Divers in the northwest have been put on high alert by the Health and Safety Executive and urged to return unused gas after 12 pupils at Manchester Grammar School were taken ill after a scuba diving session on Monday, with contaminated breathing gas from Stockport dive centre Aqualogistics being the suspected culprit.
The police are investigating the incident, which saw all the pupils being taken to hospital for treatment, with 11 being discharged and one 14-year-old – who had been given oxygen by the school nurse – remaining under observation in a stable condition.
The HSE, which is supporting the efforts of the police, has stated ‘we would ask any person who has recently had a diving cylinder filled by Aqualogistics in Stockport not to breathe the gas.' The Aqualogistics website is flagging this caution as well – ‘Air Fill Recall – If you have any unused gas fills (Air, Nitrox or Trimix) from Aqualogistics, please do not use them and please return them to us for checking'.
