Asia Dive News : Asian diving fishermen suffer for their living

They may have moved on from hosepipe air supply to proper scuba gear, but diving fishermen in South-East Asia still suffer decompression illness, having missed out on dive theory training.

According to a recent report by Vietnam News, many fishermen in the country's central Quang Ngai Province now use wetsuits and modern scuba sets to dive to between 40m and 60m, staying at depth for up to an hour.

Cases of DCI have a "traditional cure", in which the casualty dives again before re-ascending and being taken to hospital. In one village with about 400 diving fishermen, those who have died are reported to number six, with another 13 having suffered injury.

Source: VN