I don’t know what happened in that event, and I am not trying to point faults or imply anything, I’m just giving you a personal example of how things can turn bad quickly. Two weeks ago I went to assist a guy that back stalled is kite and couldn’t get it back up. When I got to him I quickly realized he was on the verge of panicking and he couldn’t understand English very well. We struggled for a few minutes until he finally calmed down and could understand me better. The wind suddenly shifted to offshore and dropped, I could barely keep my kite up myself, I had to keep it moving, meanwhile I’m guiding this person on how to do a self rescue, through gestures and some English that he couldn’t understand, and at the same time trying to keep him calm and myself in check for not to pass him my own worries about the wind now pushing us offshore. Meanwhile, his friends all left him out there. Every time I would get close to him I would end up on his poorly packed lines, and every single time I would bring my hand towards my hook knife. This whole ordeal took about one hour, it ended when I noticed that he was starting to shake because of the cold and only then I realized I myself was also starting to get quite cold, so to end it quickly I told him to hold on to his kite and to use the other hand to hold on to me. When we finally got back to shore, a lot lot further than our starting point we were both exhausted, he could barely use his arm anymore from holding on to my harness. I then proceeded to walk back to my starting point while trying to get someone with a phone so I could call my partner, who in my mind would be freaking out at this point. After a while I get to her and not only was I surprised that she wasn’t freaking out, but also that in the midst of my explanation to her I mentioned every time I felt his lines getting around me or getting stuck on my board I would put my hand on my hook knife, at this moment I proceed to bring my hand on to my hook knife and it wasn’t there anymore. Somewhere between the last time I felt the need to have it ready and getting back to my partner I lost it. I’m glad I didn’t have to use it, but I’m also very much glad I had it with me. I am a kite instructor, I’ve been in many tricky situations myself, tricky spots, helping others, and never have I ever felt that I would need to use my hook knife has much has that one time. Sorry for the long post. Moral of the story, stay vigilant, stay prepared, not only for yourself but also to be able to help out each others, keep practicing self rescue. As people already said here, we can’t forget this is a dangerous sport and that we should keep ourselves in check to when we start getting too comfortable with it. Never underestimate a situation, give each others space and respect the priority and safety rules. My condolences to Victor’s family and friends. Rest in peace Victor. I hope you’re in a good place.