200 harmed by diving

200 harmed by diving

PALU, Central Sulawesi: At least 200 divers operating without
standard diving equipment in the waters of the Togean islands
have either died or become incapacitated over the last seven
years.

Antara reported Tuesday that the Toloka and the World Wide
Fund for Nature (WWF) said the divers, who work up to dozens of
meters underwater for 50 minutes, used hoses linked to
compressors as breathing apparatus.

A WWF researcher, identified as Liza, said researchers
surveyed 60 villages in the Togean islands such as Kabalutan,
Panabali, Kulingkinari, Wakai and Siatu.

The divers mostly fish for hump-head wrasse (locally known as
ikan napoleon or cheilinus undulatus), she said, and only used
compressors to assist breathing, such as those available in
motorcar workshops.

"Those compressors are far from suitable for diving use," Liza
said. The risks of using such equipment were either death or
incapacitation, she added.

"The victims were aged between 18 and 35 years old," she said.
The report did not mention the research methods or how long
research was conducted.

Harley, the provincial deputy of the program section of the
Indonesian Forum for Environment (Walhi) cited rules of the
Professional Association of Dive Instructors, an international
body providing safety guidelines.

The association rules state that those diving up to 30 meters
should only be underwater for 20 minutes, Harley said.

He added that danger could be avoided if entrepreneurs of sea
produce on the islands provided basic training and equipment for
divers.

He further said that related agencies should punish
entrepreneurs profiting from sea produce in the area if they
neglected to their protect divers. The provincial Walhi office
has listed 12 entrepreneurs which only provide compressors for
their divers.