A little cryptic title for my long-overdue first post in 2013, but I’ll quickly explain. Having a wisdom tooth removed is not an experience I would wish on many people, yet is something I had to go through this past week. A couple of weeks ago I got a pain at the back of my [...]
Dive Instructor Killed in Okinawa by Stonefish Sting
Sad news to report in this update, from the hot and humid shores of Okinawa. On Thursday a 58-year old Okinawan dive instructor was killed in the north of the island after being stung by a stonefish. This marks the first death in Okinawa from a stonefish in over 27 years and any death in the diving community affects people and their thinking. The cause of death sounds like it was just a case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. The man was giving students a lesson in shallow water on the morning of Thursday August 7th. He was standing barefoot in the water when he felt a sudden pain in his foot. Unconsciousness quickly followed and 90 minutes later he had passed away.
Whether he has other medical issues is a case for the coroner to determine. Stonefish stings are always serious, but not so often life-threatening. Now sometimes I’d be critical of people for touching the marine life, but in this case I’ve nothing but sympathy for the guy’s family as it’s most likely a freak accident. Even if you’re looking carefully where you’re putting your hands and feet while in the water, stonefish are hard to spot. My regular dive buddy is damn good at seeing these things, and I’m sure I just swim by plenty of them without noticing them. Just take a look in the photo below.
So once again, a sad day for all involved in the diving community here in Okinawa. It’s times like these you realise that the environment under the waves isn’t all Nemo and mermaids.
Tags: death, Diving, featured, japanese news, stonefish
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5 Responses to “Dive Instructor Killed in Okinawa by Stonefish Sting”
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August 8th, 2010 at 16:10
Sorry to hear of that unfortunate accident. That stone fish is very camouflaged. Good-job your dive partner is good at spotting them.
August 28th, 2010 at 10:57
Hi Dave,
Read about this somewhere else, very unfortunate and cna be filed under ‘freak accidents’, although that won’t help the poor diver in question.
Are you sure that picture is a stone fish, looks a lot like a scorpion fish to me. Stonefish are bigger and believe it or not, a lot more uglier.
August 28th, 2010 at 11:03
Hey Camille. Thanks for the comment. You could be right about the scorpionfish. I just classify them all under the “don’t-touch-under-any-circumstance-fish”!
August 28th, 2010 at 11:44
Hi Dave,
That’s a very classifier! Scorpion fish are painful but not very likely deadly, stone fish can be deadly under the wrong circumstances, as the sample shows!