Today a man from one of the cruise ships drowned. Apparently he and his wife swam out to the raft, he dove off the raft and didn't come up. By the time they got him out of the water he appeared to have passed away. The beach guys and other people did CPR for about 25- 30 minutes until the ambulance arrived from La Savanne. He may have had a heart attack. They had a defibulator and they worked on him for quite a while. Unfortunately he passed away.
The couple may have been Middle Eastern as the wife was calling out what someone said was Middle Eastern sounding.
The poor wife of course was broken hearted.
So very, very sad.

Wow. How sad.. So sorry to hear that.

Very sad indeed. One never knows what a day will bring! The wife must have been in absolute shock.

Very sad indeed, very rough for the Wife .

Qu'il repose en paix.

Very sad.... I have now known many people that have passed. I remember Ted who was a guest at Club O. He died on the beach under the sea grape tree. So sad... really! it is a shock. Enjoy everyday because it might be your last!

I have no idea what training or license is required to use a defibrillator, but I have to wonder, if one was onsite--at reception, or at the Perch or Papagayo, would this man be alive? What are the lawsuit risks of using one on a person in a life-threatening position? A quick check says a kit is between $700-900. We were on a cruise ship and when a lady asked if there was one onboard for her mother she was told no. She was shocked and not happy.

someone also died at Tintemarre today

All that is needed in Canada is 1st Aid course which has defibrillator as part of the program. It is so easy to use with the instructions given to you as soon as you turn it on. We have them in every one of our city facilities along with them on our fire rescue trucks. I'm trained to use one myself and would love to see them at each beach location on the island. My husband 2 years ago performed CPR on a gentleman at mullet bay beach who was also visiting off a cruise ship. The beach folks dragged the poor man out of the water thinking he had drowned when in fact it was a heartattack. My husband a full time firefighter worked on him for over 30 min before ambulance arrived. Unfortunately the victim did not survive but my husband believes a defibrillator would have given him way more of a chance of survival along with a quicker response from the paramedics. Overall the wife of the victim was very thankful for my husbands attempt at trying to safe him and the cruise captain did take very good care of the wife and her family after the incident. So sad to hear of situations like these. God Bless the families who have lost there loved one.

Wow, what a tragic day....

There is a small compact machine that is called an "AED" which stands for "Auto External Defibrillator". Sells for about $1200.00, and all first responders in my area are trained to use them. You will see them at most public places (malls, etc), and are mounted in a glass type enclosure on the wall.
The machine will give audible instructions when you open it, and tell you exactly what to do, such as, bare the chest, place pad A on upper chest area, and pad B on lower chest area, etc. Then the machine actually takes a reading on the victim and if no pulse is detected, it will tell you to "push the activation button, and stay clear of the victim". It will then "shock" the victim, but only if no pulse is detected. The machine will tell you when to shock again, or continue CPR.
I notice more and more of them at local stores (Wal-Mart),and the staff of the stores are trained (for the most part) on how to use the machine.
Some of the Supervisors that work the road at my Sheriff's Office carry them in their units.
Depending on the time the victim at Club O was submerged, it might not have worked, but it is always worth a chance to try. I have never seen one of the AED machines anywhere on a Cruise Ship, nor anywhere at Club O when we stayed there.
Maybe they are just in the US.

Once they construct a Lifeguard Station at Orient Beach, then hire a Lifeguard, then maybe they will buy an AED for the Lifeguard Station. Until then, I wouldn't hold my breath.

And when is the last time you have seen a fire extinguisher anywhere on the island? Not something that seems important here?

Thanks for the explanation. So for under $1k, a unit could be ''on call'' at the resort. A five minute ride by golf cart, if not closer. The price of 2 flat-screen TVs.

Not to be negative, but unless you are going to personally donate the AED, it's not going to happen in the foreseeable future.

Sad indeed. I think the title of thread should be "drowning today on orient "as opposed to "terrible happenings at club o". The body of post could indicate that it happened in the water in front of club o.f

There is an AED at Club O just saw it the other day. I think it is near the shower outside Papagyo. Will try to confirm today.

There are, in fact AEDs at Club Orient. Well there were last year. I will be there in a few days but maybe someone who is there now could confirm their presence.
As to the OP's choice of title for the post, I'm sure Club O would have preferred a different one as this terrible tragedy really didnt happen at Club O but apparently in the waters in front of the resort. Haven't been able to find any media reports on this so far.

I was incharge of setting up an AED program for a whole county in the 80's and it was difficult to train people to use due to regulations. Now most CPR training includes AED training and the CPR and AED training takes 3 to 4 hours. In New York State you can buy your own which I did. IF Club O doesn't have one they should get one as soon as possible given the average age of their guests. I worked to get AED in the hands of lay people for years, I took my then 8 year old Daughter to the State Board to show them how easy they are to use as NYS government works it took over 3 years to change. I strong reccomend every member of this board to take a CPR and AED class IT SAVES LIVES. Just added note the new CPR makes Mouth to Mouth an option for those people who didn't take a class because of that.

