Fatality in Fiji
Didn't think I'd be writing again so soon, but it's been an eventful day. Started my morning by beginning my Scuba diving course. Over lunch, there was a commotion on the beach, about 50m from where I sat beside the hostel's pool. Mike, the soon to be Dutch Dive Master, came running up from the beach and told me that there was someone seriously injured on the beach. He then went to get further help from Uri and Dan, the guys who run the Dive School.
I went down to see if I could help in any way, and there met Mike, who I believe was English, and from what I gathered, I think it was his first day in Fiji. His head had a deep gash on it and the other side was swollen. Blood was everywhere. He had further cuts to his chest and someone was holding a towel to his side, which I later learned where holding his intestines in his body. When he was first found, they were lying on the beach.
We got him into Uri's van and then took him to the hospital, trying to hold him steady and calm him. He was lucid during the ride, mostly talking of the pain. It took about 15 min. but we were able to get him to the hospital and transfer him onto a gurney at which point the nurses there took over. One man, Kelly, stayed there while the other five of us returned to the beach. I washed myself and then had a beer and went for a swim with some friends to clear my head. The belief on the beach was that Mike was laying out on the beach and got run over by some locals in a bus who may or may not have been drinking. In any event, a freak accident.
After walking back up from the beach I was informed that Mike died in the hospital. I don't really know what to make of this, a shattering burst of reality on a beautiful day in Fiji. There was nothing any of us could do, or could have done better, but I have to take some solace in the fact that while not one of the people that helped this afternoon, every one was ready to help a perfect stranger. I don't write about this today to alarm anyone or to make any claims that the beaches in Fiji are rather dangerous, just it's something that happened not six hours ago.
Other than that, all is well, I'm getting ready to go for my first open water dive tomorrow, and still trying to sort out what my next week shall entail. I also think that I finally managed to convince Abby and Melissa that I'm not some nut stalker of a travel agent, which on the whole, I'm rather relieved about
I went down to see if I could help in any way, and there met Mike, who I believe was English, and from what I gathered, I think it was his first day in Fiji. His head had a deep gash on it and the other side was swollen. Blood was everywhere. He had further cuts to his chest and someone was holding a towel to his side, which I later learned where holding his intestines in his body. When he was first found, they were lying on the beach.
We got him into Uri's van and then took him to the hospital, trying to hold him steady and calm him. He was lucid during the ride, mostly talking of the pain. It took about 15 min. but we were able to get him to the hospital and transfer him onto a gurney at which point the nurses there took over. One man, Kelly, stayed there while the other five of us returned to the beach. I washed myself and then had a beer and went for a swim with some friends to clear my head. The belief on the beach was that Mike was laying out on the beach and got run over by some locals in a bus who may or may not have been drinking. In any event, a freak accident.
After walking back up from the beach I was informed that Mike died in the hospital. I don't really know what to make of this, a shattering burst of reality on a beautiful day in Fiji. There was nothing any of us could do, or could have done better, but I have to take some solace in the fact that while not one of the people that helped this afternoon, every one was ready to help a perfect stranger. I don't write about this today to alarm anyone or to make any claims that the beaches in Fiji are rather dangerous, just it's something that happened not six hours ago.
Other than that, all is well, I'm getting ready to go for my first open water dive tomorrow, and still trying to sort out what my next week shall entail. I also think that I finally managed to convince Abby and Melissa that I'm not some nut stalker of a travel agent, which on the whole, I'm rather relieved about
posted by Bob Stein at 9:45 PM
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