Diver missing off the coast of South Holland

[Thijsie]

Duiker vermist voor kust Zuid-Holland

ANP

DEN HELDER - Voor de kust van Goeree Overflakkee zijn reddingsdiensten zondagochtend verder gaan zoeken naar een vermiste sportduiker van het duikschip Zeeschuimer. De 50-jarige man kwam zaterdagmiddag na een duik op 25 kilometer ten westen van Goeree niet meer boven water. Hij was om 16.45 uur voor een half het water in gegaan.


Dat heeft een woordvoerder van de Koninklijke Nederlandse Reddings Maatschappij (KNRM) in Hoek van Holland laten weten.
De reddingsdiensten begonnen zaterdag aan het eind van de middag met hun zoekactie. Bij het invallen van de duisternis had die echter nog niets opgeleverd. De zoekactie werd rond 22.00 uur gestaakt omdat het te donker was, aldus het Kustwachtcentrum in Den Helder.
Aan de actie deden duikers, drie KNRM-reddingboten, een vaartuig van de kustwacht en drie helikopters van de Koninklijke Marine en de Belgische luchtmacht mee.

Source: volkskrant.nl


Translation

Diver missing off the coast of South Holland

ANP

DEN HELDER - Off the coast of Goeree Overflakkee, emergency rescue services started their search for a missing diver from the diving ship "Zeeschuimer", this Sunday morning. The 50 year old male did not surface after a dive 25 kilometres west of Goeree on Saturday afternoon. He entered the water at 16.45 for half an hour.


This is the story as it was told to us by a spokesperson of the Royal Dutch Rescue Service (KNRM) in Hoek van Holland.
The rescuers started their search late Saturday afternoon. When night fell, nothing had been found yet. The search was halted around 22.00h because it was getting too dark, according to the coastal guard centre in Den Helder.
Divers, three KNRM-rescue boats, a coastal guard ship and three helicopters from the Royal navy and the Belgian Airforce participated in the search.

If anyone has any more info, I'd like to hear.

Its sad that something like this has to happen again. He must have been a pretty experienced diver if he could go there, because if I remember correctly, the average depth is around 30m? Isn't that about the limit for recreational diving?
Well, at least they're not sure whether he's dead yet, so there is a slight chance of him still showing up somewhere.

 

[Diver0001]

They were wreck diving on the North Sea from a boat called "de Zeeschuimer" from Scheveningen. I believe it was a club dive. Depth in the general area of the wreck is about 25 metres.

The diver was a 50 year old man. Yesterday they threw everything they had into seaching for him but were unable to locate him. As of today the KLPD has called off the search and they don't expect to find him alive. Members of the dive club are still searching but conditions are much too windy today to risk diving on the wreck to look for him. Once conditions permit they'll look for him on the wreck.

As far as I know nobody knows for sure what happened. Police will be questioning the other divers in the next couple of days after which more information will probably become available.

R..

 

[Thijsie]

So it wasn't a solo diver like the article made it seem? Ah...
Now I'm wondering how they lost him then. :S

 

[Diver0001]

I don't know if it was a solo dive or not. Solo dives are not terribly unusual among North Sea divers.

They lost him because he failed to surface on schedule. On the North Sea this can mean one of two things. Either he didn't surface or he surfaced unnoticed and drifted away from the boat.

R..

 

[Diver0001]

The missing diver has still not been located. At this point the chances of finding him alive are zero. As I said before the KLPD and coast guard from both teh Dutch and Belgian fleets (surface, air and sub-surface), including many privately owned boats were unable to locate the diver. They even tried using side scanning sonar to find him, without result.

The man in question was an extremely experienced North Sea diver in good health. For some unknown reason he started having trouble during the ascent and was unable to surface. His buddy tried to help him but was unable to bring him to the surface.

- I do not know the nature of the problem he had.
- I do not know why the buddy was unable to lift him.

Thijsie, I think this answers the question you had about whether or not he was solo diving. He was not. At this point, I would appreciate it, if you still can, if you would edit your previous response to remove this speculation.

R..

 

[Thijsie]

I gladly would, the only problem is that the edit button is automatically removed from the post after 24 hours or so.
Even though I want to, I can't, 'cos ScubaBoard won't allow me

 

[Diver0001]

I gladly would, the only problem is that the edit button is automatically removed from the post after 24 hours or so.
Even though I want to, I can't, 'cos ScubaBoard won't allow me

Fair enough, but take this as a lesson. Everything you *assume* will be false and every *false* thing you say will be very hurtful to the family and friends of the deceased.

If it were *your* father, how would you feel if some anonymous "clown" assumed he was solo diving when he was not...... ! ? ! ?? Livid, I assume.....

R..

 

[Thijsie]

See? Now you're assuming . Sorry I seemed to get on your nerves...
Anyway, I feel really sorry for the family of the diver, even though my previous posts might have accidentally made it look otherwise.
Forgive me, I'm new...
My sincere condolences to the family and friends of the missing diver. I hope he will still be found soon, so he can have a proper burial, and his family will have something to remember him by.

 

[Diver0001]

Sorry mate. I shouldn't write on the internet when I'm in a bad mood.

They found the body.

R..

 

[Thijsie]

That's the least they could do.
Thanks for the info.