As a practicing EMT, I can assure you that the most important treatment in cardiac arrest is chest compressions. Properly done, they can keep blood circulating and greatly improve survival rates. Please take a CPR course. It is not difficult. If you took a course in the past and found the numbers confusing, do not worry, things are much simpler now. Compress, compress and compress. In the US, bystanders are protected from lawsuit in the event of negative outcome. The AED is helpful but properly done compressions will give the patient a chance while the AED is being located and put into service. By the way, in tests using properly trained fire fighters, it has been found that after two minutes of performing chest compressions fatigue sets in and the compressions become less effective. Thats why we line up behind the person performing compressions to take over at the two minute mark. Compressions must not be stopped during the changeover to the next rescuer.

Interesting observations all and good advice. CPR training is important and has saved many lives. My company always made it mandatory for employees to be certified in both first aid and CPR. Since retiring however I find the availability of such training pretty scarce.
The issue of liability has long been settled here in the U.S. but on foreign soil I'm not so sure.

I thought the original poster said a defibrillator was there at the site. Usually, to use one, all one has to know is to open it up or turn it on, then recorded verbal instructions are given, the heart rhythm analysed and command to shock or not shock given. That is why these machines are such a life saver- you don't need knowledge to use them to save a life.

It's unclear whether the defibrillator was on site or brought by the ambulance. I read it as the latter. Not all defibrillators are created equal. The latest are the kind described above.

Sounded like to me that the "they" mentioned was the ambulance crew who had the defibrillator. I was an EMT for several years but left before these came into use on the ambulance. Would probably be good to have them on some of the beaches "just in case" as this isn't the first time I have heard of someone having a heart attack on St Maarten while swimming. Very sad for the family.

As a follow up to my post this morning, there are three AED's at Club O. We gave a restaurant worker a ride this morning and asked him about yesterday's incident. The location of the AED's are water sports, by the rest rooms at Papagyo and the reception area. Observers reported the incident taking place around 2:15 PM. One person reported seeing pads on the chest of the man as they were working on him. The AED was not in the case today at Papagayo as it was empty but if memory serves me they may have taken the the machine to download the details as it recorded events. They would also have the battery checked and new pads installed. Others with more experience with the AED May want to comment.

Good to know . Thanks for that. Your assessment of the procedure for after these machines are used is spot on.
Cheers

Just saw on the Port of St.Maarten cruise ship schedule that 2 ships there on March 2 were Mein Schiff (German) and Norwegian Spirit. http://201.220.14.28/sxm/MainMenu.aspx?ShipScheduleType=2
interestingly, there is nothing about this sad occurance at Club O in the "News" section of CruiseCritic website, which generally reports any illness or demise of a cruise ship passenger.
(Hope I haven't violated any rules of this board by mentioning another travel website. If so, forgive me please.)

Just curious, the Automatic Defibrillators speak instructions to you, the ones at Club O speak French? I assume.

There is no doubt that AEDs are a must have item but they do require training in both their use and maintenance It should also be noted they are designed to be used along with CPR and not as an alternative to it.
They are available in many languages depending on the manufacturer. It would be good to know if there are people at Club O (or anywhere else you are staying) who are trained in their use and when those folks are on duty.

in the US any bystander can use defibrillator if there are no medical people there. of course one needs to know it's available first. the defibrillators are very simply. you apply two adhesive patches and the machine then says 'stand away--deliver shock' or if no shock is indicated 'continue CPR". i agree, these are life savers. However, drowning in and of itself is fatal and sometimes the best medical care fails to help the person. how very tragic--life is short.

It is true the machine will deliver instructions and in the U.S. good Samaritans are protected under the law. This does not mean however training in CPR and the use of these machines is not necessary. Every manufacturer recommends training and many states require "medical direction" in their use. The placement of the pads is crucial relative to position and air pockets(which will cause sometimes severe burns) to insure effective delivery of the shock. It is recommended cell phones be turned off or be at least six feet from the unit.
Yes when there is no one trained available a lay person could(and should) operate one but they are designed for use by trained personnel.

I was there at Club O when this "happening" occurred. The 49-year-old man, who had just started to swim by himself, seemed to have a large MI or stroke (or something else). A man on one of the rafts saw him go under, swam to him and brought him to shore - calling for a doctor or nurse. There was an EMT, a guest at Club O with over 30 years experience, who met the patient on shore - and immediately started chest compressions. Soon thereafter another nurse arrived, 2 physicians and a critical care nurse - all vacationing on the beach. The defibrillator arrived from Water Sports. Many people on the beach took turns with the compressions and there were multiple shocks - but to no avail. The SXM EMTs arrived about 40+ minutes after the event. The man's wife (both of whom had been on a cruise ship) from an Eastern European country came after her husband was brought ashore.

Very sad. But guests on the beach tried very hard to save the man.

Such a sad occurrence but kudos to you and to all the others who tried to help.

Forty minutes for an ambulance to arrive is a whole other issue, and has often been a concern we've considered given the traffic and roads of the island.