RIVIERA BEACH, Florida (6 July 2006) -- A man who went missing for more than an hour while diving with a group offshore from Palm Beach on Thursday was found by divers at a reef in 60 feet of water and later pronounced dead. The man, who police did not identify, was reported missing at 2:32 p.m. by the dive boat Deep Obsession, about a mile south of The Breakers, according to the U.S. Coast Guard's Lake Worth Inlet station. The Coast Guard, Palm Beach County She-riff's Office and Palm Beach Police Marine Unit mounted a search-and-rescue attempt. The man was discovered by the chartered dive boat Narcosis at 3:52 p.m. and brought aboard the Coast Guard boat, Coast Guard Petty Officer Joseph Hart said. Rescuers then conducted CPR and transported the man to the Riviera Beach Marina, where he was pronounced dead at 4:10 p.m., Hart said. As of 5 p.m., both the sheriff's office and coast guard said they did not know the man's identity. Palm Beach Police referred inquiries to the sheriff's office, which is investigating the death, spokeswoman Teri Barbera said. Capt. Ray Davis, of Narcosis Dive Charters, said he sent two divers down to assist in the rescue and that they found the man on the floor of the ocean at the Flower Garden Reef, in about 60 feet of water. | | The man had been on a dive with a group of about 20 divers and had surfaced with the group during a squall in seas of about 3-4 feet, said Davis, who said he had radio contact with the Deep Obsession during the search. "It was raining a lot, and the wind was blowing strong, so most of the divers were coming up in adverse conditions," Davis said. Two companions of the man reported they saw him surface, then lost sight of him, Davis said. The Deep Obsession is operated by Riviera Beach-based Jim Abernethy's Scuba Adventures, which had no comment. SOURCE - Palm Beach Daily NewsSCUBA FORUMDISCUSS THIS TOPIC - Dive in and have your say at Scuba Forum |
