Ice diving fatalities in Iowa

[DanL]

Very bad news.
Just completed ice diving cert. A few things from the story are telling.
"...found when they didn't show up for a ride..." indicates they had no surface support/line tender/safety diver.
"...found thirty feet apart..." indicates they weren't tethered to each other.
"...found under the ice..." and apart from each other probably indicates they had no safety line back to the hole.
I was amazed in my first ice dives that the hole is almost totally invisible, even when you are within a few feet of it. Without a safety line to get you back you are screwed!
Also, an experienced diver/instructor started shivering while waiting in the water to start a dive. He said he was OK and headed down with another diver. A few minutes later the safety line went slack, we got three pulls - SOS, and yanked them in FAST. He got a severe leg cramp from the cold and couldn't swim at all. No surface suport and he would have been screwed.
Bottom line - Do not ice dive without training, proper equipment and qualified surface support!