CORNWALL, UK (2 August 2007) -- The bodies of two divers who went missing while on a recreational dive on the wreck of HMS Scylla have been recovered by coastguards. A man and woman, both thought to be in their 40s and from the Gloucestershire area, were discovered in Whitsand Bay, near Plymouth, after a major search after they were reported missing yesterday. The two divers were diving from a Plymouth charter boat the Maid Maggie 2 just off Whitsand Bay when they failed to resurface at their arranged time of 11.30am. A massive search party was launched, involving the Brixham Coastguard, Plymouth Lifeboat, the Royal Navy and the Ministry of Defence Police. The man's body was recovered from within the sunken frigate at about 3pm. The woman's body was located, also inside the wreck, just over an hour later. Brixham Coastguard was alerted after the divers disappeared from the Maid Maggie while diving on the bow of the Scylla wreck as part of an organised dive. The crew called rescue services after they failed to resurface. The divers' oxygen tanks had enough supplies to last them until 12.30pm. Both were found inside the wreck of the scuttled boat, which is owned by Plymouth's National Marine Aquarium (NMA). Andrew Robertson, the NMA's managing director, said: "We extend our condolences to the families of the divers recently lost on the Scylla. Such occurrences do highlight the risks involved with diving and wreck diving in particular. "Although the National Marine Aquarium are not directly involved with public diving on the Scylla, we fully support the local diving community who use the Scylla for recreational purposes. "We do not have any details regarding this incident so are unable to comment further. "This does remind us, however, that the sea poses many dangers and requires our full respect when any underwater activity is undertaken." | | An inquest into the 2005 scuba diving death of Christopher Sidgwick found that the HMS Scylla wreck was "extremely hazardous" for divers and was "a tragedy waiting to happen". RNLI lifeboats from Plymouth and Whitsand, a rescue helicopter from Culdrose, the Looe Atlantic lifeboat, and yachts and fishing boats in the area all searched for the missing divers. Another military helicopter from the warship Nottingham and rigid inflatable boats from the warship Campbe were also called in for assistance and three coastguard rescue teams, including those from Plymouth, Tamar and Looe were deployed along the shoreline. HMS Scylla was a Leander-class frigate which served in the Royal Navy between 1970 and December 2003. After she was decommissioned, she was bought by the NMA and sunk in Whitsand Bay on March 27, 2004. It is now one of Europe's largest artificial reefs. Despite its obvious draw, some diving instructors have in the past warned that the wreck is unsafe for inexperienced drivers. Christopher Sidgwick, from Chelmsford, Essex, became the first diver to die on the wreck of the Scylla in June 2005. An inquest into his death found that the wreck was "extremely hazardous" for divers and was "a tragedy waiting to happen". SOURCE - The CornishmanSCUBA FORUMDISCUSS THIS TOPIC - Dive in and have your say at Scuba Forum |
