The onslaught of sargassum (seaweed) is not only affecting the beaches of the Dominican Republic, it also creates an enormous problem for the huge thermo-electric plants that use seawater for cooling. In the case of the power facility at Punta Catalina, the administrators have hired a company of divers to assist in removing the sargasso from the intake screens of the power plant. Each day professional divers and their equipment go down and remove the seaweeds.
On Saturday, 3 June 2023, one of them, 20-year old Elías Poling, perished during his stint underwater. His co-worker returned to the surface. Both divers had been inspected and checked according to strict protocol before entering the water. It is still unclear as to the exact cause of the young diver’s death. A DR1 source advanced that the power plant suctioned the contracted diver, causing his death. Punta...
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