Diver rescue at Dorothea
By Charlotte Boan
An unconscious diver who was mistaken for dead and rapidly sent to the surface from 28m has made a full recovery following a rescue at a North Wales quarry.
Rescuers (left to right) Dave Garnett, Stuart Peel,
Steve Richardson and Mike Jones
Secondary School teacher Abi March, 27, from Nantwich, Cheshire, started to panic after rapidly descending to 18m, where she held on to a wall to prevent her from dropping further.
Her buddy, Simon O'Donnell, also from Cheshire, tried to bring the panicking diver back to the surface but lost his grip. O'Donnell, who is not rescue- trained, shot to the surface, while March, who lost her regulator from her mouth, fell unconscious and dropped to 28m.
Technical diver Martin Mann found her minutes later while ascending from a dive to deeper than 100m. Assuming she was dead, he removed her weight belt and inflated her jacket to send her body back to the surface.
Four members of York-based BSAC club Excalibur SAC were training at Dorothea Quarry when diver March appeared lifeless on the surface.
'We had just finished our first dive and were de-kitting when we saw a body at the other side of the lake,' Excalibur BSAC member Dave Garnett told DIVE. 'It didn't look right, but the diver towing the body to shore did not shout for help until closer to the water's edge. We immediately swam out to help.'
Administering rescue breaths during the tow, the BSAC rescue-trained divers carried out CPR on March as soon she was recovered from the water. 'She was totally white, with blue lips and blood coming out of her month,' added Garnett. 'She looked dead and had no heartbeat.'
Excalibur SAC chairman and York GP Mike Jones led the resuscitation of the young female diver. Jones said that the club divers, who also included Stuart Peel and Steve Richardson, had decided to set up the oxygen kit before the dive. Following eight minutes of CPR with oxygen, she started to breathe again and regain consciousness.
March, a PADI advanced open water diver with 60 dives, said afterwards she had vague memories of being taken up in the air ambulance, where she was treated for secondary drowning.
'There was so much going on, but I remember vaguely being taken up in the helicopter,' said March. 'The seriousness of the situation had not really hit me. I spent two hours in the chamber before being taken to the intensive care unit at Arrowe Park Hospital [on the Wirral].'
Technical diver Mann surfaced after the air ambulance had airlifted the diver, following an hour-long deco stop.
'He told us that he was the one who sent the body up,' recalled Jones. 'He was very surprised that she was still alive. She was so lucky in so many ways - it goes to show how important rescue training is. Everyone did a fantastic job to save her. We plan to ask her about future lottery results because we suspect she might have insider knowledge!'
March said she felt extremely emotional when she spoke to Mann for the first time. 'I want to thank absolutely everybody, including my buddy, Martin, Mike and his team, as well as all of those who helped rescue me at the quarry, she said. 'I would love to know all the people who helped. Also, the Air Ambulance crew and Murrayfield Hyperbaric chamber at the Wirral. I particularly owe so much to Martin - if he hadn't found me, there is no way I would have survived.'
By Charlotte Boan
An unconscious diver who was mistaken for dead and rapidly sent to the surface from 28m has made a full recovery following a rescue at a North Wales quarry.
Rescuers (left to right) Dave Garnett, Stuart Peel,
Steve Richardson and Mike Jones
Secondary School teacher Abi March, 27, from Nantwich, Cheshire, started to panic after rapidly descending to 18m, where she held on to a wall to prevent her from dropping further.
Her buddy, Simon O'Donnell, also from Cheshire, tried to bring the panicking diver back to the surface but lost his grip. O'Donnell, who is not rescue- trained, shot to the surface, while March, who lost her regulator from her mouth, fell unconscious and dropped to 28m.
Technical diver Martin Mann found her minutes later while ascending from a dive to deeper than 100m. Assuming she was dead, he removed her weight belt and inflated her jacket to send her body back to the surface.
Four members of York-based BSAC club Excalibur SAC were training at Dorothea Quarry when diver March appeared lifeless on the surface.
'We had just finished our first dive and were de-kitting when we saw a body at the other side of the lake,' Excalibur BSAC member Dave Garnett told DIVE. 'It didn't look right, but the diver towing the body to shore did not shout for help until closer to the water's edge. We immediately swam out to help.'
Administering rescue breaths during the tow, the BSAC rescue-trained divers carried out CPR on March as soon she was recovered from the water. 'She was totally white, with blue lips and blood coming out of her month,' added Garnett. 'She looked dead and had no heartbeat.'
Excalibur SAC chairman and York GP Mike Jones led the resuscitation of the young female diver. Jones said that the club divers, who also included Stuart Peel and Steve Richardson, had decided to set up the oxygen kit before the dive. Following eight minutes of CPR with oxygen, she started to breathe again and regain consciousness.
March, a PADI advanced open water diver with 60 dives, said afterwards she had vague memories of being taken up in the air ambulance, where she was treated for secondary drowning.
'There was so much going on, but I remember vaguely being taken up in the helicopter,' said March. 'The seriousness of the situation had not really hit me. I spent two hours in the chamber before being taken to the intensive care unit at Arrowe Park Hospital [on the Wirral].'
Technical diver Mann surfaced after the air ambulance had airlifted the diver, following an hour-long deco stop.
'He told us that he was the one who sent the body up,' recalled Jones. 'He was very surprised that she was still alive. She was so lucky in so many ways - it goes to show how important rescue training is. Everyone did a fantastic job to save her. We plan to ask her about future lottery results because we suspect she might have insider knowledge!'
March said she felt extremely emotional when she spoke to Mann for the first time. 'I want to thank absolutely everybody, including my buddy, Martin, Mike and his team, as well as all of those who helped rescue me at the quarry, she said. 'I would love to know all the people who helped. Also, the Air Ambulance crew and Murrayfield Hyperbaric chamber at the Wirral. I particularly owe so much to Martin - if he hadn't found me, there is no way I would have survived.'
