UK: Divers rescued after losing cover boat

Two divers were picked up safe and well today after becoming separated from their dive boat ten miles off St Albans Head, on the South Coast.

According to a Coastguard report the two men, aged 33 and 43 and from West Wickham in Kent, had dived on a Channel wreck at a depth of about 42m. Upon surfacing alongside their marker buoys, they found themselves some distance from their dive boat.

They could see the boat motoring away from them and, despite having a horn, they could not attract its attention.

When the dive boat crew realised the divers were not going to be located, they raised the alarm at about 12.40pm. A coastguard helicopter and RNLI lifeboats from Weymouth and Swanage were deployed to look for the men.

In fair conditions with a Force 4 wind, 1m-2m swell and good visibility, the men were spotted from the air after about 20 minutes, nearly three miles from their original position.

Winched aboard the Coastguard helicopter, the divers were reported to be uninjured and did not require recompression treatment.

On Wednesday a diver who did require treatment was airlifted from the sea off St Abbs, in Berwickshire. The 34-year-old woman was flown to the recompression chamber in Aberdeen by a helicopter from RAF Boulmer, in Northumberland.

Source: www.divernet.com