West Brookfield MA diver dies at Brant Rock

[DandyDon]

There seems to be confusion about the age of the deceased, and it seems that they did not have a pilot onboard while they dived...

From Scuba diver from Central Mass. drowns off Marshfield coast - Quincy, MA - The Patriot Ledger

MARSHFIELD —

A 47-year-old man drowned during the weekend while scuba diving off Brant Rock.

Robert Hayes of West Brookfield was pronounced dead at South Shore Hospital at 10:30 a.m. Sunday. An autopsy was to be performed today, but investigators do not suspect foul play, said Bridget Norton Middleton, a spokeswoman for Plymouth County District Attorney Timothy Cruz said.

Hayes and a friend left the Marshfield town pier at about 7:45 a.m. Sunday and dove for about 30 minutes before heading back to their boat. Hayes’ friend told police he lost sight of him then saw him lying motionless in the water, tangled up in the line from the diving buoy.

The friend managed to get Hayes back on their boat and fishermen aboard a nearby boat came to help but they could not revive him.

Marshfield Fire Capt. Louis Cipullo said paramedics from his department met the boat back as it returned to shore at about 9:30 a.m. and also tried to revive Hayes.

From Man dies while scuba diving near Marshfield - BostonHerald.com

An experienced scuba diver from West Brookfield died yesterday while diving off the coast of Marshfield, officials said.

A friend scuba diving with Robert Hayes, 57, went to fetch him after he did not return after a dive, said fire Capt. Shawn Robinson. When the friend caught up to Hayes, he noticed the man was unconscious and had most of his gear off.

The men were diving off a boat about 200 yards offshore at about 9:30 a.m., officials said.

Hayes was put on a boat, where rescuers performed CPR, and taken to Town Pier, where an ambulance met him to go to South Shore Hospital, Robinson said. He was pronounced dead at the hospital.

Robinson said Hayes’s friend guessed he might have suffered a heart attack because he had plenty of air left in his tank.

“They said he was in great shape and dives quite a bit,” Robinson said.

An autopsy will determine the cause and manner of his death, said Bridget Norton Middleton, a spokeswoman for Plymouth County District

Attorney Timothy Cruz. She added Hayes’s death does appear to be suspicious, but state police will examine his diving gear to determine whether it was working properly.

His family declined comment today.

From 95.9 WATD - Marshfield: Scuba-diver drowns in waters off Brant Rock, authorities release identity

A 57-year-old man identifed as Robert Hayes of West Brookfield MA was an experienced diver, from the Worcester area, who authorities say drowned Sunday while scuba diving off the Marshfield coast.

Marshfield Fire Captain Louis Cipullo says paramedics transported the pulseless and non breathing party to South Shore Hospital where he was pronounced dead.

Fire and EMS crews were called to the Town Pier Sunday morning and when they arrived, a private boater had already brought the victim back to shore, and had begun performing CPR on the him, that was at around 9 o'clock Sunday morning.

"We came out of the harbor, the harbormaster came rushing by us and so we followed him, we got up there and we just saw the other guy with a tank on his back working on the other one, the one who was unconscious," said Ethan Miller, a concerned boater, whose family has a house on Duxbury Beach. "There were two other guys, I think it was a hydra-sport and we heard him on the radio, he was like, 'its not looking good,' 'I dont think hes going to make it,' and we heard all that stuff on the radio, and sure enough when we got back in....I dont think he made it."

The boat with two men on-board, with scuba equipment and two bottles of air, left Marshfield's Town Pier at about 6 a.m. for a day of apparent scuba diving. The small white boat was towed back to the pier by the Marshfield Harbormaster at around 1:45 p.m., the single engine boat had no occupants on board when it was towed back.

"I just saw those two guys going out in that boat. I have lived here a long time and in my opinion thats not the kind of boat you go out in these waters in," said one Marshfield resident, who declined to give his name. He saw the two men leave earlier in the morning.

The small boat, with a Massachusetts registration, MS1953 BH, was outfitted with a ladder, on the side of the boat, apparently used to climb back into the boat after diving.

Marshfield Harbormaster Michael DiMeo says this is a tragic diving accident.

A team of divers from the Massachusetts State Police Underwater Recovery Dive Team assembled at the pier as the boat was towed in, and left the Harbormaster's Green Harbor location shortly after to conduct their investigation.