NC diver evac'd - May 16, 2009

Coast Guard medevacs injured North Carolina diver | Coast Guard News


Coast Guard medevacs injured North Carolina diver
May 16th, 2009
by cgnews.

PORTSMOUTH, Va. A Coast Guard Air Station Elizabeth City, N.C., helicopter crew medevaced an injured North Carolina diver Saturday afternoon.

Watchstanders at Coast Guard Sector North Carolina were contacted by the crew of the commercial diving vessel AQUATIC SAFARI 1 at approximately 1:30 p.m., stating that the nearby recreational diving vessel, the WHIPLASH had recovered an injured diver and requested medical assistance.

The diver, a 46-year-old North Carolina man was diving off the recreational diving vessel GET U CHUM when a wave pushed the boat into him causing multiple injuries.

The AQUATIC SAFARI 1 rendezvoused the WHIPLASH and transferred two EMT personnel and the AQUATIC SAFARI 1ÃÔ EMT kit to assist the injured diver.

The WHIPLASH was met by the crew of a 41-foot Utility Boat from Coast Guard Station Oak Island, N.C., and escorted back to the station.

A MH-60 helicopter crew met the two vessels at the station and transported the injured diver to the New Hanover Regional Medical Center in Wilmington, N.C. for further treatment.

ŵhe crew of the commercial diving vessel AQUATIC SAFARI 1 were instrumental in todayÃÔ case, said Petty Officer 1st Class Jason Stanley, an Operations Specialist at Sector North Carolina.

ŵheyÃÓe quick action in contacting the Coast Guard and providing EMT assistance for the injured diver were monumental. They deserve a lot of credit for the role the played in todayÃÔ rescue, said Stanley.

Thanks Brian,

Since a wave "pushing the boat into him" wouldn't normally be an issue, I suspect he may have been impacted by the stern of the boat moving up and down while on the anchor line - and that motion can be violent and real dangerous.

Looks like the diver had a bad day. Thanks for the report.

Doc

sometimes the scariest part of the dive is trying to get back on the boat

Kudos to the crew of the AS1. That is one top notch outfit. IMHO

Doc Intrepid:

Thanks Brian,

Since a wave "pushing the boat into him" wouldn't normally be an issue, I suspect he may have been impacted by the stern of the boat moving up and down while on the anchor line - and that motion can be violent and real dangerous.

Click to expand...

While (possibly) not specifically related to the victim, safely re-boarding a boat seems to be one of the casualties in splitting up what used to be a fairly complete OW certification into a minimal OW class and a bunch of "specialties".

Terry

I had the swim step of about an 18' commercial dive boat smack me in the head once in very choppy conditions. The ride out to the dive site was fine, but conditions on the surface changed during the dive. The ride back to shore was so bad, we put our masks on in order to see. Amazingly, I had no injury whatsoever. You'll never guess what saved me. My snorkle. So yes, you can call me a geek all you want, I don't care.

So I:m just curious as to everyone:s opinions... is this a dive accident or, like an underwater heart attack, do people consider this an accident connected to diving but not of it?