Alaska gold dredger fatality

[Jason in Enid]

Seattle diver dies in Alaska waters, dredging Bering Sea gold near Nome | Alaska Dispatch

A 39-year-old diver from Seattle died while working on a gold dredge Tuesday off the coast of Nome, said the U.S. Coast Guard.
Alaska State Troopers identified the diver as Sean Beals. Troopers said Beals was operating off of the dredge Argo, a 50-foot-landing craft.
An Argo crew member monitoring the dive Tuesday saw Beals' body floating face down in the water around 10:30 p.m., troopers said. The crew member alerted another crew and tried to save Beals. He was unresponsive, said Megan Peters, troopers spokeswoman.
Beals was taken to Norton Sound Medical Center in Nome, where he was pronounced dead, troopers said.
Peters said Beals’ body is being sent to the State Medical Examiner’s Office.
“We have to have the autopsy,” she said. “We don’t know if he maybe had a medical emergency or an equipment malfunction,” she said.
Troopers do not suspect foul play.
The Argo is one of many dredging boats working Nome waters in an offshore gold rush prompted by high commodities prices and strengthened by the Discovery Channel reality series "Bering Sea Gold" that documents some of the dredge crews.

 

[Hoser John]

RIP-----toooooooooooooooooooooooo young but dredging ain't no picnic nowheres'-John

 

[gold hound]

Hopefully he's walking on streets made of gold.

 

[russau]

R.I.P Mr. Beals !

 

[GarretDiggingAz]

He died doing what he loved. Can't ask for more than that. RIP.

 

[2cmorau]

thanks for the post
peace to you young man
man i wish the reports on this would be complete, or a follow up, was it CO, exhaustion, rock hit on the head, what size dredge, Tender under the influence, boat load of questions

 

[Prospector70]

RIP young prospector...

Let's be careful out there people, keep your head up and on a swivvel, be safe!

Love,
P70

 

[Tnmountains]

Sad for sure. But people are killed every day doing their jobs or what they love. It is just not as popular or in the lime light like the Bering Sea. I enjoy watching those guys. Reminds of the risk we took in younger years. Thanks for the sad update!

 

[AK_Au_Diver]

was it CO, exhaustion, rock hit on the head, what size dredge, Tender under the influence, boat load of questions

Argo is a 10" dredge. I doubt it was a rock on the head. I have not heard the results of the autopsy. The last two fatalities were both much older men, each was a new dredger with fewer than 5 hours of ocean dredging, and had medical emergencies underwater, perhaps caused or exacerbated by the stress of dredging while out of shape. I doubt that was the case here. Sounds like an experienced dredger that had an accident.

All I've heard is another dredger reported "it could have happened to anyone" but that was just his analysis, I did not hear what that was based on.

The Argo is the same dredge that burnt up after refueling in the harbor last year. I didn't know it was back in the water, looks like they rebuilt it. The scorch marks are still on the aluminum deck.