years. Duran succumbed to injuries sustained but the cause of the explosion is under investigation. It's an unusual case and News Five's Isani Cayetano takes a look tonight at what could have possibly triggered the blast.

Isani Cayetano, Reporting

A deadly explosion shortly before five o'clock on Monday evening in San Pedro Town has resulted in the death of a seasoned scuba diver. Hector Duran, an employee of Amigos del Mar Dive Shop, was handling a cylinder on the company's pier when the tank suddenly ruptured. The massive blast rock the wooden structure, shooting the vessel into the nearby sea. Lucette Laffoon had just returned an empty tank to the depot a few minutes before the incident.

Lucette Laffoon, Eyewitness

"I heard a huge explosion. I looked into the water and I saw a tank releasing gas into the water and it seemed like there were other pieces of debris from the explosion in the water."

The magnitude of the blast, as well as the escape of pressurized air from the tank disemboweled Duran. Laffoon was among the first respondents to the scene of the explosion.

Lucette Laffoon

"I ran over to the street, Barrier Reef Drive and I said somebody needs help, I said where is the police station. A taxi driver put me in the car, drove me to the police station and I got out of the car. I told the police officer, who was working with another person what was going on. I said somebody needs to help, there's a man that's injured at the tank refilling station. The police officer looked at me, he finished with the woman and then he proceeded to go over to the fire station and I told the fireman that they needed to hurry there was someone injured because of the explosion. So then they got into the fire truck and I got back into the taxi, came over here and stood in front with a group of people. There were a lot of people."

By then a throng had congregated at the pier where an attempt to provide emergency medical assistance to the mortally injured diver was ongoing. Duran would succumb to his injuries moments later.

While an investigation into the accident remains ongoing, a pair of certified technicians at Fabrigas Belize Ltd. has offered expert opinion on what could have caused the explosion. Ezekiel Ayala is the company's plant manager.

Ezekiel Ayala, Plant Manager, Fabrigas Belize Ltd.

"The accident that happened at Amigos del Mar, there could be different scenarios. First of all it could have been [that] the cylinder was overfilled over the surface pressure of the cylinder. It could have also meant that the ruptured disc was not the appropriate one for the cylinder. It could have been that the cylinder was not being filled at the moment and then was opened suddenly, making it a fast fill and therefore overheating the metal beyond its limit."

The technicians confirm that there should be three standard assessments conducted when dealing with a pressurized cylinder, including a visual, as well as a hydrostatic test. It is questionable whether the latter of the two was done since Fabrigas has the only facility in country to conduct the test.

Omar Cima, Maintenance Supervisor

"What I'm doing is hydro testing a scuba cylinder to see if it can withhold the pressure or not. I fill it with water, screw it on and I will put it in the water jacket. Everything is done with water and air. If you notice, the water should go right on top until it's sealed right."

The purpose of the test, according to Cima, is to measure the tank's ability to withstand the pressure, using elasticity as it is being filled, a process that is calculated using a specific formula.

Omar Cima

"You minus the permanent from the total and that gives you the elasticity. Then you will take the permanent, you divide it by the total, you times it by a hundred and that gives you the percentage permanent and then you get your result."

Again, whether these measures were taken during the operation of the spent tank remains questionable. The management of Amigos del Mar, however, have issued a release stating that the company is cooperating in a thorough investigation. Reporting for News Five, I am Isani Cayetano.

Duran is the second casualty of a cylinder explosion. In September 2009, twenty-five year old Elton Herrera, an employee of Brown's Butane Gas Service, was killed when a tank he was filling suddenly exploded.

Channel 5

Let's honor the family's wishes and not second guess what might have happened.
Many lives were affected by this tragedy and armchair second-guessing only makes the pain worse for everybody.

Hector Duran's Funeral

Hundreds of islanders turned out to show support to the Duran family and say a final farewell to Hector "Chapin" Duran. Amongst the mourners were members of the Duran family, the staff of Amigos del Mar, other tour companies from the island, tour guides, diver masters, the students, faculty and staff of San Pedro High School, students of San Pedro Roman Catholic School and his many, many friends.

Duran met an untimely death on Monday September 8th in an accident on Ambergris Caye and was laid to rest at the San Pedro cemetery following funeral services. Duran, who was a tour guide, had a love for the sea and the island that saw him grow into a productive, much-loved citizen of La Isla Bonita. The San Pedro Sun joins Duran's family and friends in mourning the loss of a great friend, father, and loved one.

Photos of the funeral

San Pedro Sun

Exploding cylinder kills Hector Duran

Hector "Chapin" Duran, a veteran tour guide for the past 20 years, died when a scuba tank exploded as he was filling it on the dock of the Amigos Del Mar Dive Shop in San Pedro Town, Ambergris Caye.

The accident occurred around 4:45 Monday afternoon, October 8. The explosion sent a shard of metal into Duran, disemboweling him. He died shortly afterwards.

An eyewitness reported seeing the remains of the tank shoot into the sea nearby, still spewing gas, as the loud explosion rocked the dive shop and other buildings nearby.

The Amigos Del Mar management has issued a press release lamenting the tragedy and announcing that it is cooperating fully with authorities investigating the incident.

Fabrigas Belize Ltd. Plant Manager, Ezekiel Ayala, speculated on what may have happened.

The scuba tank was being filled from a distribution manifold supplied by a compressor. The manifold has a pressure gauge and allows several tanks to be filled at the same time.

But if the pressure gauge is giving a faulty reading, it may have caused Duran to inadvertently overfill the cylinder or exceed the rated pressure.

Ayala cautioned that pressure gauges need to be checked from time to time for accuracy and if necessary, re-calibrated. Some compressors come with an automatic cut-off switch that will turn the compressor off when it reaches the pressure for which it has been set.

The aluminum scuba tank can heat up if it is being filled too quickly. If that is the case, and the heat build-up exceeds 131 degrees Fahrenheit, the cylinder will explode.

A high-pressure aluminum cylinder does not have much elasticity for expansion when heated, so overheating it by filling it too quickly could cause it to rupture.

Routine precautions in the use of scuba tanks also require that the integrity of each cylinder be checked regularly. There is first a visual inspection for any obvious faults.

The cylinder should also be submitted to a hydrostatic test. In such a test it is filled with water, placed in a water jacket, and pressurized to see if it can withstand the pressure for which it is rated.

This also measures the elasticity of the metal tank, an important factor, because the cylinder must expand to a certain degree when it is heated, and it does heat up when filled with compressed air.

Proper practice requires that the cylinder be filled slowly, to avoid overheating.

Without a government authority to monitor the dive industry to ensure compliance with safety regulations and best practice, the dive industry has been left to police itself until now.

"Perhaps this accident will prompt a review of existing regulations, and initiate better monitoring by the relevant authorities in the future", Ayala said.

The Reporter