Diver airlifted to hospital following rapid ascent
A diver has been airlifted by a Coastguard helicopter to the
recompression chamber at Poole, Dorset this afternoon following a rapid ascent
from a dive two miles south of Lyme Regis.
The National Maritime Operations Centre received a Pan Pan
(urgency) broadcast from a dive vessel at 10.20 this morning reporting that the
diver was having breathing difficulties after suffering a rapid ascent. The
Coastguard helicopter from Portland was scrambled and airlifted the diver to
the recompression chamber. The Poole Coastguard Rescue Team manned the
landing site at the hospital.
Mark Rodaway, Duty Commander at the National Maritime
Operations Centre says:
“Speed is of the essence in rapid ascent incident and the
dive boat did exactly the right thing in broadcasting a pan pan message on
channel 16 as soon as the diver began exhibiting symptoms of decompression
sickness.
“As we move into the diving season I’d like to take this
opportunity to remind divers to dive within their capabilities and to ensure
that they keep up-to-date with training.”