WILTON, Maine (10 July 2006) -- A Wilton nurse who is an experienced diver was in critical condition at Central Maine Medical Center in Lewiston on Sunday night after being rescued from an accidental near-drowning in Wilson Lake. Jan Smith, a nurse at Franklin Memorial Hospital and co-owner of the Mainely Scuba diving shop on Main Street in Wilton, slipped under water for one to three minutes before she could be pulled to the surface by her diving companions, according to Wilton police Officer Bob Cole. About 1:30 p.m., Smith was diving with six friends and she and another woman were swimming together to the dive flag that signals to boaters there are divers in the area, Cole said. Her swimming partner noticed Smith was in some sort of distress and had gone underwater. She came up again and the partner shared the air from her tank but Smith sank again, Cole said. The woman started yelling for help and kept hold of Smith underwater as long as she could, Cole said. The officer did not have the diving partner's name available Sunday night. About 25 to 30 yards away, Daniel Fonseca, who lives at 36 Lake Road, was working on the mooring of his pontoon boat with his 15-year old nephew when he heard a cry for help and quickly boated out. "My motor was already running so I scooted out there. I only saw one person and I threw her a throw device and it landed right in front of her," Fonseca said. "When I reached over to her she said she needed help and that there was someone under the water. She was very distraught." | | "I was stunned and told her to go back down and find her," he said. They got the attention of the other divers who were close by and rushed over, but they were unable at first to find Smith in the 12 feet of water, Fonseca said. Then he spotted bubbles about 20 feet from the stern and directed them to the spot. He said he backed his boat up and when the divers brought Smith up, they held on to the side of the vessel while giving her mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. Fonseca threw them life preservers to keep them afloat while they tried to help Smith, and the divers passed Fonseca their weights while dropping Smith's equipment into the water, which they later recovered. Meanwhile, Fonseca's nephew, John Chase, had called 911 and Cole, NorthStar EMS and Wilton Fire Rescue responded within minutes. The divers were able to swim and pull Smith to the beach area where they gave CPR, Fonseca said. Smith did not regain consciousness on the beach. Smith was taken to Franklin Memorial Hospital and then transferred to Central Maine Medical Center. The Maine Warden Service assisted in the investigation. SOURCE - Morning SentinelSCUBA FORUMDISCUSS THIS TOPIC - Dive in and have your say at Scuba Forum |
