BSAC Incident Report 2022 released

BSAC has released its annual diving Incident Report for 2022 which examines a total of 182 incidents and six fatalities from across the UK.

A total of 248 incidents are scrutinised (anonymously) when the rest of the world is taken into account.

As part of its role as National Governing Body, BSAC reports annually on diving incidents in the UK from all diver training agencies. The report is compiled by BSAC Incident Advisor, Jim Watson and data analyst, Ben Peddie.

In total, the report analyses 248 incidents reported in the UK and overseas

The Incident Report and its data analysis aims to promote diver safety as well as understanding any trends that can support all the diving agencies in their diver training programmes and safety advice.

The 2022 report covers incidents from 1 January 2022 to 31 December 2022.

During this period, a total of 248 incidents were recorded in the UK and overseas, which sadly included six incidents resulting in six fatalities. Each fatality is a tragic and a sad loss, however this represents the lowest number of diving fatalities in a normal diving year since 1977 and equals the number of fatalities during the first year of the pandemic, when diving activity was severely limited.

From the conclusions of the report:

“Very sadly, this year there were 6 fatalities resulting from 6 diving incidents. This is the lowest number of diving fatalities in a normal diving year since 1977 and equals the number of fatalities during the first year of the pandemic. Whilst this could be interpreted as positive, the stochastic nature of the number of fatalities each year means that it is not possible to say that this is an emerging trend. Any medical incident in water can have a negative outcome when compared with a similar event on land, depending on the circumstances and the opportunity for a timely rescue.”

Other key features of the 2022 report:

• Immersion Pulmonary Oedema (IPO) continues to be an identifiable concern, with both confirmed and possible cases reflected graphically in the report. The data is being updated if medical confirmation is received.
• Illness and Injury was the most reported category of incident, although this may well have included DCI where we have insufficient information to allocate to that category.
• The absence of an early season spike continues, suggesting divers are exercising appropriate preparation for a return to diving activity.

The full BSAC Incident Report 2022 is now available for members and clubs to download. You can access the report at bsac.com/incidentreport

Help BSAC to keep diving safe

If you have been involved in or witnessed an incident, please report it – in confidence – and help BSAC to continue to shape a safe future for diving.

Whether you are a BSAC diver or dive with another agency, a recreational or technical diver or if the incident happened in the UK or overseas, BSAC wants to hear about it.

You can find the form online at bsac.com/reportanincident