St Abbs fatality - Scotland

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DandyDon

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BBC News - Diver dies 'after becoming ill' off St Abbs
A diver has died after getting into difficulties off St Abbs in the Scottish Borders.
The man had been with a group of divers on Saturday afternoon when he was said to have taken ill.
He was picked up by the group's dive boat before being transferred to the St Abbs lifeboat and then to a Royal Navy helicopter.
A coastguard spokesman said the man was dead on arrival at Edinburgh Royal Infirmary.
It is understood the group of divers were from South Yorkshire.

More info in this story: http://www.scotsman.com/news/scotti...ragedy-in-six-months-off-east-coast-1-2644050
A FATHER who was on a diving trip with his son died at the weekend after getting into difficulties off the coast of the Borders, it emerged yesterday.
The 52-year-old man was part of a group of divers from England who were on an expedition near Eyemouth when he got into trouble in the water late on Saturday afternoon.
The man, who has not been named, is thought to have taken ill and fell unconscious during the diving. Police inquiries into the incident are ongoing, but there are not thought to be any suspicious circumstances surrounding the death.
The emergency call went out at about 3:30pm on Saturday and the RNLI inshore lifeboat from St Abbs was deployed shortly afterwards.
A spokesman for the station said the crew was able to pick up the man from the water before taking him back to the harbour and attempting to resuscitate him.
He was then airlifted by a Royal Navy helicopter crew, sent from HMS Gannett in Prestwick, to Edinburgh Royal Infirmary, but was pronounced dead on arrival.
It remains unclear how the man got into difficulties, but the RNLI spokesman said that 
sea conditions at the time were “flat and calm”. It is understood the eight-strong group, including the victim and his son, hailed from Rotherham in south Yorkshire.
A spokesman for Lothian and Borders Police said: “Lothian and Borders Police are investigating after a 52-year-old man died during a diving excursion in St Abbs on Saturday.
“Inquiries are ongoing. However, there appear to be no suspicious circumstances surrounding his death.”
The death is the third diving tragedy to have taken place in recent months off the coast of Eyemouth, one of the most popular diving spots in Scotland thanks to the abundance of wrecks around the seabed. All three incidents claimed the lives of men from the Yorkshire area.
In August, Ian Woolston died while exploring the wreck of a German U-boat. The accomplished diver from Halifax lost his air supply while 47 metres deep.
He was seen frantically signalling to his dive partner, who helped him return to the surface. A helicopter from RAF Boulmer in Northumberland and lifeboat crews from Dunbar and Anstruther were involved in the rescue operation, while attempts were made to resuscitate Mr Woolston for about half an hour after he was taken back to land.
However, the 52-year-old assistant manager of a sheet metal firm died at Ninewells Hospital in Dundee.
In June, David Ruston from Barnsley died near Eyemouth harbour after he got into difficulties in the water.
The 59-year-old surfaced face-down unconscious, and despite rescue efforts, the member of Barnsley Sub Aqua Club was later pronounced dead at Edinburgh Royal Infirmary.
 
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I've dived that area, but you wouldn't see me there diving in November! Not because it's cold but because it's rough.
 
I was wondering if it was a shore dive with challenging entrances and exits, but it seems to have been a boat dive. Another story came in: Horror as diver dies in front of his son after Berwick excursion goes wrong - Daily Record
THE man, who was part of a seven-strong team of divers, was pulled from the water after getting into difficulties in 23ft of water but medics couldn't save him after an hour-long battle. A SON had to watch as emergency crews battled in vain to save his dad after a dive went wrong.
An RNLI crew and paramedics fought for more than an hour to revive the 52-year-old diver.
He was airlifted to hospital but was dead on arrival.
The tragedy happened as the dad, his son and five others went diving off the Berwickshire coast on Saturday.
The dad was 23ft from the surface when he got into difficulty.
His friends raised the alarm and a St Abbs RNLI lifeboat crew from Eyemouth raced to the scene.
They pulled the “deeply unconscious” casualty from the water and took him to shore.
Together with an ambulance crew, the team desperately fought to revive the man.
Alistair Crow, of the St Abbs RNLI Lifeboat, said: “It must have been terrible for his son to witness that.”
The party had been diving off a vessel called the Selkie.
Alistair added: “The man did a dive in the morning and was on his second dive in the afternoon when something went wrong. I don’t know what happened.
“I don’t think it was the bends but we won’t know exactly how he died.
“When we got the emergency call from the Coastguard, we were so quick in getting out there, the guy was still being held alongside the dive board.
“When we got him, he was deeply unconscious. We got him on board the lifeboat and were back in very quick.
“We landed in the slipway at St Abbs and we worked on him for more than an hour.
“The ambulance came after 40 minutes and we continued to work on him for a while in the back of the ambulance.”
The dead man was from Rotherham in Yorkshire.
Lothian and Borders Police said: “A report will be submitted to the procurator fiscal.”
Alistair added: “There have been several deaths off the coast this year.
“The Berwickshire coast attracts lots of divers because its underworld scenery and marine life is second to none. It’s one of the best dive sites in Britain.
“I don’t know what went wrong for this chap. He seemed in reasonable shape. It could have been anything – a heart attack or maybe he had taken in water.”
The Selkie’s skipper Peter Gibson was unavailable for comment last night.
In August, diver Ian Woolston, also 52 and from Yorkshire, died in waters near Eyemouth after losing his air supply while exploring a sunken German U-boat.
 
I've dived that area, but you wouldn't see me there diving in November! Not because it's cold but because it's rough.
Not true at all, we dive here all year round, the swell depends on wind direction and is variable all year. Last weekend was light Westerlies, sea was flat. Sea is still around 9C as well, not cold yet.

Video report on this incident here, not much new detail.
 
I stand corrected. I haven't actually been there to try to dive any later than August.
 
I was diving their only a few weeks ago. How sad.
 
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