Elderly Brit lost off of south Spain coast

[DandyDon]

British diver 70 ex Armed Forces missing off coast of Spain Cabo de Palos | Daily Mail Online

An elderly former member of the British Armed Forces has disappeared off the south coast of Spain.

The unnamed Briton is believed to be 70 and part of a diving school in Cabo de Palos, near Cartagena.

The group lost contact with him at around midday today after he was last seen near a marine reserve called the Hormigas Islands.

A Spanish Coastguard spokesman confirmed two helicopters were taking turns to search for the diver along with a Red Cross boat and two other Coastguard vessels.

One of the vessels is being used to drop a remote operated vehicle participating in the search.

The dive school he had gone out with, one of eight in the area, has not been named.

A Spanish Coastguard spokesman said: 'We were alerted at eight minutes past midday today.

'The missing man is a British ex-member of the Armed Forces aged 70. A Civil Guard and Coastguard helicopter are taking turns to search for him.

'Two Coastguard vessels and a Red Cross boat are also involved. A remote operated vehicle has been dropped from one of our vessels and it is currently searching at 40 metres below the sea surface.

'A call has gone out to any Spanish Navy vessels in the area to help out as well if they can.'

A regional government spokesman added: 'All the state's resources have been activated in the search for this British national, a former member of the military aged 70 who disappeared while he was diving north of the Hormigas Islands in Cabo de Palos.'

Cabo de Palos is next to the popular holiday destination of La Manga, around 20 miles from the town of Cartagena.

It is popular with scuba diving fans as its sea bed is one of the most treasured nature reserves in the Mediterranean.

Hormigas Islands are two and a half miles from the coast.

The sea bed there is considered one of the best scuba diving sites in Spain and has been designated an Integral Marine Reserve for its beauty and excellent state of conservation.

As well as the remains of shipwrecks and sunken boats, it is also home to reefs and deep underwater corral.

 

[whereisthesea]

Has been found lifeless

Localizan el cuerpo sin vida del buceador inglés desaparecido en aguas de Cabo de Palos

Located 52 meters deep the lifeless body of the English diver who disappeared yesterday near Islas Hormigas, in the waters of Cabo de Palos (Cartagena). This has been confirmed by the Government delegation, whose head, Francisco Jiménez regrets the tragic outcome and appreciates the effort and work of Maritime Rescue, the Navy, Civil Guard, Red Cross and 112 of the Region of Murcia.

"In spite of the adverse weather conditions and the poor state of the sea, the tasks to recover the body have started," the Government Delegation indicated.

The missing person is a 70-year-old English soldier. Despite the fact that the safety regulations force the opposite, the man left without a partner to dive, sixty meters deep, near Islas Hormigas, and he also had a special mixture of gases that requires more care when practicing this activity. The military was ballasted with 25 kilos, as they have explained from Salvamento Marítimo de Cartagena.

This body insists on warning about the need to always dive in pairs. It is not the first time that an accident of this type has taken place, carried out by an experienced person.

Salvamento Marítimo has coordinated the rescue device of this man who has been joined, in an unusual operation, military ships participating in some maneuvers, divers of the GEAS group of the Civil Guard, a helicopter Civil Protection and Red Cross.

 

[Diving Dubai]

Body of British Armed Forces veteran, 69, is found 170ft ( 52m) underwater

Mr Evans appears to have been an experienced diver, article picture shows him with a AP Rebreather

It'll be another mystery for sure

 

[CoralSeaMan]

Doesn’t the article say he had 25 kilos of “ ballast” (lead)? What for? Would a rebreather require that?

 

[Bob DBF]

Doesn’t the article say he had 25 kilos of “ ballast” (lead)? What for? Would a rebreather require that?

It was an AP rebreather. The EVO is almost 25 kilos, sounds too close for a coincidence, considering how knowledgable reporters are about dive gear.


Bob

 

[happy-diver]

they spanglished British pounds to Spanish kilos without changing the numbers man

or

that's a really good explanation Bob DBF

 

[Wathdoc]

I suspect that it was more of a cardiac event than weighting.