A diver harvesting sea urchins off the coast of British Columbia died as result of breathing air contaminated with carbon monoxide. Two divers were using scuba gear in about 40 feet (12 m) of water; their air tanks were refilled by the divers' tender aboard the fishing vessel. One diver resurfaced shortly after starting his third tank because he thought he was having a heart attack. When breathing fresh air made him feel better, he realised that the air in his tanks must have been contaminated. A search was carried out for the second diver who was found a few minutes later, unconscious on the ocean floor. He could not be revived.

On the day of the accident, the unsecured compressor on the vessel's deck had shifted, and the exhaust pipe melted a hole in the plastic air intake hose. High levels of carbon monoxide from the exhaust of the compressor's petrol engine contaminated the air used to refill the dive tanks.

Workers' Compensation Board of British Columbia