An Australian scuba diver was fortunate to be alive but sustained a deep gash in his head after being hit by a boat off Rottnest Island on 15 February.
Damien Mcateer from Perth had been diving at the Jackson Rock site with other members of the Underwater Explorers Club of Western Australia from their anchored boat, and was returning to the surface with three other divers below him, reported ABC News.
Also read: Hit-and-run leaves diver with leg injury
The dive-boat had the name of the club displayed in large letters on the hull and was flying a prominent diver-down flag, indicating that a distance of at least 50m and preferably 100m should be maintained by passing vessels.
Mcateer said he had felt a “big thud to the back of the head” but had not heard engine sounds on his ascent and glimpsed the vessel only as it was speeding away into the distance.
Other club-members recovered Mcateer to the boat and gave him first aid before taking him ashore to hospital, where his wound required stitches. The diver later told ABC that the hit-and-run driver might well have remained unaware of having struck anyone.
Onlookers on the club boat described the offending vessel as 5m in length and white with a green or grey stripe along the side and a white canopy. They reported the incident to police and the state department of transport, which has started an investigation and asked for anyone with information to come forward.
The witnesses estimated that the vessel had passed within 20-25m of their dive-boat and had been travelling “way too fast”, leaving the diver “inches away from a fatality”.
Also on Divernet: Girl’s family want answers on Maldives snorkelling death, Prop severs female diver’s leg in Maldives, Boat hit diver after warning flag ignored, Speeding boat driver who hit diver fined
