A Mayday call from a dive-boat a mile south of Plymouth breakwater at 8.18 on the evening of 9 May prompted a multi-agency response, including the launch of both Plymouth lifeboats. They went to the assistance of a scuba diver who had surfaced unresponsive.
Inshore lifeboat the Annabel E Jones was first on scene to assess the casualty, followed by the all-weather Mullen Glover. Also in attendance was the Coastguard Rescue 924 helicopter, an MoD police launch and a Dutch warship rescue craft that had a doctor on board who was able to assist the RNLI paramedic.
“They administered casualty care checks before the diver was moved onto the all-weather lifeboat,” said Mullen Glover‘s coxswain Neil Humphrey. Both vessels then headed back to the marina “where we were met by the land ambulance and Devon Air ambulance, who then took the casualty on to Derriford hospital.”
Scuba diving emergencies happened to be fresh in the RNLI crews’ minds. The previous day some of the volunteers based at Plymouth Lifeboat Station had paid a professional visit to the city’s Diving Diseases Research Centre (DDRC Healthcare).
They had heard a presentation on how and why diving illnesses occur before completing an 18m-deep dive in the hyperbaric chamber – passing time under pressure by watching their own Saving Lives At Sea videos.
“It was an amazing opportunity,” said the station. The RNLI is celebrating its 200th year of existence in 2024.
Also on Divernet: How many divers has 200-year-old RNLI saved?, Behind the scenes at the RNLI HQ, RNLI calls on divers to help halve deaths, ‘All divers can learn’ from Sea Survival course
