A 27-year-old man has been killed by a scuba tank which exploded while he was filling it at a dive centre in Pointe-aux-Piments, Mauritius.
Local news reports describe the scene at Pointe-aux-Piments’ Hotel Meridien as ‘chaotic’ after the explosion, which occurred at around 9.25 am local time.
The man has been identified as Brian Dorine, a diver and assistant with Blue World Explorer dive centre.
Details of the incident are scarce, other than Dorine was operating the compressor when the blast occurred. Emergency responders who arrived at the scene determined that the force of the blast was so severe that Dorine would have been killed instantly when the tank exploded.
Sudden failure of a scuba tank is rare, however, stress fractures caused by misuse, poor servicing and repeated overfilling can impact the structural integrity of the tank’s metal walls.
A properly maintained tank valve contains a ‘burst disc’ which is designed to break should a tank fill exceed its maximum safe pressure to prevent catastrophic failure.
An investigation into the incident has been launched to determine the cause of the blast.
