An 'extremely lucky' diver who was found floating near The Great Mewstone has been pulled from the water in a 999 rescue. At around 12.56pm yesterday (June 7), Plymouth RNLI were called by the coastguard to reports of a lone diver who failed to surface in an arranged area.
The alarm was raised by the divers friends to Falmouth Coastguard as they grew increasingly concerned for his welfare. The RNLI and coastguard helicopter rushed to the last known location of the diver to begin a search pattern.
Shortly after, details came over the radio to state that a passing sailing boat had spotted the diver floating 1.9 miles west of his last known position. The coastguard sent out a mayday relay and a sailing boat in the area responded. They located the diver just as both lifeboats were arriving.
The All Weather Lifeboat Coxswain, Simon Jeffery, said: "The casualty is extremely lucky to be found and without his friends dialling 999 and asking for the Coastguard this rescue might have had a different outcome.
"We strongly urge people to tell someone where you are going and what time you plan to be back, always take a means of calling for help, check that you’re fit to dive , buddy up and the Float To Live advice really helped the casualty stay calm and wait for help to arrive."
A RNLI spokesperson said: "They were very lucky to be found. We then launched the boats a further three times that evening and now the boat is just on its way back from another shout."
In a statement on Facebook, the Plymouth Lifeboat Station has issued advice on how to stay safe while scuba diving.
Six safety checks for scuba diving
- Be fit to dive - Prepare yourself by being fit to dive – cold water will put extra strain on your body. Always consider your cardiac health before diving and get any concerns checked out.
- Check your diving equipment - At the start of the season make sure all your diving gear is in service and ready for another year’s diving.
- Plan your dives - Check the weather and tides. Find specific tide tables and sea conditions for the UK and Ireland at metoffice.gov.uk.
- Always complete a buddy check - No matter how experienced you are, or however many times you have dived with your buddy, don’t skip the buddy check. It could save your life, and theirs.
- Be spotted - All divers should carry a surface marker buoy (SMB) or delayed surface marker buoy (DSMB) on every dive to aid their visibility to all surface craft.
- Carry a means of calling for help - If something goes wrong, how will you call for help? Consider carrying a personal locator beacon (PLB) or similar device in a waterproof canister.
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