A 61-year-old diver was pulled out of the water near the Cow Town area in Marpi on Tuesday evening by the Department of Public Safety-Boating Safety after being spotted by the Search and Rescue Unit of the Department of Fire and Emergency Medical Services.
DPS announced in a statement that on Tuesday, May 31, 2022, at around 7:41 p.m., its central office received a call about a reported overdue scuba diver at the Grotto.
DPS Boating Safety was then dispatched to the area.
At around 8:36 p.m., the DPS Impact rescue boat responded from Smiling Cove Marina.
DPS Boating Safety searched in the water while the fire department’s Search and Rescue Unit or SARU searched on land. At about 9:08 p.m., SARU notified DPS that they spotted something in the water near the Cow Town area.
At about 9:07 p.m., the DPS Impact reported that they had one diver on board. The diver stated that he was exhausted, but refused further medical attention.
The diver told his rescuers that at about 5:30 p.m., he and his partner arrived at the Grotto and noticed that the gate was open.
He and his partner decided to go diving. He wanted to dive toward the cavern, but his partner didn’t follow.
He said as he was making his way, he got stuck in the current. He then tried to swim back toward the cliff line to no avail.
Variety learned that his partner made his way back to the Grotto parking area where he called for police assistance.
“We encourage divers to notify friends and/or family members about your dive plan or what area you plan to dive and what time you expect to return,” DPS said.
“To prevent trouble in the water always remember to dive with a buddy, plan your dive and dive your plan — check your diving equipment and make sure it works, and use the right gear that can handle your planned dive,” DPS added.
