A DIVER died of the bends yesterday when he was forced to surface quickly while exploring a wreck.
The man and a friend carried out an emergency ascent when they got into difficulty while 100ft underwater at Wemyss Bay in Renfrewshire.
They were spotted in the water by the crew of cabin cruiser Murphy's Law, who raised a mayday with Clyde Coastguard. Both men were suffering agonising decompression sickness, also known as the bends.
The man who died was winched on board a Royal Navy helicopter, where he was treated during the journey to the Southern General Hospital in Glasgow.
He was pronounced dead when he arrived.
His friend was rushed to a recompression chamber near Millport, on the isle of Cumbrae, where he was being treated last night.
A Clyde Coastguard spokeswoman said the alarm was raised just after 1pm.
She added: "We received information that two men were in trouble in the water off the shore, 200 yards from Wemyss Bay.
"It appears, for some reason, that they made a rapid ascent, which resulted in them both suffering the effects of decompression.
"We do not know anything about the circumstances that led the men to rush their ascent to the surface."
She said the helicopter had been in the air and was diverted to the scene - and revealed that the local coastguard helped paramedics with expert knowledge of the bends.
The men had entered the water from the shore and were diving on the wreck of a steamship, the Kintyre.
The wreck is a popular dive site but suffers from occasional dangerous down currents. It is recommended only for master divers.
In 2002, David Telford, from Carlisle, died when he went missing during a dive to the wreck of the Kintyre.
The bends is caused when nitrogen dissolved into body tissue at pressure in deep water turns into bubbles during a quick ascent.
Its effects range from joint pain and rashes to paralysis and death.
Treatment is by hyperbaric oxygen therapy in a recompression chamber.
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